Well, that rumination helped for about thirty seconds, and then the stupid smile was back.
Alar hadn't swept me into his arms and kissed me senseless as some ridiculous part of me had hoped, but he hadn't pushed me away either. The air between us was clear now—or at least clearer than before. The uncomfortable tension that had been gnawing at me since we'd arrived at the academy had mostly dissipated, leaving behind a tentative hope for a possible future between us.
He'd promised me abreakfast date, and I couldn't wait until morning.
Upon reaching my and Shovia's room, I paused, mentally preparing for the interrogation that was sure to follow.
I'd left Shovia in the lounge, claiming that I was tired and was going to call it a night, but the knowing look that she'd given me indicated that she hadn't been fooled, and when she returned to our room and didn't find me there, her suspicion had been confirmed.
I pushed the door open and found Shovia in bed, her long, dark hair splayed across the pillow.
Her face cracked into a huge grin. "I'm beyond disappointed. I hoped you would be spending the night with Alar."
I sat down on my bed. "Are you disappointed for me or for yourself? If I spent the night with Alar, Codric would have beenforced to spend the night somewhere else, and there would have been a spare bed right here." I patted the mattress.
She laughed. "Well, both of course, but I was just teasing. None of us is in any state for vigorous extracurricular activities. I'm surprised that I didn't fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow."
"I appreciate your choice of words." I took off my left boot. "Usually, your phrasing is much less diplomatic." I took off the other and tackled the socks next.
Shovia loved making me blush. It was a sport for her or shock therapy, as she called it, to cure me of my unfortunate virginal state, so being considerate of my sensitivities was uncharacteristic of her.
She shrugged. "I'm inspired by what I have to sleep in. I have never felt so unsexy."
She threw the blanket off, got to her feet, and spun around, showing off the drab, shapeless garment that hung from her shoulders. It was a grayish-brown, military-issue pajama set that looked like it had been designed to fit any body type and size, which meant that it fit none.
"It's like wearing a potato sack," she complained, pulling at the excess fabric. "And it smells like it's been in storage since the first pilgrimage, and I don't mean this year's. I mean the first one ever."
I laughed. "That's possible. They never had such a large crop of cadets in here. They might have pulled out stuff from long-term storage and put it in the supply room next to the bathroom."
It had been stocked with everything we would need for our time at the academy, from towels and toiletries to several types of uniforms, including these unfortunate sleeping garments. After using the bathing facilities, we each returned with a large pile of things.
Lifting the pillow, I pulled out my own similarly drab set, which I had left folded under there. "They're just pajamas. You can get dressed each morning before heading to the bathroom if you don't want to be seen wearing them."
"Just pajamas, she says," Shovia mimicked in a high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like me. "No one is going to see us in them, she says." She shook her head. "I swear, Kailin, sometimes I wonder if we're even related."
"We're not."
"Spiritually, we are." She flopped back onto her bed. "I'd bet you a hundred lumens that our uniforms will be just as unflattering. We'll all look like we're wearing hand-me-downs from our bigger, buffer siblings."
I had no idea why Shovia was obsessing about the pajamas and the uniforms instead of interrogating me about what had happened with Alar. Maybe she was trying to put me in a more receptive mood?
"Everyone we've seen so far looks just fine in their uniforms." I took off my shirt and pulled on the pajama top. "Captain Odinah's uniform fits her perfectly, and so did all the other instructors' and even the cadets who arrived before us from the other two pilgrimages."
"That's because they've been here long enough to have them tailored." Shovia's eyes suddenly sparkled with mischief. "I'm sure that your hunky commander had his custom made. Those impressive muscles of his were very nicely accentuated by his form-fitting uniform."
I should have known she wouldn't let that topic go.
"The commander is not my anything." I pulled down my pants and pulled on the pajama bottoms. "Well, other than my brother's commanding officer, that is, but that has nothing to do with me."
"Oh, please." I could practically hear the eye roll in her tone. "The man zeroed in on you like a falcon on its prey. And don't think I didn't notice how you looked at him." She batted her eyelashes.
So, that was why she wasn't interrogating me about Alar. She was still hung up on Commander Ravel. Maybe she was interested in him?
"I didn't look at him any particular way," I said, gauging her response.
"Kailin." Her voice had shifted to that tone she used when she thought I was being deliberately obtuse. "You practically melted into a puddle at his feet."
That was a gross exaggeration that was meant as a provocation. I knew all of Shovia's tactics, and she couldn't egg me on like she used to when we'd first become friends.
