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“And frankly, Lieutenant, your cover at the academy has likely reached its natural conclusion. Fresh assignments prevent complacency."

Tivek had been at the academy for a long time, watching and reporting while everyone believed him to be nothing more than the admiral's quiet, efficient adjunct. I'd only known him for months, had only discovered his true identity days ago, and yet the thought of him leaving created a hollow ache in my chest.

"This isn't a request you need to answer immediately," the Drexian said. "But do not take too long.”

“Understood,” Tivek said.

“Good. Is there anything else you need to tell me about the mission before I go?”

Tivek didn’t take more than a breath. “Nothing.”

“Then I will leave you. Again, good work, Lieutenant.”

There was movement in Tivek's suite and the sound of the door gliding open and closed again. He was alone again.

I remained frozen in place, still processing what I'd overheard. A promotion. A new assignment. Tivek leaving the academy and me to go under cover on Earth. And he hadn't refused. He'd agreed to consider it. And he hadn’t mentioned me.

He hadn’t told his handler what had happened between us or recommended me as a possible Shadow.

My hands gripped the balcony railing so tightly my knuckles whitened. The rational part of me understood that this was a major opportunity for Tivek. I should be happy for him, supportive of his career advancement. I shouldn’t expect him to take me into consideration. Not after such a short time together. But all I could feel was the dread of loss.

I stepped back from the balcony railing, suddenly not wanting to see Tivek. How could I compete with the life and job he'd spent years investing in?

The simple answer was that I couldn't. And perhaps I shouldn't try.

Chapter

Forty-Six

Tivek

The door slid closed, and I leaned against it, finally allowing my composure to crack. The timing couldn't have been worse. After years of dedicated service, after countless missions where I'd risked everything for Drex, the Shadow Council was finally recognizing my work with a position most operatives could only dream of.

Autonomy. Influence. The ability to shape our dealings with Earth.

It was everything I'd worked toward, and it had arrived precisely when I'd found a reason to stay exactly where I was.

I pushed away from the door, suddenly desperate to see Morgan, desperate to talk to her. I needed to sort through the tangle of thoughts and emotions churning inside me, and somehow, despite knowing her for such a short time, she'd become the person I trusted most to help me make sense of it all.

Without bothering to check my appearance again, I left my suite and strode the short distance to her door. My knuckles had barely grazed the panel when it slid open, revealing Morgan in the pale green dress Serge had selected for her.

She was breathtaking. The fabric clung to her curves before flowing gracefully to the floor, and her pale hair had dried into soft waves that framed her face perfectly. But something in her expression made me pause. There was a stiffness that hadn't been there before and a distance in her eyes that set alarm bells ringing in my mind.

"Morgan," I started, not entirely sure what I wanted to say, only knowing I needed to say something.

"We should go," she interrupted, stepping past me into the corridor. "We're expected for dinner with the captain, right?"

I frowned, falling into step beside her. The sudden coolness was jarring. Had I done something wrong? Had she regretted what happened between us?

"Is everything all right?" I asked quietly as we walked along the pathway over the water.

"Fine," she replied, too quickly. "This place is amazing, isn't it? The holo technology is light-years beyond what we have at the academy. It really feels like we're walking on a beach somewhere on Earth."

She was chattering nervously, a behavior I'd never observed in her before. Morgan was typically measured, thoughtful with her words. This rapid-fire commentary about the station's technological achievements felt like a deliberate distraction.

"It's impressive," I agreed cautiously. "But Morgan?—"

"I wonder how they create the sensation of humidity without making it uncomfortable. If they could transfer that technology to Earth, they’d make a fortune.”