Page 19 of Nova Academy

To be fair, he was the kind of guy I would want to shrink and keep in my pocket. His naivety was oddly adorable, and even though he was technically my superior, I wanted to protect him. I felt like he needed more protection than most, because it was increasingly obvious how much his hard outer shell was a shield for a softness that could be – and probably had been – used againsthim. His core was soft and squishy and it would be so easy to scoop that out and turn him into an empty vessel.

No. Arty needed someone to take him under their wing, and I was just the man for the job. I didn’t think he had much by the way of friendship or loyalty in the past, and I could do with a friend. I’d had friendly acquaintances in the past, but due to my mixed blood in a purist community, I wasn’t exactly anyone’s first pick.

Perhaps Arty could be that friend I’d always longed for.

The more I watched him interact with an overeager Brin, patient and attentive despite the barrage of words pouring from her mouth and her innate ability to destroy everything she touched, the more I could envision it.

I wanted it.

While he was occupied by the CWO, I took the opportunity to pull Foryk and Bromm aside to have words. ‘I don’t think Arty meant to insult you before,’ I told Bromm, and Foryk huffed his scepticism.

‘How so?’ Bromm asked, his expression guarded.

‘I think it’s pretty clear he’s a little socially awkward,’ I began, choosing my words carefully. ‘But I also think he cares enough about us as his team to try to ensure our wellbeing.’

The Griknot tapped a finger against his lips, his beard tangling around his other digits. ‘Go on.’

I sighed. ‘Arty’s heart is in the right place. He understands that military training is intensive and involves a lot of labour. I don’t think he was commenting on your physique so much as your lack of fuel to get you through the day.’

‘Oh,’ Foryk said, glancing at Arty with a look of contemplation.

Bromm, however, beamed at me. ‘Thanks for clearing that up. He’s lucky to have you to translate for him.’

Then he clapped me on the back and went back to work with a whistle and a hop in his step. I wasn’t the only one taken aback by his dramatic shift in attitude, either, but I was pleased with theresults of our conversation, nonetheless.

???

For the next few days we worked with CWO Brin on restoring her storeroom to something that resembled a well-utilised, organised space than a safety-hazard. I kept my distance from the others for the most part. Foryk and Bromm seemed to have built a steady friendship and where one was, so was the other. The inseparableness was suspicious, though, for there was no way they clicked on such a deep level after only just meeting.

I had an inkling that they were friends before enlisting and were keeping those details under wraps. Why, I wasn’t sure. They were closer than most friends, uncaring of what anyone else would consider crossing boundaries with their casual touches and stuck-at-the-hip mentality, but only with one another. Foryk seemed especially protective of the Griknot prince, and I wondered if perhaps they were in an established relationship.

Except, I had never witnessed any blatantly sexual or romantic moments between them. Touches were commonplace but remained platonic, and they kept to their own bunks. When they woke in the mornings with an obvious case of morning wood, they would take turns in the bathroom to rid themselves of the issue, but never at the same time. It could have been due to the lack of space for manoeuvring in the cramped bathroom with Foryk’s sheer size, but neither one of them was especially amorous with the other. Just close.

I decided it was best not to ask.

Arty was even more distant ever since our conversation. I didn’t know if it was because he was uncomfortable with opening up, or if he felt he had said too much. Or perhaps he was just disinterested in building a friendship with anyone, including me.

I sensed his need to remove himself from social situations, andhe was always awake and waiting in the corridor for us to get ready. I suspected that was a way for him to avoid the hard-ons the other two had been waving about without a care first thing in the morning. After the second time Bromm teased Arty for eyeing him up like a piece of meat, he simply stopped allowing for repeat offences. And I didn’t blame him. After watching Foryk and Bromm, if Arty fancied either one of them it would have been disheartening to realise he probably didn’t stand a chance.

If that’s what was happening. I still wasn’t entirely certain.

Regardless, I intended to catch Arty when he was alone to try and start up another conversation. If I wanted him to open up to me I was going to have to make the first move. I didn’t want to push him too hard too fast, however, so I simply kept to keeping him company. We worked in a companiable silence, at meals together, and even if we didn’t speak with words I could feel the bond between us growing.

I was doing things the right way, it seemed. though we still had a long way to go, I was pleased with the progress. Just yesterday we had an altercation with Tarren during the midday meal. He had not only attempted to trip me but had tried to tip my tray of food onto me. Arty had stepped in and steadied it, preventing the mess while somehow managing to trip Tarren up instead. When I tried to thank him he simply shrugged and sat down to eat in silence.

Getting that man to trust me was like trying to tame a wild animal. Possible, but only with time and patience and an acknowledgement that he might run away if pushed too much. Definitely a skittish one, that man, but at least there was hope. His protectiveness could have been a result of being on the same team, or maybe because he felt responsible for us as our team leader. Or it could have been that he cared and this was his way of expressing it. Regardless, I was grateful.

But something changed on the fourth day. During the organisation of the deck two storage room, we had a surprisevisitor and, for some reason, Arty completely shut down. One moment we were working side-by-side in a companionable silence, listening to Brin’s constant chatter while we settled into our system. Find an object, determine its purpose, place it into its respective pile to be sorted at a later date. Arty and I dug, Bromm ran them to the piles, and Foryk blocked Brin from destroying our progress.

But then the captain appeared, a face like thunder as he stormed into the room. He made a beeline for Arty, and we all halted where we were. Our tasks were forgotten as we watched everything unfold with a growing sense of unease.

They spoke in voices too low to discern, and the expression on Arty’s face grew darker and darker as he frowned at whatever was being said. Then he shook his head vehemently.

‘No, you’re mistaken. He would never do something like that and there was no possible way he was even in the vicinity.’ Arty’s voice was stern and certain, but the captain looked unmoved.

‘I’m informing you of what’s about to happen out of respect for your position as his team leader, Cadet, but I am apprehending Reece Hastings,’ the captain hissed through clenched teeth, and the world ground to a halt.

While Bromm and Foryk looked to one another for support, Arty made eye contact with Brin from the other side of the pile. She looked pissed, and she appeared ready to launch herself at the captain and claw his eyes out. We had gathered that she and the captain were close friends. We’d originally assumed they were involved in another capacity, but she shot that down as soon as Bromm gathered enough courage to bring it up.

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