Page 50 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)

Chapter

Fifty

Tivek

I kept a firm hold of General Bowman’s shoulder while Admiral Zoran held the other and Captain Kalex strode briskly in front of us.

“Where are you taking me?” Bowman tried to shake off my grip, but I dug my fingers into the fabric of his uniform.

“To the brig,” Kalex snapped without sparing him a glance.

The Earth general attempted to wrest himself from us again, but Admiral Zoran spun the man to face him so sharply I had to release his shoulder.

The human wasn’t small for a human, but Drexians still towered over all but the tallest Earthling.

Zoran fisted a hand in the general’s uniform below the neck and nearly lifted him off his feet.

“You have just admitted to treason and cowardice for your own political ideology in front of my officers, your own colleagues, and a good deal of Earth. If I were you, I would not bother with protesting your rights or your innocence.”

“But I’m a citizen of Earth,” the man blustered, his face reddening.

“And you are on a Drexian space station,” growled Zoran. “The next time you want to brag about how strong Earth is and how you don’t need Drexian help, maybe think about where you are.”

That shut him up long enough for Zoran to drop him to his feet. The admiral let his gaze drift to me, and he gave me a brief nod. “I’ve got this, Tiv.”

Before I could argue that I was happy to assist, I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. Morgan was rushing toward me, concern etched on her face.

I returned the admiral’s knowing look. “Thank you, sir.”

Then Kalex took the general’s other arm, and he and Zoran continued dragging the man through the station and toward a little-seen area where we kept prisoners.

I wasn’t sure what would happen to the criminal, but knowing the Drexian’s low tolerance for cowardice and xenophobia, it didn’t look good for him.

Not that I believed he should get anything less than the treatment he subjected his own daughter to.

I only wondered how many other Earth dignitaries would also pay for their cruelty.

Once the general had been escorted around the corner of the corridor and out of sight, Morgan ran up to me. “Are you okay? I saw you help subdue Sasha’s father and drag him away. It looked like he was fighting you, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

I smiled at the pale-haired woman. “And if it wasn’t? If he’d gotten loose, what was your plan?”

Her cheeks flushed, and she lifted her chin defiantly. “You clearly haven’t seen a girl-fight. I was going to jump on his back and pull his hair.”

I couldn’t help laughing at this. “I would have enjoyed watching that.”

She playfully slapped me on the chest. “Just because I’m smaller than you doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

I sobered instantly, remembering how courageous she’d been during Sasha’s rescue. “I would never accuse you of being weak. If I’ve learned one thing about human women, it’s that you’re much tougher than your smaller stature would indicate.”

She smiled. “I’m going to take that as a weirdly worded compliment.”

I pulled her close to me, grateful that the corridor was empty and all the drama remained near the chaotic wedding venue.

After witnessing something so shocking, I needed to hold Morgan and remind myself that there were still those who valued the Earth-Drexian alliance and still humans who valued our friendship.

She wrapped her arms around me, burying her head in my chest and squeezing.

Then she peered up so she could meet my gaze.

“You know that Bowman and his cronies don’t speak for most humans, right?

It’s only those on the fringe who are terrified of change and outsiders who think like this.

Most humans understand Drexians have only tried to help Earth and only want a powerful alliance that benefits everyone. ”

I nodded at this, but the general’s hateful rhetoric still rang in my ears.

As a Drexian, I’d come from a species who’d known substantial loss and who’d also learned early on that there was strength in alliances.

It was why we’d recolonized and integrated species who’d been driven from their planets and why we’d embraced diversity.

We knew all too well that we would never survive without human mates and that Earth would not remain intact without us sharing our advanced technology to fight off the Kronock.

“After our peoples have worked together successfully for so long, it is troubling to know that there are those who hate us because we’re different,” I admitted, my chest tight.

She pressed her splayed hands to my chest. “You can’t listen to the hate.

It will always be there because there will always be those who are so weak they feel threatened by anything different.

It’s happened over and over on Earth. That doesn’t mean there aren’t millions of people on Earth who embrace change and value our alliance.

What’s also happened over and over on Earth is people coming together to help each other during hard times. ”

I dredged up a smile for her. “I am grateful that you’re one of the people who values our alliance and cares about Drexians.”

Her smile edged toward something mischievous. “I’d say my feelings are stronger than just caring.”

Heat blossomed in my chest as my pulse quickened. “As are mine.”

She curled one hand around my neck and pulled me down so we were eye to eye. “If you think this changes anything about us, you’re crazy. I still know there’s no one in the galaxy I’d rather be with than you.”

My throat tightened. “And out of all the females in the known universe, I would pick you again and again, Morgan.”

She let her fingers drift low enough to brush across the node at the nape of my neck. “Prove it, Shadow.”

I instinctively glanced around the corridor, but there was no one to hear her and no one to watch me crush my mouth to hers, curling my arms around her and lifting her off the ground.

When I finally lowered her back to the polished floor, she was breathing hard as she gazed up at me. “What are the chances of our getting one of those fantasy suites for the night?”

“Since they are reserved for engaged couples, I suppose you’ll have to give your official agreement to marry me.”

Her pupils flared wide, and an expression of pure joy transformed her face. “Then, I do.”