Page 64 of Nova Academy

Arty glanced back at Bromm and asked a question with nothing more than a raised eyebrow, but it was enough for him to get the gist. He paled slightly, but after his eyes darted to Arty it was clear what his decision was before he gave me permission with a jerky nod of his head.

‘Hey Tarren, have you met Prince Brommyt Min’Tuk?’ Arty asked, drawing the furious man’s attention successfully away from me.

‘I know what you’re doing,rapist sympathiser,’ he punctuated the words by spitting a glob of saliva at his feet. I was used to that sort of behaviour from him, but the others weren’t. The way they suddenly tried to form a barrier between Tarren and Arty proved they didn’t know the extent of the threat he posed. From the entire community in our hometown, actually. Spit was the least of our concerns. ‘It’s not going to work. Nothing will stop me from making sure this worthless waste of space gets what he deserves.’

The instructors arrived then and the bullies dispersed, but not without some more choice words thrown our way. The term ‘mutt’ was spat towards me with a degree of vitriol only Tarren and his sheep could achieve.

Arty, at first glance, seemed completely unflappable, but I noticed the way his back was ramrod straight and his knuckles were white as he fisted his hands.

‘Are you okay?’ Urman asked as they surrounded him in a conscious attempt to shield us from further attacks.

‘Yeah. There’s video evidence of the guy who actually committed the crime, so there’s nothing he can really do,’ he said.

‘Actually…’ I began, not wanting to burst their bubble but they needed to understand the full scope of the newest threat. ‘Tarren is from an incredibly powerful family. His parents are part of the IU’s governing body, and they have a considerable influence.’

‘So because he’s decided he doesn’t like us, he could still cause some damage?’ asked Henrik, trepidation colouring his tone.

‘Pretty much,’ I confirmed.

I expected Arty to deflate at that information, but he seemed to grow taller instead. He had gumption, that was for sure. I didn’t understand why he was here or what his intent was, but I did know that I was on his side until I saw proof he was an enemy, but I didn’t believe that to be the case. He had my loyalty so far.

But even after his protective display, what I’d overheard earlier sat at the forefront of my mind. I just hoped my loyalty was well-placed and deserved.

CHAPTER 28

Alexander

My thumb and forefinger pinched the skin between my eyes in a futile attempt to release the pressure that was still steadily building. What had started as a dull, background ache had transformed into a pounding stress headache that was persisting through all my efforts to soothe it.

I blew out a breath through a thin hole in my lips, my frustration growing. I was only a few days away from landing at Nova Academy where the cadets would start the bulk of their training. I would be forced to teach the little snots how to be decent, respectable officers alongside the skills they needed to succeed in the military. My girlfriend had befriended the most inadvertently troublesome cadet of the bunch. I had to open up my private space to keep them safe and under my watch.

Oh, and I still hadn’t found the assailant that brutally assaulted an officer onmyship, not to mention the idiotic team of cadets that attempted to sully an innocent man’s name, successfully redirecting my crew’s anger by pinning it on him.

And it’s still not over, because I was standing in the med bay over the prone, unconscious form of yet another one of my officers. She was just as brutalised as Katira, and what was worse? The most recent victim was the original victim’s roommate.

But that connection just created even more questions than answers. It wasn’t possible to get her story until she awoke from her induced coma. Instead, all I could do was stare down at her bruised, bloody, thoroughly pulverised body and let the questions and the stress swirl around my head like a tornado of destruction.

Fuck, I needed a drink.

‘When are you waking her up?’ I directed the question to thearray of nurses and doctors bustling about the room.

‘If all goes well tonight, we’ll try waking her tomorrow. It just depends on how long it takes for the swelling in her brain to go down,’ Doctor Klum, the senior doctor on call informed me. I’d guessed as much. Her head was smashed in less than Katira’s, but the wounds to her body were more extensive and were clearly made with more thought and intent than before. Katira’s attack was passionate and personal,spontaneous, whereas Ari’s gave off the impression that it was planned. As if the attacker had lain in wait, used the element of surprise, then followed through.

Unlike Katira, Ari’s cuts were shallower, though there was more of them, and the cuts themselves were neater, as if completed with precise intent. Katira’s were sloppy, as if the attacker had snapped and taken out his anger on her body. Ari’s wounds indicated a level of forethought that suggested she may have known more about the original attack than she’d let on.

Had he threatened her and followed through to ensure she kept her mouth shut?

Was this a warning for more than just Ari, possibly even directed at me?

Was he playing mind games, proving to me just how much damage and trauma he could inflict on my crew right under my nose? Did it even have anything to do with me at all, or was it just my ego?

But there were no more answers to be found in the med bay. I bid the medical team a good day with instructions to keep me informed of any changes and secluded myself in my room as soon as I could get there.

My breath stuttered as it left my body, but the emptiness and the blessed silence was welcome and needed. I had to pull myself together to be the pillar for the rest of my crew. And the cadets. I hadn’t forgotten that Katira’s younger brother was part of this year’s intake and had barely moved from her side all week. I’d hadto threaten him with failure and dismissal in order to get him back to class with the others. It wasn’t for lack of sympathy, but he would fail out of Nova Academy if he didn’t put in the effort. His sister was alive, awake, and healing, so there was no more reason for him to miss classes.

But now wasn’t the time to let thoughts of all the shit that had piled up in. Now was the time to clear my head, breathe, and simply exist for a little while without it weighing down on me.

But even that didn’t last.

---