Page 49

Chapter

Forty-Nine

Morgan

Z oey and I strolled along the cobbled walkway of the station's promenade side by side. Behind us, Tivek and Kalex were deep in conversation, their deep voices a low rumble that occasionally rose and fell in volume.

Dinner had been nice, if a bit awkward. The food had been good. Better than the offerings at the academy, which made sense considering the number of humans on the station, but it had been hard to sit at the same table as Tivek and not dwell on what I knew.

"So, the Assassins actually study strategy, not assassination?" Zoey asked, tucking a short strand of dark hair behind her ear.

I laughed. "It's just the name. We're experts at battle plans, maps, things like that. Though I'll admit, the name did make for some interesting reactions when I told people back home what school I got into.”

"I’ll bet." Zoey smiled, her gaze drifting to the row of shops lining the walkway, their windows glowing with warm light. "And you were one of the first human females at the academy? That must have been intense."

"It was challenging." I chose my words carefully, thinking back to those first days. “Not all Drexians were thrilled to have us there. Some thought we'd lower their standards."

"And did you?"

I gave her a grin. “Let’s put it this way, without the female cadets from Earth, most of the first-years wouldn’t have survived the maze trials.”

“The maze trials?” She blinked at me. “Do I want to know?”

“You do not.”

She laughed at this, which made guilt stab me. Zoey was warm and genuinely interested. I should have been fully engaged in our conversation, but my mind kept circling back to Tivek and what I’d overheard.

A burst of laughter from Tivek pulled me from my thoughts. It was such a rare sound that I almost turned to look, but I stopped myself. I couldn't keep getting distracted by him.

You know better than to let a man distract you, Morgan. And you know way better than to plan your life around one.

I brushed aside the voice in my head, aware that it wasn’t my own.

“So, were you a tribute bride?" I asked Zoey abruptly. "Is that how you ended up here?"

Zoey burst out laughing, then clamped a hand over her mouth "Oh gosh, no way. That was the absolute last thing I ever wanted to be."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Then how...?"

"I was the first astro-architect for the station," she explained, a hint of pride in her voice.

"I helped design this place. I came here to oversee the construction, fully planning to go back to Earth when it was done.

" She glanced over her shoulder at Kalex with a smile that softened her entire face.

"Then I ended up with him, despite my best intentions. "

"I can hear you, you know," Kalex called from behind us, his gruff voice carrying a note of amusement.

"Good," Zoey called back. "Then you can verify that it wasn't my idea."

"It was my charm that won you over," he responded, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

Zoey rolled her eyes dramatically. "His 'charm' consisted primarily of barking orders and scowling at my blueprints."

"You loved it," Kalex growled, and the heat in his voice made me blush slightly.

I felt a pang of something as I watched their easy banter. They'd been opposites in lots of ways and somehow made it work.

"Did you ever worry about what would happen if Kalex had to leave the station?" I asked, trying to keep my tone casual. "I mean, would you have gone with him?"

Zoey shrugged, her gaze tipped up to the enormous open space rising above us "We'd figure it out. That's what you do when you love someone, right? You make it work, whatever 'it' turns out to be."

I chewed my lower lip, pondering her words. From what I’d seen, making it work for love didn’t always turn out so well. Someone always had to make the bigger sacrifice, and someone always lost more. I didn’t know if I could be that person, no matter how I felt about Tivek.

The scent of something rich and sweet pulled me from my thoughts as Zoey suddenly grabbed my arm, pointing to a small café tucked between a clothing boutique and a bookstore.

"We have to stop here," she insisted. "Their desserts are incredible. They have this Gatazoid pastry chef who does things with sugar that shouldn't be physically possible."

Before I could protest, she was leading us toward a small table on the outdoor patio.

Tivek caught my eye as we all settled into our seats, his expression unreadable in the glow of the café's lanterns.

The tension between us was so thick I could almost taste it, mingling with the coffee and caramel scents wafting from the open door.

A server approached, tablet in hand, but before they could speak, there was a blur of purple and the rapid clomp of heels.

"Well, well, well!" Serge planted both hands on his hips, one foot tapping a rapid rhythm on the cobblestones as he fixed me with a stern gaze. "You've been keeping a secret from me!"

My heart lurched into my throat. Heat flooded my cheeks as my brain frantically tried to process how he could possibly know what had happened between Tivek and me on the mission, and what had happened after.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.