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But then Serge leaned down and stage-whispered, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, "You're anassassin."

Morgan's shoulders visibly relaxed, and I felt my own tension ease slightly.

"I am," she confirmed, her lips curving into a small smile.

Serge straightened, looking around the table with exaggerated horror. "And that doesn't worry any of you? You're all just fine with it? Sitting here having dessert with a trained killer?"

Morgan laughed, as Serge’s purple hair flushed pink. "Assassin is just a nickname for cadets in the School of Strategy. We're strategists, not killers."

Serge gaped at her, then clamped his mouth shut and harrumphed. "Reina didn't tell me that! I'm going to have to call her again and give her a piece of my mind for scaring me like that."

He began pacing beside our table, hands gesticulating wildly. "I didn't believe her when she told me you two weren't involved," he babbled, waving between Morgan and me. "But then she said you were an Assassin, and well, that I believed! Now I'm back to not believing her about anything!"

He abruptly stopped pacing and pointed dramatically at the air. "I'm calling her right now to straighten this out!" Then he hurried away, still muttering to himself.

There was a moment of stunned silence at the table before Zoey burst into laughter. "I wish you hadn't told him the truth," she managed between giggles. "It would have kept him on his toes if he thought you might kill him at any moment."

Kalex chuckled, shaking his head. "Serge has always had a flair for the dramatic."

I exchanged a smile with Morgan, but beneath my amusement, unease coiled in my gut. If Serge suspected something between us and was discussing it with Reina, how long before others began to speculate? How long before word reached the academy?

Chapter

Fifty-One

Morgan

"Thanks again for dinner," I said, waving goodbye to Zoey and Kalex as I stepped into my fantasy suite. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The door slid shut with a soft hiss, and I leaned back against it, finally allowing my carefully constructed smile to fall away. I'd made excuses about being tired, about needing to catch up on sleep after the mission. It wasn't entirely a lie. My body was still recovering from the ration packs and stress. But the real reason I'd fled was Tivek's expression when Serge had mentioned us being an item.

The look that had crossed his face had been one of panic. The thought of others learning about us worried him.

I pushed away from the door and wandered deeper into the suite. I kicked off my shoes, feeling the polished teakwood beneath my feet as I made my way to the balcony doors. The fake moonlight bathed the room in a silvery glow, catching on the iridescent shells scattered artfully across the glass tables.

I shouldn’t blame Tivek for not wanting anyone to know about us. If I was being honest with myself, we'd had nothing more than a fling. Intense moments in a ship drifting through space and some admittedly mind-blowing sex. Hardly a relationship. Certainly not something you'd alter your career trajectory over.

I couldn't expect that from him, and I shouldn't consider it for myself.

The memory of my mother's voice drifted through my mind, sharp and bitter like the wine she'd drink late at night when the weight of her regrets became too heavy to bear sober.

"I could have been something, Morgan. I could have been anything."

She’d rarely talked about it directly, but I knew the story. She'd left college to marry my father, who'd never gone himself and had convinced her to quit. When those wine glasses were emptied, out would pour complaints about the hard life she'd had and how much better things would have been if she hadn't dropped everything for a man.

"Never do what I did,"she'd told me once, gripping my wrist so tightly it left marks."Never give up your dreams for a man. I loved your father, but sometimes love isn't enough."

A lump formed in my throat. I was sure Mom had died as early as she did because her life had been so hard, so full of resentment and what-ifs. She’d been as smart as me, but she’d had to work herself to the bone just so we could survive. Her one consolation had been seeing me accepted into the Air Force Academy. That had been proof, she said, that her daughter hadn’t repeated her mistakes.

What would she think of me now, even considering giving up the academy for a man?

I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. This was ridiculous. Tivek hadn't even asked me to give up anything.

Before I could sink any deeper into self-pity, a sharp beep from the door made me jump.

My heart thudded. Was it Tivek? Had he followed me after all? I wasn't ready. I needed more time to sort through this mess of feelings. Not that I could send him away or pretend I wasn’t inside. He’d seen me head for my room.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and pressed the button so the door could glide open.