Page 30 of Secrecy

Before I could ask what signal, he was moving, sprinting not away from the Kronock but toward them, firing as he went. The aliens, clearly startled by this suicidal charge, broke formation, which was probably just what Tivek had wanted. He slid beneath their blaster fire, coming up behind a console that provided both cover and access to the facility's systems.

His fingers flew over the controls, and suddenly the lights in the section went out, plunging us into darkness broken only by the flashing red of emergency beacons. The Kronock hissed in confusion, their bionic implants glowing eerily in the dark.

"Now!" Tivek's voice cut through the chaos.

I pulled Ariana with me, running as fast as her weakened condition allowed toward the corridor Tivek had indicated. Vyk and Torq followed, laying down covering fire that kept the disoriented Kronock at bay.

Tivek rejoined us as we rounded the corner, his breathing barely elevated despite the exertion. I couldn't help but notice Vyk eyeing him with newfound suspicion and respect. The security chief was realizing there was considerably more to the admiral's adjunct than he'd previously thought.

"The exit is two levels down," Tivek said, leading us toward a back ramp. "This will get us there faster than the main corridors."

We descended quickly, the pitch of the ramp steeper. The sounds of pursuit grew fainter as we put distance between ourselves and the Kronock security forces, finally emerging on the ground level.

"Almost there," Tivek murmured, checking around the corner before waving us forward.

We were heading toward the hidden entrance we'd used to enter the facility when a figure suddenly rounded the corner ahead, moving at a sprint. Vyk raised his weapon, finger already tightening on the trigger, when Tivek knocked his arm upward with surprising strength. The energy beam struck the ceiling instead of its intended target.

The Drexian who'd appeared skidded to a halt, his own weapon half-raised before recognition dawned on his face. "Tiv?"

The shock in his voice was matched only by the surprise on Tivek's face. Despite the same angular features, they couldn't have appeared more different. Where Tivek’s hair was short and his skin unmarked, his brother had long hair and black marks etched his arms.

“Deklyn," Tivek acknowledged, his voice strangely tight.

A movement behind Deklyn caught my attention. Then a human woman with long dark hair stepped into view. She was painfully thin and in desperate need of a good scrubbing, but I instantly recognized her. Ariana sagged against me, as if the relief had robbed her of her ability to stand.

"Sasha!" The name escaped her like a prayer.

The missing pilot rushed forward, enveloping her sister in a fierce embrace. I stepped back, giving them space for their reunion, a lump forming in my throat as I watched them cling to each other. After all the months of planning, all the sleepless nights Ariana had spent worrying, and all the risks we'd taken, this moment made everything worth it.

I glanced back at the brothers and found myself witnessing a very different kind of reunion. Deklyn had punched Tivek in the shoulder hard enough to make him wince, then pulled him into a rough hug, scruffing the top of his head like he was a child instead of a grown man.

"The academy pencil-pusher finally grew a pair," Deklyn laughed, his voice carrying a rough edge. "Wait until I tell everyone my little brother actually saw combat."

Tivek's expression was a complex mixture of affection, exasperation, and something else. Shame? Hurt? Frustration? He opened his mouth to reply, but another explosion rocked the facility, sending chunks of ceiling crashing down around us.

"Save the reunion for later," Vyk growled, already moving toward the exit. "Right now, we run."

Chapter

Twenty-One

Tivek

Istared at my brother, momentarily frozen by the shock of seeing him alive after so many months of uncertainty. Deklyn looked different. His face was smudged with soot and what appeared to be Kronock blood, his Inferno Force uniform was torn and patched in places, and his long hair was dirty. Yet his eyes held the same reckless confidence they always had.

Memories flooded through me: Deklyn teaching me to swim in Lake Vestra by throwing me in the deep end; Deklyn standing between me and our father's disappointment when I had to pretend to wash out of the academy; Deklyn leaving for Inferno Force while I remained behind, already being groomed for a different path but unable to tell anyone.

Relief washed over me, so powerful it nearly buckled my knees. He was alive. He was well. He was still the same cocky prick he'd always been.

That relief evaporated as Deklyn punched me hard in the arm and pulled me into a rough hug.

"The academy pencil-pusher finally grew a pair," he laughed, buffing his knuckles across the top of my head like I was still a child. "Wait until I tell everyone my little brother actually saw combat."

I flinched, not from the physical contact but from the words. To maintain my cover, I had to accept this teasing, had to play the role of the failed cadet turned administrative aide. But the cost of that deception had never stung quite so much as it did now, with Morgan watching, hearing my brother dismiss everything I was.

She would never know how many lives I'd saved with stolen intelligence, how many Drexian ships I'd kept from ambush with dangerously procured secrets. My brother would never know that while he was charging into battle, I was slipping into places no Drexian had ever infiltrated, retrieving information that had changed the course of the war multiple times.

I hated the flash of pity I saw in Morgan's eyes, hated even more that she was already angry with me for my lie about the kiss. Now I was compounding it with more lies to my brother.

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