Chapter 304

“So!” Faiza says, flopping into her chair and cooly lifting the heels of her boots onto her desk as she grins wickedly at me. “I like the new addition to your harem. He’s cute.” She again wrinkles her nose.

My hands still in the process of unwrapping my breakfast as I lift my eyes to hers, shocked. “My…harem?”

“Sure,” she says, grinning deeply, “your little harem of Alpha boys deeply dedicated to serving your every want and need. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. If you’re ever looking to loan them out –“

I groan, sinking into my chair and rolling my eyes at her as I snag a chocolate-covered donut. I take a big bite as I pour a cup of coffee into a mug waiting on the desk. “Take ‘em,” I say, my voice dry. “Give me some peace and quiet.”

“Oh please,” Faiza says, still grinning at me as she reaches for the carafe of coffee after I’ve filled my cup. “If I actually thought you’d loan out the hot one, I’d think about it. But I know you’re more selfish than you’re pretending to be.”

“Damn right I am,” I growl, making her laugh as I lean back in my chair and grin at my professor. As she continues to laugh I study Faiza, thinking – not for the first time - that I really admire her. Not only is she a badass, she just…moves through the world with such a sense of confidence. I wish I could be more like that.

“The new boy is cute, though a little scrawny for me,” she says when her laughter fades, sitting back with her coffee pressed between her palms. She quirks a single brow. “But how’s your brother doing? He’s not scrawny at all, is he?”

“Ugh, Faiza,” I sigh, letting my eyes drift shut and shaking my head slightly. “This cannot be part of my education.”

“Oh, come on, a girl gets curious and lonely in this big cold stone house!”

“Hands off my harem,” I say, letting my eyes slowly narrow to a glare. “There are two hundred-some boys in this Castle. Pick one of those to tear to emotional pieces.”

Her vicious grin deepens. “No fun, cream puff, you got all the hot ones. Besides,” she tilts her head to the side, studying me. “Not two hundred any more, are there?”

I sigh, my blood going cold as I realize that she’s right. I take a long sip of my coffee, wanting both the warmth and the energy, before looking up at her again. “Do you know what happened? Were they sent to the front?”

“They were,” she says quietly, holding my gaze, her face falling into more serious lines. “And to various other points, according to their specialties. It’s…it’s getting very serious, Ariel.”

“Will we get called up too?” My hands tighten as I wait for her answer.

“I don’t have any insight into what the higher-ups are thinking,” she answers quietly. “But I think you will.”

“Why do you think that?” My question is a hoarse whisper, full of dread.

She sighs long through her nose, looking away from me, not trying to keep anything from me but, instead, deciding how to answer. “Did you know that my dad has sent almost every spy he has out to Atalaxia?” she asks, staring into space a bit. “Every one of them as trained as I am, up to a Neumann-level of stealth and skill?”

“No,” I answer, my voice still soft. I had no idea that there was an espionage component to this war – most of what we hear about is fervent fighting on the front. But, of course, the secrecty makes sense.

“Well, he did,” Faiza says, turning her eyes back to me. “And do you know what the results have been? How much information we’ve gotten from them?”

I stare at her and shake my head no.

“We’ve got nothing, Ariel,” Faiza says, leaning towards me, her face grim. Quite suddenly I miss my playful, flirty, dangerous professor. This Faiza that has been brought down to the grim reality of this war – she’s even more terrifying. “Not a single one of his spies has responded. And not a single one has come back.”

All the blood leaves my face.

She twists her lips, regretting the news. “He’s sending me today.”

“What!?” I gasp, sloshing my coffee onto the floor as I lean forward towards her in shock. “Faiza, no!”

“We need the intel, Ari,” she says, holding my eyes and shaking her head sadly at me. “If it were a time of peace we could spare me at the front, but with everyone gone and me the best…” she holds up a hand, asking me to see that this is the only path.

“Faiza,” I say, my voice croaking on her name, suddenly desperately afraid for her and not wanting her to go. “Please…”

“Aw, kid,” she says, shaking her head at me and leaning back in her chair, taking a casual sip of her coffee. “I know you’re not going to ask me to stay. Ask me to do something you yourself absolutely would not do, if you were called to do the same.”

I hang my head, knowing that she’s right, my fingers clenched hard around my slippery mug of coffee. “We’re just not…done here…” I growl, angry at the world for taking her away. “And I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” she says, too brash, too casual. I lift my eyes to meet hers again, taking in her confident smile. “I’ll be back in a few weeks to kick your ass again.”

I sigh, shaking my head, hating it. “Where are they sending you?”

“That info is above your paygrade, kid,” she says, giving me a wink and pointing a finger-gun at me.

“Come on,” I sigh, tilting my head to the side, begging her.

“Fine,” she says, laughing with a shrug. “It’s not public knowledge, so please keep it under wraps but…they’re sending me deep behind lines to see what I can learn about military plans. I’m actually taking a leaf from your book,” she says, her smile deepening, “dressing like a boy.”

This news sparks a grin as I let my eyes sweep over her feminine form, her deliberately tantalizing outfit. “You’re going to hate it.”

She bursts out laughing and nods. “I know,” she sighs. “But…just for a short time. I’ll get through it.”

“And you’ll be safe?” I ask, my eyes going wide.

“Oh, we’re not doing the whole sentimental thing,” Faiza says, waving a hand at me as she pulls her feet from the desk and scoots her chair forward. “I’ll be fine, Ariel – I wouldn’t be a Neumann if I couldn’t do this. But what we have to talk about is what you’re going to do in my absence.”

I open my mouth to protest, to beg for more information, but the look she gives me – hard and pleading in its own way – begs me to let it go. To let her go and do her job without a big fuss or any declarations. Slowly I close my mouth, and clench my jaw, and nod to her.

She smiles and nods back. And in that quite simple gesture I know that I not only have a professor that I trust, but a friend for life. That what is between us runs much, much deeper than a job.

Even if we don’t talk about it.

Slowly, a smile takes my lips. “There’s the nation’s princess,” Fazia says, giving me a smirk. “Now, lean in and eat some of these pastries with me,” she says, picking up a muffin and tearing off a piece before handing it to me. “We’ve got future lesson plans to discuss, and I’m going to be pissed if I come back and you haven’t been doing your homework.”

“Yes ma’am, yes ma’am,” I sigh, leaning forward and taking the proffered muffin. Then, as I take a bite, Faiza lays out her plans for what I’m to study in her absence.

And my eyes again go wide with surprise.