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“That might have been the point,” Fiona said in a low voice, with another glance at the Blade instructors huddled in a tight circle.
I had a sinking feeling that I knew what had happened to Dom.
Chapter
Sixty-Six
Torq
“What do you mean one of our cadets went into the sea?” Kort swiveled his head from Kann to the admiral, who’d silently joined our group of Blades gathered near the entrance to our school.
I had been stunned by the revelation, and it was the only thing that could have drawn my attention from Jess as I’d entered the academy and seen her with her fellow Assassins. I had thought that I could slip back into our previous arrangement of avoiding each other, but the night in the cave had shattered that. I could think of little else but how she felt, tasted, sounded, and I could not continue to pretend that she was nothing to me.
That is, until the lead Blade instructor told us in hushed tones that Dom had been seen returning to the academy and then rushing out again toward the sea. Then I had been unable to think of anything else but the fate of the Drexian who had been in such pain and caused so much pain.
“How do we know he took to the water?” I asked. The last time I had seen the cadet had been at the top of the rock overhang. Had he truly tramped through the forest and then decided to throw himself at the mercy of the stormy sea?
“He was spotted by an instructor from one of the towers.” Kann folded his arms tightly across his chest. “He was seen taking a small craft from the stream into the sea.”
Kort glanced at me with a look of horror. Taking a boat into the pounding surf that crashed again the cliffs was madness. It meant that Dom had a death wish.
“Has he been seen since?” Kort asked the admiral.
Admiral Zoran gave the smallest of shakes with his head. “By the time the instructor was able to raise the alarm and report the cadet’s actions, the watercraft was no longer visible.”
I swallowed the lump that had lodged in my throat. I should tell them what I knew. I should tell them why a Blade would do something so reckless and suicidal. But that would mean revealing my brother’s crime and my suspicions about Dom’s part in the death of Zenen. I would need to reveal the fight on the circuit and the scuffle over Jess. I would have to reveal my relationship with Jess and why I was so convinced that Dom meant her harm. I would need to reveal everything.
I pressed my lips together. It did not matter now. The Drexian had taken the easy way out. He had run from the possibility of being caught or maybe he had run because he realized that he could not get the revenge he so craved. Had he decided that punishing innocents for the crimes of others would not give him relief? Or had his hunger for vengeance simply driven him mad?
The reason did not matter. He was gone, most likely crushed by the waves, or pulled under by the unforgiving current. That meant that I did not need to fear for Jess or watch my back for his next attack.
A deep breath escaped my lips as relief suffused me. Jess was safe. Dom could not get to me through her.
Kort cut a glance at me before huffing out a frustrated breath. “We must do something to find him. He is a Blade.”
Again, I stayed quiet. He was a Blade, but he had also been a tormentor. Blades were supposed to protect and defend and be loyal. Dom had lost his way from the ideals of our school, no doubt by grief and pain. Part of me felt sympathy for him for losing his brother to Drexians who would never be punished. But he had not gotten justice by going after me. He had only brought more pain upon himself and his family.
Thinking of his family getting the news that they had lost another son to the academy made my gut clench. Despite the fact that I had not caused his brother’s death, my brother had set all of this into motion. My clan was responsible. “We should find him. His family deserves that.”
Kort gave me a grateful look for joining his side. “I volunteer to lead a search party of Blades.”
Admiral Zoran frowned. “You will need Blades who are good on the water. Not every Drexian knows how to swim, although that is an issue I plan to rectify now that I am Academy Master.”
“I know an Iron who is an accomplished sailor.” Kann glanced around the hall. “He grew up on the shore of the other side of the Restless Sea.”
Zoran eyed us, his expression severe. Finally, he grunted something that sounded like a yes and pinned Kann with a sharp look. “Assemble your party, but I do not wish to lose any more Blades today.”
Kann squared his shoulders as soon as the admiral had spun on his heel and left us. “I volunteer.”
I opened my mouth to volunteer. It seemed right that I should go considering how much of the cadet’s actions were because of me. But my offer was preempted by Lieutenant Volten striding up to our group.
“Volt,” Kann greeted his friend with a tight smile. “We are assembling a search party to look for our cadet who went missing on the Restless Sea.”
The Wings instructor furrowed his brow, but he did not ask why a Blade would have gone into the sea when the competition had ranged across the Gilded Peaks. “Do you wish me to fly a low altitude search grid for you?”
Kann thumped his friend on the side of his arm. “Could you?”
“Of course.” Volt tipped his head at his friend. “Consider it done. But first, I need to take Torq with me.”
