Page 29 of Nova Academy

Which was how I found myself eagerly welcoming Dorian and the other three I hadn’t met yet, while the boys were standing back, lost and confused. The poor sweet things.

Speaking of boys, I needed to get Arty alone. After accidently feeling him up when I’d tackled him to the floor yesterday, I had some questions.

But it seemed it was my turn to provide some answers first. ‘Guys, you already know Cadet Corporal Ituk. He and his team have just been assigned as your protection detail for the duration of the investigation. How fun!’

Foryk looked like his muscles were about to triple in size as he considered raging around the room, destroying everything in sight. It was obvious that he viewed himself as the team’s primary protector, and while he could still hold onto the role, having additional protection outsourced was probably a blow to his toxically masculine ego. I could see it behind his eyes, that wholeme man, me protectmantra repeating over and over in his brain.

Meh, he’d just have to get over it.

Bromm seemed nonplussed, already digging through the piles as he got back to work. Reece looked pleased, though he eyed the three complete strangers behind him warily. At the end of the day, it was extra muscle and an additional barrier between them and those that were targeting them.

Arty, on the other hand, didn’t react. Like,at all. He was studying the new group like he could peer deep into their souls and uncover each and every one of their deepest, darkest secrets. Perhaps he could. I was not privy to any evidence that suggested the existence of preternatural powers, but that didn’t mean that didn’t exist.

‘Well, come on in. Don’t just stand there. There’s lots of work to do. Chop-chop!’ I beckoned them further inside.

‘So, we’re going through each pile one by one and sorting them into smaller piles. We’ve got a good system going, see. With you lothere, you can work on another pile at the same time and it’ll fly by twice as fast!’ I exclaimed, excited. It had been far too long since my workshop was clear and organised, and I was looking forward to being able to find what I needed immediately and without fear of being crushed under a mountain of metal.

The new guys stood back and watched the others work for a moment before Dorian approached me. ‘Uh, our job is supposed to be more of a… security focused gig. I think it would be better to have us posted outside the door,’ he tried.

‘Nope. No one is supposed to know about your assignment. Didn’t Xander tell you?’ I informed him, then whispered for dramatic effect. ‘It’s a secret mission.’

‘Xander?’ he questioned.

‘Oh, uh, Captain Hironimus. We’re friends, so I’m used to the informality. Sometimes I forget.’

‘Right. So… secret mission. Work on the piles. Keep up the pretence of a typical cadet shift of manual labour. Got it.’

He sauntered over to his friends and they studied Arty’s team before copying their actions.

By the end of the shift, it was clear that more hands were better. We achieved far more than before. There was actual space to move around now which was justweird. Workshops were supposed to be full of stuff taking up every available surface. We weren’t supposed to see the floor.

I knew that wasn’t true, but it just felt so strange to stand inside a semi-tidy workspace. It wasn’t, well,me.

Oh well. Adapt and keep moving forward, or whatever the saying was.

I followed the cadets outside as they left, though their destination was the mess hall while mine was my room. I usually had someone deliver my meals so I could avoid the more populated areas of the ship. While I was aware of how others perceived me and I didn’t particularly care what they thought of me, it was stilla nuisance trying to socialise or wedge myself into a conversation I wasn’t exactly welcome in.

It was hard to make friends when everyone thought you were the weird kid. Even my own family didn’t want me around, so it wasn’t as if I blamed them. I was used to it. That’s why I held on so tightly to my friendship with Xander, and why I’d flagged Arty as potential friend material and decided to snag him up before anyone else could. I had the same instinct about Arty as I did about Xan all those years ago, and nobody could say I didn’t follow my gut.

But those same feelings were screaming at me that something was off about him. Not off as in he was a bad person, but more like he was hiding something. Something didn’t add up. There was a puzzle piece missing.

It wasn’t until the other day that I realised it wasn’t a missing puzzle piece, but an entirely different one wedged into a slot that it didn’t fit. He was a mysterious guy through and through, and it sparked my intrigue to the point of obsession. I’d watched him every moment we were in the same room. I’d even gone so far as to pull up his file to dig deeper into his past, but that was a little too obtrusive even for me, so I exited out of it without looking.

I knew I could be obsessive on occasion. I’d latch on and hyper-focus on something or someone, and if it were a living being then it would typically end up scaring them off. Xander was the only one who wasn’t afraid of the intensity of my friendship and loyalty. Until Arty.

I didn’t particularly want to befriend the others, but team dynamics ensured they were a packaged deal, so I was trying with them, too. Though they didn’t outright shun me, they weren’t exactly seeking me out, either. They tolerated me, and that was enough. The feeling was mutual.

Before they hopped into the elevator, I called out. ‘Arty, a moment?’

He glanced toward the others that were already inside, butReece let him know they’d wait for him on the upper deck, then reached over to press the button to close the door. Dorian’s immediate protests were cut off by the door closing on him, and we were left alone as they climbed the decks.

‘What’s up?’ he asked.

I pulled him back towards my workshop. And that’s what it was. It amused me how they all thought it was just an overflowing storage room. I was having too much fun waiting for them to figure it out so I hadn’t corrected them.

When the door swished shut behind us, I turned around to face him. Or rather,her.

‘I know you’re a girl,’ I blurted, and watched with morbid fascination as the colour completely drained from her face.

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