I turned to follow his gaze and felt my blood turn to ice. Tivek was striding across the lounge toward us, his expression unreadable but his posture stiff.
I quickly slid off my barstool, moving to intercept him before he reached the bar. My brother's embrace was firm, but his words were furtive.
“What do you think you're doing, brother?" he whispered against my ear, his voice tight.
I stiffened, my mind racing. How much did he know? Had someone at the Academy figured out that our engagement was fake? Had Admiral Zoran seen through our deception and sent Tivek to investigate?
Then I remembered what I'd learned in Zoran's office, the communications about Shadow operations and undercover work. My brother had been lying to me for years, maintaining a cover identity so deep that even his own family had been fooled.
I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, then leaned close to whisper a question. "I could ask you the same thing, Shadow."
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Tivek's eyes widened, his carefully maintained composure cracking for the first time in years. For a moment, he looked exactly like the little brother I remembered from our childhood.
“How did you—" he started, then stopped himself, glancing around the lounge to make sure we weren't being overheard.
“Does it matter?” I asked. “You have your secrets, and I have mine.”
His jaw tightened, and I could see him calculating possibilities, trying to figure out how much I knew and what it meant for both of us.
"We need to talk," he said finally. "Privately."
I nodded toward Kalex and Vekron, who were politely pretending not to notice our intense conversation. "Let me make my apologies.”
But as I turned back toward the bar, I realized Tivek knew me well enough to be suspicious about what I was doing. And I knew enough about his secret life to understand that he was far more than the academy adjunct he pretended to be. The question was whether we could trust each other with the truth, or if our respective deceptions would tear us apart.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Tivek
Istared at my brother as he turned away. He knew. After years of careful deception, of maintaining a cover identity so deep that even our family had believed it, Deklyn knew the truth.
I worked hard to keep my expression neutral as I stepped toward Captain Kalex, whom I’d met before, and a Drexian I hadn’t. “Captain," I said, offering the traditional Drexian salute of a fist across the chest before nodding respectfully to the other officer. "I apologize for the interruption."
"No need to apologize," Kalex said warmly, introducing his holographic engineer Vekron and then signaling the bartender for more drinks. “I assume you’re here because of your brother’s news?”
The bartender slid a glass of Noovian whiskey across the bar to me, the amber liquid catching the low light.
"My brother must have come straight from the Academy after hearing our news," Deklyn said smoothly.
"I did," I confirmed, which was true enough. Admiral Zoran had dispatched me as soon as he’d heard about the engagement. "It's not every day your brother announces he's getting married."
Deklyn rocked on his heels and grinned, looking as cool and composed as ever.
"If you gentlemen will excuse us," I said, looking between Kalex and Vekron, "I'd like to steal my brother for a moment.”
"Of course.” Kalex lifted his glass to us. "Take your time."
I led Deklyn to one of the small round tables in a corner of the lounge, away from other conversations but still visible to the bar. The table's glossy black surface reflected the glow of the single artificial votive candle and kept us from sitting in shadows.
When we settled into the dark swivel chairs, Deklyn leaned forward slightly, his gaze studying my face. “Why did you come so quickly?”
I took another sip of whiskey, feeling the familiar burn as it went down. "I'll tell you the truth if you do the same."
Deklyn frowned, then laughed brusquely. "Guess I can trust a spy who's kept his identity secret all this time not to spill my secrets."
The words were sharp, and I couldn't suppress a flinch. "How did you find out?"
