The political meeting left the eight recruits satisfied. They had a clear advantage over the companions who had remained in the training camps, and they had even made sure to expand that gap.
The Global Army had sent their best eight recruits to the academy, which had created an elite team with a high chance to become a core aspect of the relationship between the two species in the following years. Their political role wouldn't only award them with merits. It would also benefit eventual promotions, especially if they involved Nitis' environment.
Brandon and Kelly didn't feel to have fallen behind their companions when it came to their merits. They had shown competence and seriousness during their meeting, which were the exact features they wanted the Niqols to know them for.
Instead, the others had a more relaxed approach since they believed that the Niqols would appreciate humans capable of blending with their culture.
Helen and Veronica had sort of forgotten about their political purpose for different reasons. However, they had still obtained positive results since they had established decent relationships with two important figures of the alien species. Liiza would have some relevance in the future due to her mother, and the Niqols who flirted with Helen seemed to belong to a distinguished tribe.
Still, everyone felt that Khan had been one step ahead of them again. They didn't initially care that Ambassador Yeza had chosen him for the meeting since the Niqols already saw him as the face of the envoys. However, the scene seen when the groups reunited had left them curious, doubtful, and envious.
The presence of Professor Supyan on the Lysixi that led them back to the academy didn't let them question Khan properly, and the latter didn't give them the chance to talk even after exiting the secret passage. Snow was already waiting for him when everyone stepped on the mountain, and he jumped on it right after performing a bow toward the Niqols.
That behavior made the recruits even more curious, but running away from questions wasn't Khan's intention. That was the last free day of the week, and he wanted to spend the rest of it with his girlfriend, especially since he imagined her anxious state.
'Things are finally turning for the better!' Khan shouted in his mind as Snow accelerated through the air.
Khan could finally see a path in front of him. He didn't know if Yeza would fulfill her side of the deal, but the fact that she could rely on him to learn details about the Global Army already ensured a future political relevance.
The decision to sell classified information for personal benefits made Khan a traitor, and it could easily turn him into a spy. Yet, he didn't care. He had betrayed the Global Army without the slightest hesitation, and his secret relationship was only one of the reasons behind that decision. Khan still loathed the soldiers for what they had chosen to make the Niqols and the eight recruits face.
Paying back part of the injustice suffered during the solar wind felt good, but Khan couldn't enjoy that feeling thoroughly. He had only shared a minor detail that the humans almost viewed as common knowledge. His actions might have prevented his species from gaining a few more permissions, but that couldn't compare to all the deaths and pain that the humans had caused.
The benefits that gave Khan hope about Liiza and his personal power felt better than that pointless payback. He couldn't wait to see what the Niqols' old ways had to offer, and the sole idea of experiencing his relationship in the open made him ecstatic. He actually had the chance to establish himself on Nitis and gain a position that could give him a future with his girlfriend.
The mental training for the chaos element was over, but Khan had yet to approach the Wave spell. The program gave an example of proper execution of the ability, but it was unclear whether that would help.
Mages needed to rely on specific thoughts and emotions to activate their elements and turn them into spells. Yet, the chaos element was different in its requirements.
The program stated that the emotions couldn't be part of the casting process due to the innate instability of the chaos element. Moreover, Khan couldn't rely on studies to follow precise instructions on how to gain access to that power. The mages had developed lists of thoughts and feelings that helped and triggered specific effects with their elements, but chaos respected no rule. Its approach was highly personal and required Khan to develop his own method.
Khan felt lost about that part of his training. He planned to imitate the expert in his program for the time being, but the innate instability of the chaos element made him decide to approach everything carefully. Also, he couldn't try to summon such unstable energy with people around him, so he noted in his mind to test the spell only when he was alone.
That left Khan with only two choices when it came to how he had to spend the hours flying toward the marsh. He couldn't use his knife correctly there, so only his meditations and sleep remained.
Calculations quickly happened in his mind and made him aware that he still had hours of sleep to fill to meet Liiza's requirements, so he lay on Snow's feathered back and closed his eyes. The usual nightmare didn't take much to arrive.
Khan had to go back to the academy before flying toward the marsh, so Liiza took less to arrive there since she didn't have intermediate destinations. He sensed her presence when the entrance of the cave unfolded in his vision, and a smile appeared on his face when he saw her figure jumping in his direction.
Liiza flew in Khan's embrace. She quickly wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and waist as she dug her face on his neck. Khan could only reply by hugging her tightly, and Liiza didn't hesitate to fill him with kisses.
"Hey, let's get inside first," Khan laughed as Liiza stormed his neck and side of his head with kisses.
"[I love you so much]!" Liiza exclaimed before taking his cheeks in her hands and keeping him still to leave a deep kiss on his lips.
Khan understood that there was no stopping to Liiza, so he replied to her kisses while entering the cave. He quickly reached the simple bed made of blankets and pillows, and his knees went on the ground before he bent forward to lie Liiza down.
The girl had never stopped kissing him, and she started to open his robe when her nape touched one of the pillows. Khan didn't have the time to say anything before he found himself captured in her pushy and captivating passion.
Khan had never seen Liiza in that state, but he didn't fail to enjoy the following hours. When everything ended, he found himself staring at the ceiling while wearing a pleased smile. Liiza was resting on his sweaty chest. An evident blush filled her smiling face as she slowly caressed Khan's side and left lazy kisses on his torso.
Liiza almost purred whenever Khan caressed her hair. He had never seen her so happy, and the sight was dazzling. Betraying the Global Army felt completely worth it if it could lead to that.
Liiza eventually decided to move. She climbed on Khan's torso and lay on his chest. Her hands went in his hair as she left a deep kiss on his lips before raising her head and revealing an affectionate smile.
"I've never been happier," Liiza whispered while moving the hair that had fallen on Khan's forehead.
"To think that I only needed to refuse your mother for that," Khan teased while joining his hands on her lower back.
The two had yet to speak about what had happened during their respective meetings. The previous burst of passion didn't leave them any time to say much. They had only voiced their feelings multiple times, but everything else had been a loud mess of deep breaths and moans.
Khan knew Liiza well enough to guess the reason behind her unusual ardor, but he was unaware about everything else. He wasn't even sure if Liiza had learnt about the mutated Niqols in the basement.
"Did you really stab your leg to resist her?" Liiza asked happily.
"How do you even know that?" Khan uttered.
"I know how to trick my mother," Liiza boasted before moving her gaze on the ground. "I also know that she made you see the basement."
"[Liiza]," Khan whispered, and Liiza's eyes immediately went back on him at the sound of the Niqols' accent.
The two kissed again, and their lips remained close when Khan responded to Liiza's previous words. "What's a wound compared to this? Also, I managed to get a decent deal out of your mother after accompanying her to the basement."
Liiza retracted her head to show her curious expression, and Khan didn't hesitate to explain everything that had happened with Yeza. Then, it was Liiza's turn to tell him how she had ended up spending a lovely morning with Veronica.
.
.
.
Life in the academy continued as usual, except for a change that everyone noticed but no one mentioned. Liiza started attending the parties more often, and Khan could never hold back from joining her in casual and vague interaction. Luckily for the couple, Azni always dragged Doku and other Niqols around them to hide the real reason behind that behavior.
Someone guessed that Khan liked Liiza. It made sense due to the rumors from his first day on Nitis and the gentle rejections he reserved to the other girls flirting with him. Still, no one believed he had a chance with her since her blush seemed to have become a regular part of her face. The aliens didn't think that Liiza could mind others when someone was keeping her so happy.
Of course, Khan and Liiza had planned the timing for their arrivals and departures from the parties perfectly. No one suspected that Khan could be the man behind the blush, and Azni even used her ability with gossips to spread fake rumors that led the other Niqols completely off track.
Liiza simply couldn't hold back from leaving Khan alone among girls flirting with him after the meeting. His ability to refuse her mother had made her surrender to her feelings. She would literally go crazy if she had to wait an entire night alone in the cave without knowing what the other Niqols were throwing at Khan.
The gathering around her wasn't ideal since it could still reveal something about Khan, but Liiza solved it by leaving a few marks on his neck from time to time.
That created the perfect alibi, even if it put Khan in the awkward situation of having to stick to two different lies at the same time. The Niqols believed that his partner was one of the humans, while the recruits were confident that he was hooking up with an alien. It was a mess, but Khan managed to handle it pretty well, especially since he never remained inside the academy longer than necessary.
The only one who started to guess something was Doku. The boy was an honest friend, extraordinary even. He had all the right cards before him, but he still refused to think about the matter.
Azni was helping Liiza and Khan openly, and Doku could see that better than anyone else. His girlfriend was lying about gossips to protect them, and Liiza and Khan shared the same wild scent. That could be a coincidence, but ideas inevitably formed in his mind as all those clues piled on.
A change happened at the beginning of his tenth week on Nitis. Eight days had passed from the meeting, and Khan had just attended his last lesson. He was about to reach a mountain and summon Snow, but a hooded figure suddenly appeared on his path.
Khan immediately prepared himself to fight. The figure was like Professor Supyan. It managed to hide its presence completely and ignore the defenses inside the forest. That alone made Khan consider running away, but his fears dwindled when he saw a dark-blue hand coming out of the robe's long sleeve and placing a scroll on the ground.
The scroll featured one of the azure symbols on its seal, but its light appeared dimmer than the others seen throughout the academy. Still, Khan couldn't focus too much on that item since he found out that the hooded figure had disappeared during that second of distraction.
Awe immediately filled his mind, but that feeling didn't stop him from reaching the scroll. The wax-like seal divided itself as soon as he touched it, and it turned into a lock that he could close by rejoining its two halves.
Khan inspected his surroundings before unfolding the scroll. His eyes lit up when he read the contents of that item. It resembled an interactive list with many Niqols' names and brief descriptions in the human language. Yeza had finally started to respect her side of the deal.