Spycraft Academy by B. Miles (little readers .txt) 📕

Sam shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t help you there. I'm tired. And honestly, the tourney wasn’t that important to begin with. Maybe we can have a rematch…way later, but not right now. In fact, Delcan, I'm surprised they haven't hauled you off yet.”

The blonde frowned and for once, he didn’t fire back a retort. Instead, a genuine look of confusion crossed his face. “What do you mean?”

Maybe he didn't know what June was up to, but Sam wasn't going to assume the best in him. He may just be a good actor and have a solid alibi.

“Well, June was your crewmate…”

Delcan’s expression of profound confusion didn’t lessen.

“You know…she was caught stealing things from the administrative building…Meeran spy…no? Nothing rings a bell?”

Surely the news got out by now. The handful of students who found Sam and his crew must have gossiped about it by now. Or…surely Delcan was notified that his crewmember was no longer his crewmember?

From Delcan’s face, Sam could almost believe that the blonde hadn’t noticed her absence. That was highly unlikely, given that she had been with him every day.

“Right,” Sam sighed. Didn’t matter anyway. As Apelles would say, Delcan was nothing but a gnat in his eye. That’s what Sam told himself, anyway, to practice apathy. His temper needed a great amount of work if he wanted to be successful in his career, and there was no better time than now to start practicing.

“You know more than you let on.” Sam shrugged. “I don’t personally care whether you were in on it or not, but the administration will find out one way or another.”

That triggered the blonde. Delcan’s face turned down into an angry snarl. “Did you just accuse me of being a traitor?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m not accusing you. I’m telling you that if you were, I wouldn’t care either way, and that if you were, then Mode will catch on eventually. But, again, that isn’t my problem.”

“I'm not a traitor, you bloody idiot,” Delcan hissed. “My mother was killed by the Meeran government, my father is the supreme commander of the steelrunner detachment. I’m as much a Meeran spy as Mode is. I don’t know what in the hells you’re talking about, but if June did something against the Varin Empire, then she’s the traitor, not me. And what’s more, Sam, is that anybody who spits on my country is as good as dead to me. And if you ever accuse me of being a traitor again, I’ll make sure my next fireball doesn’t miss.”

Delcan’s fists furled at his sides, his shoulders a rigid line. For a moment, Sam saw him as he saw him that night in the mirror. There was something fragile and vulnerable underneath his twisted scowl. Maybe it was in the sharp angle of his defensive body language. Maybe it was in the slight crack in his voice or the intensity of his eyes.

Sam believed him.

“Alright,” Sam said quietly, extending a temporary peace in the form of agreement.

“…Alright.” Delcan crossed his arms and tried to look patronizing, but Sam could see underneath his skin now. All it took was one little glimpse. Underneath that sneer was relief, gratitude that somebody believed him, and an inability to surrender his dominant, ‘strong’ identity.

“I'm going back to my room,” Sam said. “Have a good day, Delcan.”

Sam didn’t wait for the blonde’s response. Instead, he turned around, gave Delcan his back, and strode down the corridor, toward the three beautiful women waiting on him to come back to them.

31

It had been a month since June had been caught and taken to justice. In that time, Sam’s academic life became much easier. School work wasn't as difficult when he slept the night before, when he could actually study. Mode’s unmarked book called to him like a siren’s song from inside the drawer of his bedside table, but he was never alone for long enough to read it. He told himself that he would read it after the exams anyway, so he wouldn’t get distracted while he was supposed to be studying for the test that would be the deciding factor on whether he would be able to continue his education, or if he had to say goodbye to his dreams.

Not reading the book—not quenching his insatiable curiosity—was for the best right now.

Outside of that, Delcan had backed off, for the most part. Sam liked to think that the blonde had been unsettled by their last meeting. He did, after all, reveal something quite vulnerable to Sam. It wouldn’t be right to use it, though. Sam may have insulted Delcan’s mother in their first fight, but he wouldn’t use a man’s pain against him unless somebody’s life depended on it. Even if that man was his enemy.

Everything was so peaceful and quiet, he allowed himself the illusion that it would last.

It wouldn’t, because today was the day. They were going to take their exit exams for the semester. Only some of them would move on to the next year. The rest would have to move on with their lives and forget about any ambitions they had for the Varin Shadow Force.

Fifty of them stood in a tight cluster outside of the exam room. The vast corridor swelled with nervous chatter. Sam stared at the door and remained quiet while his girlfriends talked quietly amongst each other. He would pass. He had to. There was nothing to be nervous about.

The doors swung open, and an eerie silence cut through the din, quashing it like a pest. The entirety of the first-year group seemed to take a collective inhale before slowly meandering into the room. Sam swallowed and shuffled with the group at the very back of the line.

He liked the back of the line. His entire life was one long rush out the door. Taking his time when he could was a rare treat. However, it also meant that he was easy to catch at