Page 37 of Nova Academy

It might have been a form of torture to get their desired results, but I could grudgingly admit that those results came in handy more often than not.

‘Good. If your team leader’s ID number ends in an even number, you’re with Hum’Rit; odds are with Gwym; if you’re a multiple of five, you’re with me. Hop to it!’

Dorian’s number was two, so they headed to the Griknot corporal while Reece, Bromm, Foryk and I made our way towards the bright red, winged instructor. I didn’t miss the disappointment from Cadmus as he walked in the other direction from Corporal Gwym. It was the first time I’d seen him out of uniform, and so I’d never noticed the large purple wings protruding from his back.

Drakfern wings were private and intimate, if my research was correct. Unless they were flying, they kept them tucked away, strapped down and hidden under their clothes. They weren’t so conservative with them on their home planet. Visitors were rarely welcomed to their treetop cities and settlements. They still kept them away from public view around the others in the IU.

He caught my eye and, realising where I was looking, shimmied his wings and ruffled his feathers. A smirk graced his lips. He didn’t open them for me to get a better look, but I still appreciated the way the colours peaked through. Despite his obvious teasing, the show underscored with a blatantly sexual insinuation I wasn’t sure he meant, I struggled to pull my gaze away. I had to force my head to turn with the prospect of studying the corporal’s stunningly vibrant wings instead, though I would have to be more discreet in my observations. Culturally, staring at a Drakfern’s wings was anindication of sexual attraction and an invitation to act on it. I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.

He turned to us with a broad grin stretching across his cheeks, but it wasn’t comforting. There was a glint in his eyes that suggested we weren’t going to like what he had planned, and when he gestured to the weightlifting equipment behind him, I knew I was going to have to put forward my best acting skills.

I was strong. Too strong. And I was going to have to pretend to be less so for the purposes of this class, especially under the scrutiny of so many people.

It was time to put my acting skills to the test.

CHAPTER 18

Bromm

This.

Was.

Torture.

I wasn’t unfit, per se, but I certainly wasn’t built for repeatedly lifting heavy things. And then lifting heavier things once I’d proved I could do that. I was a lover, not a fighter, which might have seemed odd considering I’d just joined the military, but my body had never been pushed to the limit unless there was pleasure involved. Those were the limits I enjoyed.

These ones? Not so much.

I was huffing and puffing, my arms dangling at my sides like limp noodles and sweating profusely. I was sure I was more purple than blue at this point. It was, quite frankly, embarrassing as fuck. Everyone else was in better shape than me. Stars, Foryk was a damn beast and Reece wasn’t far behind, muscles bulging deliciously while they pushed themselves to their limits… But Arty was confusing me.

Just yesterday he’d been shovelling armful after armful of heavy loads from one room to another without even breaking a sweat. Even the captain was struggling, and the rest of us were panting like we’d run a marathon. But today? It was like yesterday had never happened and it wasn’t making any sense. How was he able to lift a damn engineon his ownone day and hardly be able to lift smaller weights than mine the next?

Perhaps he’d overdone it before and was paying for it today. If that were the case then it sucked to be him. I wouldn’t wish to trade places for anything.

But no, that wasn’t it. He was behaving as if he was struggling,but he was as dry as the sands of Gerinium. Was he pretending to struggle?

By the stars,why?

When I was sure everyone else was focused on their own training, I meandered over to Foryk. ‘Am I imagining things or is Arty faking it?’ I asked.

He sat up from the bench he’d been lying on, raising a heavy bar repeatedly like it was nothing. He studied Arty for a moment before a frown marred his rugged face.

‘His strength seems diminished from yesterday, yet he appears to be excreting no perspiration. I believe he is pretending.’

‘Why?’ I asked, even though I knew he wouldn’t have the answer.

Indeed, he didn’t. ‘Ask him.’

I smacked his shoulder, aghast. ‘I can’t just ask him, Ryk. He’s skittish enough as it is, and he’s clearly trying to downplay his strength for a reason. It would have to be a good one to go through this much effort, too.’

His shoulders bounced in another display of detached perplexity. ‘Ask him in private,’ he adjusted his previous answer, and then went back to his workout. It was clear he was still watching Arty, though, the mystery gripping him just as much as me even if he refused to show it.

Admittedly, I’d been watching the Terran. Pure-bred Terrans were a rarity so far away from Earth, so I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting one until now. There were a few more dotted throughout the new intake of cadets, but none so fascinating and bewildering as Arty Mercer.

I wanted to peel back his shields and reveal all his secrets. It was an unusual desire for me. I had always been the type to mind my own business beyond the occasional surface-level gossip. I liked some juicy details about a scandal, but I never involved myself. Being born to a regal family did not afford me much – if any –privacy from the public eye, so I tried to respect other’s personal lives as much as possible.

Respect others the way you wish them to respect you, my mother would say.

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