Omega Academy

by Lily Archer

  “He’s the, ah, the, he’s Commander Origami!” She grins, triumph in her eyes.

  “Close.” I scroll so she can see the caption beneath the spy photograph. “Oruwani.”

  “Are they really going to test us on these impossible names?” She leans back, lying on the edge of the fountain as the spray creates a rainbow over her head.

  “Yes.”

  “What does it matter? If I ever see Mister Origami, I won’t care what he’s called, I’ll be running in the other direction.”

  “No, you won’t. You’ll stand your ground.” I drop my voice. “With your circle.”

  “So you’re saying the four of us cadets can somehow defeat a giant cyborg fighter with a mechanical nightmare pincer?”

  “Yes.” I follow the curved lines of her body, the curve of her hips, the way her breasts press against the fabric of her shirt. There are no females like this on the flotilla, none that I can recall anyway. I try to think of the right word for what she is. Lush, maybe? Her body was made to be explored, preferably with my tongue.

  “Earth to Jeren.” She frowns at me. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “Yeah.” I tune back in, because if I don’t stop thinking about getting her naked, my knot might rupture. “But tell me again, just in case.”

  “Jerk.” She kicks at me, but I grab her ankle and run my hands up her calf, massaging it.

  She sighs. “You owe me this, especially after you made me run all those laps before sparring this morning.”

  “You asked for help.” I grin and knead her muscle. “I gave it.”

  She keeps her voice low as a group of Betas walk past, their eyes on us. “I was saying that none of you have explained what the circle is going to do to us. Like, you sort of glossed over the particulars.”

  “I don’t know all the details, not really. But I can tell you about the last circle.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. Let’s do story time.” She makes a high-pitched noise as I press my thumb higher, now against her lower thigh. The edge of her skirt is like a dare. But I won’t go that far. At least, I don’t think I will.

  “In the last war, the circle was called to defend the fleet. They each came from a different race. One Alpha was a Bellatian—”

  “Krenallus.” She points to the familiar one.

  “Yes.” I marvel at her smooth skin. “Where is your hair?” I inspect her leg more closely.

  “Hey.” She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her.

  “I thought humans were supposed to have body hair.” I researched every bit of her race. I may even know more than Kyte at this point, and he’s always got his nose in a text.

  “We do. But I shaved this morning.”

  “Why would you shave?”

  “It’s just what we do.” She shrugs, her cheeks turning a pretty pink. “Body hair isn’t a big hit on Earth, I guess. You don’t like that I shave?”

  “I do.” I slide my fingers a bit farther along her soft thigh. I wouldn’t care if she were covered in fur, but the smooth skin definitely has its allure.

  “Focus.” She pushes my hand back.

  My knot is already aching. Great. “The next Alpha was from the edges of the Rift. An Erilerean. He was already known throughout the galaxies for his skills as a healer. They said he’d learned his abilities at the foot of the Pillars.” I point to his statue, his famed jowls falling almost to his waist.

  “Too bad he was the ugliest one.” She relaxes as I attack her other calf.

  “Eo was considered the most handsome male his race had ever seen.” Kyte strides up and leans against Eo’s leg.

  “Today’s my day.” I look up at him. I want her all to myself. My kinship with Kyte and Ceredes is growing, but that doesn’t mean I’m keen to share my Lana time with them.

  “I know. But I’m the history tutor, remember?” He grins and watches as I massage Lana’s leg. When hunger enters his gaze, I can’t seem to tell if I’m possessive of her, or if I want to watch the two of them together until it’s my turn to join.

  “I’ve got this lesson.” I try to sound pissed.

  “Fine. Just wanted to drop by.” He leans down and whispers something in her ear.

  I can hear it, of course. The senses are a Larenoan’s main weapons as well as defenses. My hearing is far beyond what is normal in other races. “I can’t wait to have you tomorrow.” Then he strolls away, though I can tell he won’t go far. Ceredes is nearby, too, his gaze on us from a window in the library. Oddly, it feels good to have them so close.

  “Okay, next?” She points to the female with the mane of hair down the center of her head, the sides shaved closed, and a smile that hints at wickedness on her face.

  “She’s the most famous of them all. The Omega Valnox. Nox, for short. She was the center of the circle. When their circle was sealed, her power manifested at even greater levels than her Alphas. When she was connected to her circle, she could change molecular structures, disintegrate an entire squadron of enemy ships with nothing more than a thought. She was the true power that destroyed the Sentients in the last war.”

  “Is that what’s going to happen to me?” She rubs her temples. “I don’t think I can handle that.”

  “Don’t worry.” I ease my touch. “I don’t know what will happen when we seal our circle, but whatever it is, we will deal with it. Together.”

  “But I’m not a fighter.”

  I smirk. “Not yet. But we’ve got a few weeks before the ball. I think I can whip you into shape by the end of term.”

  She quiets, her eyes on Nox. I can’t imagine what worries are swirling in her mind. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned how powerful the circle Omega can become. But then again, it’s not a guarantee. Who knows what the Pillars have in store for any of us?

  “And the last one?” She taps the foot of the statue above her head.

  “Commander Byran. He’s famous, too. A war hero that eventually broke his own circle.”

  “Why?”

  “After the Sentients were banished to the Rift, he became obsessed with Nox. His love for her twisted into something ugly, and he wanted her power for himself. If he could wield it, he could rule not just the fleet, but every known galaxy. No one would dare challenge him if he could dust them with only a thought. She wouldn’t go along with his plan, wouldn’t break the circle and leave with him.”

  “What happened?”

  “Byran broke the circle by killing Eo.”

  “Jeez.” She shudders. “That got dark really quick.”

  “Power corrupted him. Or, I suppose, his desire for it did.”

  “Preach.” She shakes her head. “That’s some Star Wars shit right there.”

  “What?”

  “Anakin was fine until he got the idea that he could be all powerful. And then what happened? Darth frickin’ Vader. That’s what.” She drags her fingers across the surface of the pool.

  “I’m lost.” I force myself to pull my hands back to her ankles despite the beckoning hem of her skirt.

  “It’s a story. Not a true one like yours, but it has the same sort of themes, I guess. Thirst for power, wanting to control the ones you care about, love turning into obsession and eventually hate.” She makes a small noise, as if she’s come to a conclusion. “I suppose some things are sort of universal.”

  I look at her, seeing all the potential she has locked inside, and knowing the shadows that haunt her steps. She is mine, and I am hers. I know it down to my bones. “I suppose some things are.”

  Kyte strikes from a distance, the jolt of energy like a stinger in my back. I turn toward him, then dart hard to my left as he throws another burst of pain my way.

  Ceredes is waiting for me, his practice foil slicing through the air and missing my nose by nothing more than a whisper.

  “Not the face!” I yell and barrel toward him. “I’m too pretty to ever accept a face wound.”

  He sidesteps but keeps his foot in my path. I trip and fall. He
rushes forward, readying a death blow. Once he’s almost on top of me, I spring my trap. Swiveling my legs, I nail him in the back of the ankles and send him toppling.

  Kyte circles to my left. I backflip across the sparring room floor, dodging his energy strikes and landing just behind him, Ceredes’s sword in my hand and pointed at Kyte’s neck.

  “The shadow isn’t messing around.” Kyte turns his head to look at me over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised.

  A blast from Ceredes stuns me, and I fall to the mat. He stalks up, an energy pistol in his hand.

  “Bastard.” I fight through the pain.

  “You let your guard down.” He offers his hand.

  I take it and let him pull me to my feet, the sizzle of the blaster hit dissipating. “I’d already bested you, anyway.”

  “Yeah?” Ceredes grins. “Check your six.”

  I feel behind me and pull a sticky grenade free from the back of my shirt.

  “You would’ve been incinerated during your fancy flips if that had been real.” Ceredes tosses his foil onto the wall, where it lands perfectly in its scabbard.

  “Maybe, but I would’ve already cut your throat.”

  “So you’re saying I’m the only one who would’ve survived this exercise?” Kyte gives a bow. “Winner, winner, Cartax dinner.”

  “Cartax again?” I pull my sweaty shirt off and head for the empty showers. We’ve had this training room to ourselves for the afternoon.

  “The menu doesn’t change too much. And, apparently, the Cartax are an easy hunt since they’re nearby for their annual rutting season.”

  “I’d rather eat the chunky protein soup.” I strip the rest of the way and wave my hand over the shower console. Cool water cascades down, and I lean my head back to get some in my mouth.

  Kyte stands next to me, his warm water splashing my way. “How can you stand to take such cold showers?”

  I shrug. “The flotilla couldn’t waste its engine power to heat water, so I grew up with nothing but cold baths.” I frown at the console. “In fact, this water is never cold enough for me.”

  Ceredes leans against the wall, the water sluicing down his back. “I can’t stop thinking about her.”

  I groan. “Don’t bring her up right now.” If I think about her naked here in the shower with us … Shit, too late.

  Kyte smirks. “I think Jeren means he doesn’t want you to bring anything up right now.” He soaps himself as I lean back and let the cold water hit me where I need it the most.

  “She’s not even in her needing.” Ceredes bounces his forehead off the white tile. “But I still can’t seem to stop wanting her.”

  “Feeling’s mutual.” Kyte changes his water temperature and assumes the same position as me. Cold water on the knot. It’s the only thing that can even come close to putting a damper on my desire.

  “How soon can we seal it?” I run the soap all over me, though I’m careful not to rub my knot too vigorously. I’m already so hard I could punch a hole through the tile.

  Kyte groans. “Like I said, we have to keep it quiet as best we can.”

  “What we need is a distraction.” Ceredes rubs his face. “Something to keep everyone busy while we seal the circle.”

  I rinse off and grab my towel, wrapping it around my waist. Despite the cold water, I’m still half hard. Lana does that to me on a regular basis. I need to stop thinking about her naked in the shower. I try to imagine her in her uniform, or maybe what she’d look like in the flotilla garb, or Pillars, even what she’d look like dressed for the ball. I spin back toward the shower. “I’ve got it.”

  “We’ve all got it.” Kyte gestures toward his lower half. “It’s getting to be almost permanent.”

  “No.” I would laugh at his situation, but since I share it, it’s not quite as amusing. “What I mean is, I know when we should seal the circle.”

  19

  Ceredes

  She dodges to the right, and I see her attack coming all the way from the next galaxy. Her little fist grazes off my arm. Then she crows like she just won a pricey Vilonte race.

  “I touched you!” She hops backwards, her hips shaking as she dances. “I’m a stone-cold killer!”

  I rub my temples. It’s too early for this. Watching her prance around me, her hair shining, her scent warm and sweet, her skin practically shimmering with a faint layer of sweat. It’s too much for any male to bear, much less an Alpha who feels the bond. But I must endure it. For her. To teach her how to defend herself.

  “I let you touch me, Lana.” I cross my arms over my chest and adopt a patient tone.

  She seems to like when I do that. Her pupils open a little wider, her breaths faster.

  “You’re so stern sometimes.” She looks me up and down. “Like all about some discipline.”

  “You could use more of it.”

  She throws one hip out and puts her hand on it in her intolerably sassy way. “Discipline and I don’t get along.”

  The palm of my hand and her taut backside would get along quite well. Her fair skin would redden so beautifully. But I can’t let my thoughts go there. Not again. I’ve already had a cold shower this morning, and I’ll take another when we’re done here.

  I point to the lightest weapon on the training wall. “Take the sword and come for me.”

  She turns, her academy uniform hugging the backside that I’d like to redden. “I don’t know if I should hold a weapon. What if I hurt you?”

  “You won’t.”

  “Cocky. All the cockiness right here.” She shakes her head but pulls the sword free. “Ugh, heavy.”

  “That’s the newest model. The lightest indestructible materials in the galaxy make up the hilt, and the blade is pure energy.”

  “Still heavy to me. But fancy.” She holds it away from her as the blade appears in deep green. “The fleet really has the whole industrial-military-complex thing down.”

  “What?” I circle her.

  She shrugs. “Something one of my economics teachers would rant about. She was sort of like a hippie, I guess? If they had hippies in the nineties? I don’t know.” She swings the sword, then drops it. “Whoops.” Bending over, she gives me a view down her top, and I look away. The Pillars are testing me. That’s what this is. Has to be.

  She picks it up and frowns at the slash she leaves on the training mat. “Anyway, she used to do all these protests and letter-writing campaigns and said the ‘military-industrial-complex’ would be the end of humanity.”

  “Technically, human life on your planet will become sparse because of climate change, not any complex. Though I suppose it’s all somewhat linked.”

  She almost drops the sword again. “How do you know that?”

  “I looked into Earth’s history and current status.” I shrug. “I was curious about you and your home. The fleet keeps statistics on any planets it’s ever visited, so Earth is included. That’s just the information I gleaned from what we have.”

  “So, the fleet had been there long before you came to get me, huh? Are you the ones who abduct people and probe them?”

  “Back to the probing?” A half smile tugs at my lips.

  She points her sword at me. “I saw that.”

  I school my features. “You saw nothing, Omega. Now, attack.”

  “All work and no play.” She lunges at me, the sword aimed for my chest.

  With an easy sidestep, I let her momentum carry her past me, then give her a small push. She lands face-first on the mat.

  “Yow.” She rolls over and rubs her nose.

  I stand over her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”

  “You didn’t mean to make me look like an idiot?” She wriggles her nose, as if checking to make sure it isn’t damaged.

  “I did, but not at the expense of your face.” I offer her my hand.

  She takes it, and that little hum of greeting between our palms is the reward I’d promised myself for a morning of keeping my lesson professional.

&nb
sp; I set her on her feet. “Pay attention to your feet. Stay on them, no matter what. If you’re on your back, you’re nearly helpless. So try to stay upright.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she grumbles. Retaking her stance, she moves the sword back and forth in little motions. “Why are you so good at fighting? I mean, all three of you are. Jeren is stealthy and Kyte is suave. But you’re a straight-out bruiser. Have you always just been like a tank or something?”

  I motion her toward me. She rushes with a cry. I dodge again, but this time she doesn’t fall to the floor, just into the wall.

  “Don’t yell when you’re about to attack. That’s an easy way to catch a blade through your gut. And I’ve been trained since I was small to fight, to challenge, to win.”

  “That’s kind of … sad.” Her face falls a little, and she lets her guard down.

  I have her on her back before she can make a sound, her hands pinned above her and the sword across the room. “Don’t let anything blur your focus. Not remorse, not pity. You have to look at this like survival. That’s what it is. Sentients don’t care about your past or your feelings. They just want you dead.”

  Her brown eyes are wide, her pulse pounding in her throat. “Is that what you were taught on your home planet?”

  “Yes. And it’s a lesson you need to learn if you intend to survive.”

  “Didn’t you have a mother or a father who cared for you?” Her tone is soft.

  “It is because they cared for me that they taught me how to be strong, how to fight.”

  “Did you ever want to do anything else?”

  “There’s nothing else for a Bellatian.” I speak honestly, telling her who I am even though she might not like it. “Fighting runs in my blood. I live for the challenge. There’s nothing I want more than to defeat my enemies. At least, that was true until … I met you.”

  “Is that pickup line?” She bites her lip. “Because it’s a damn good one.”

  “Not a line. Just the truth. You’ve changed a fundamental piece of me. The circle has. I’ll always be a fighter, but now I have something that I will fight for without thought, without a single care for the cost, and with everything I have. That’s what this circle means to me. What you mean to me. I will destroy anyone that threatens us, and I won’t look back.”