Birthright

CHAPTER FORTY

By Thursday, Kray was actually starting to get the hang of life at the foundation. Granted, people like Robert Nourse shot him ugly looks in the hallways, and ones like Stan Aries found excuses to body-check him or make snide comments wherever they could. He could deal with all of that because he was making major improvements in his training.

He spent an hour every day working on his Sen manipulation skills. It hadn't been easy learning how to shift without losing his balance, but he'd finally done it. And now he could concentrate on holding a ball of energy for twice the original duration. Having better control over his Sen also made him a better and faster fighter.

Even though rankings wouldn't be reassessed until after the midterms, a lot of his instructors had put up projected results. He'd used software to calculate his grades and, if things kept going the way they were, he would be ranked twenty-seven in less than two months.

Twenty-seven. It was nowhere close to the top ten slots, but it was a huge improvement coming from last place. And who knew? If he kept getting better, by the time the midterms rolled around, his rank might be even better than that.

He got to know his Sanser peers better, too. Someone discovered that the planetarium was mostly unused, so they started to meet there secretly, watching the stars and even movie screenings projected against one of the giant walls.

And then one of the Meta cadets discovered them there and reported them. They were almost kicked out before Instructor Masso stepped in and argued that technically they weren't breaking any rules and as long as they didn't cause disruption or damage property, they should be able to congregate wherever they wanted.

The Sanser cadets loved Masso after that. They started going to him for everything from help with homework to training tips to personal counseling. Thankfully the added responsibilities Masso suddenly had didn't cut into Kray's nightly sessions with him.

In fact, on Thursday morning, Masso instructed him to be at his quarters at eight p.m. sharp for a special session. Kray was in the lobby of the faculty building by 7:30 p.m. He was making his way toward the elevators when he ran into the last person he ever expect to see.

Alex.

She looked just as surprised as he was. They hadn't talked much since that night at the party. Mostly because she'd been actively avoiding him, except for Warden-related stuff, like the group meeting they had at the atrium on Tuesday evening.

She'd feigned interest in Lanny Hugh's boring minute-by-minute recounting of his experiences at Calsin Foundation, including that time when he got stuck outside his dorm because he locked his keycard in there. Kray knew for a fact that she didn't find any of that exciting. No one would. And when it was his turn to talk about himself and she skipped right over him, it confirmed his suspicion that she was avoiding him.

Which, surprisingly, had ticked him off.

"Hi," she said as they approached each other in the hallway.

Kray sidestepped into her path before she could walk past him. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked.

"Who says I am?" she answered in an even voice.

"Let's not play this game. You're avoiding me. I know it. Now let's move on to the part where you tell me why."

Her eyebrows went up slowly. "You've become unexpectedly bossy."

"I figured it's about time I start telling you what to do for a change," Kray said with a cocky grin.

He thought, after a comment like that, she'd blow him off. But she didn't. She tilted her head slightly, studying him like she was trying to make sense of what she was seeing. "Okay. You want honesty? I didn't know how to face you after the party."