The door to the office opened and Active Banks finally appeared, a trail of senior students dressed in their all-black uniforms coming in behind him.
Except for one, who wasn’t dressed in any sort of uniform at all. The guy stood out like a sore thumb in his silk suit—though at least it was the same inky shade of black—his corset vest decorated in some floral pattern Rin couldn’t make out. His hair was dark brown and curly, with lighter highlights throughout, and he walked with an air of superiority that not even the Active supposedly in charge was capable of producing.
Brennon tightened the arm he still had slung over Rin’s shoulders and whispered, “F-12 is the Imperial Prince’s class. Suddenly first place isn’t looking so hot.”
“Good thing you placed tenth then, idiot,” Calder said, grabbing onto Brennon’s wrist and flinging his arm off of Rin as they lined up.
Rin chuckled and shook his head, glancing back up just as the approaching group of seniors finally came to a stop ten or so feet away. His breath caught in his throat when he was instantly met with an intense hazel gaze.
The Imperial Prince was staring at him, and he didn’t appear to be pleased.
What the hell?
Rin almost scowled, catching himself and forcing his lips to even out and his facial features to remain relaxed.
The corner of the prince’s mouth tipped up.
No, but seriously…what the hell?
“Good work out there, A-5!” Active Banks called, and they all spread their legs and folded their wrists at their backs.
“Thank you, Active,” they replied in unison, voices ringing throughout the large gymnasium.
Banks had a holo-tablet in his hand and he flicked through digital notes on it, nodding his head as he did. “You know how this goes. I’ll assign each of you a senior cadet who will act as a mentor for the rest of the semester. These seniors will be treated as your superior officers from here on out, is that understood?”
“Yes, Active!” they all said.
Rin tried to keep his attention on Banks as he spoke, but he couldn’t help but glance a time or two over toward the prince who was still staring at him with that confusing look on his face.
As far as he knew, the two of them had never interacted with one another before. As a senior, Imperial Prince Kelevra Diar, third in line for the throne, wouldn’t have been in any of the same classes or training sessions as Rin was. Rin lived on campus, but everyone knew Kel and his Retinue, the entourage who followed around an Imperial Prince, lived in a swanky sky rise closer to the center of the city.
Rin didn’t visit that area much, so it wasn’t like he could have accidentally run into him there either. Besides, if he had, he certainly would have remembered.
Kelevra wasn’t exactly a forgettable person.
Title aside, the guy also had the added benefit of being drop-dead gorgeous. Even the scar trailing down his right eyebrow, stopping just at the rise of his cheekbone, couldn’t detract from his stunning exterior.
But Rin knew better than most that a pretty outer shell meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, and it was also a well-known fact that Kelevra Diar had an explosive, and often impulsive, personality. The guy had no buffer, no little voice in his head warning him that maybe he shouldn’t say or do something. His reputation preceded him, and for that reason alone, Rin had actually gone out of his way to avoid not only the prince himself, but any known member of his Retinue.
He took in the rest of the seniors, trying to figure out their placements and who he might end up with as a mentor. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about being assigned the prince.
One member of the Retinue was there as well, Royal Madden Odell, his purplish-crimson hair left longer than they were technically allowed, so it trailed over the tops of his ears. As Kel’s top, he would have had to stay close in ranking, so he would most likely be mentoring Tria who’d gotten second place.
There weren’t any others, at least that Rin was aware of, and he let out a small sigh of relief. Being involved with that group, even for a semester, would mean surveillance on him, and that was something Rin could not afford.
His whole M.O. relied on keeping out of the spotlight, and dressed the way he was—on campus, no less—it was glaringly obvious subtle wasn’t a word in the Imperial Prince’s vocabulary.
“All right, since we’ve gone over the rules and you all seem to understand, I’ll start pairing you off. Starting with Tine, who got first place,” Banks began, only to have Kelevra lean in suddenly and tell him something against the curve of his ear.
The entire gymnasium went silent, ears straining to make out what the prince could be saying.
Banks frowned and turned to him, but before he could even open his mouth, Kelevra rested a dangerous smile on him. The type of smile that lacked any and all friendliness and cut straight to the chase.
Whatever he’d just suggested to their Active, it hadn’t actually been a suggestion at all.
The Academy was a training branch of the Intergalactic Police Force, owned and run by the Intergalactic Conference. Every galaxy had its own, but theirs was the only one that didn’t have an entire planet dedicated to running one. Instead, their Academy had been built on an already operational planet, Vitality, and they shared space with an elite university called Vail.
Though things were a little different, the core curriculum was still the same, and while there were many positions, for the most part, the people in this room were here studying to become a detective, an inspector, or a coast. They had military training in order to ensure they were physically prepared for fieldwork, as well as classes that taught them everything from Intergalactic law to basic ship controls. No matter the class or grade level, however, there was a basic chain of command that was expected to be respected and followed at all costs.
