Page 85 of Dark Princess Ascending
"Thank you." Drova returned his smile. He always knew how to defuse tension between her and her mother and never spoke down to her like Jade often did.
"May I offer some advice?" When she nodded, he continued, "Follow orders and trust your team leader's judgment."
"I will." She meant it, too. "I'm not stupid." Despite her pride and rebellious tendencies, she understood the importance of the chain of command.
"Never said you were, but the young are known to be impulsive, and you are still very young."
As a knock sounded at the front door, Drova's heart skipped. It was probably Pavel who had promised to collect her on his way to the training center.
"That'll be your escort," Jade said.
Her stupid heart was still thundering in her chest, and Drova assumed a blasé expression. "Yes, it will."
She walked to the front door, conscious of her mother and Phinas watching. When she opened it, Pavel stood there in his own tactical gear, looking as handsome and as confident as ever.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes." She turned back to her mother and Phinas. "Wish us luck."
Jade's expression softened again, pride breaking through her usual stern mask. "Good luck." She turned to Pavel. "Get the bad guys and save the children. And be careful."
"We will," Pavel said.
Drova nodded her agreement and then stepped out into the cool midday air beside Pavel without looking back. There was no need for drama. After all, she wasn't going to fight tonight, so all that pep talk had been superfluous.
"Nervous?" Pavel asked.
"No. Just excited to see some real action. Regrettably, I don't have an active role. Not this time, anyway. I hope Peter is not going to keep me on the sidelines forever."
He chuckled. "It's okay to admit that you are nervous. Everyone's nervous their first time out, even if all they do is watch from the sidelines. It's the difference between training at home and finding yourself behind enemy lines."
"I'm not everyone."
"No," he surprised her by agreeing. "You're definitely not."
Their eyes met briefly, and Drova felt that familiar flutter in her stomach that she always got around him, but she commanded her traitorous body to stand down.
This wasn't the time for such girly concerns. She couldn't let her attraction to Pavel distract her.
Still, as they walked in companionable silence she couldn't help but hope that in time, after she proved herself, maybe he would start seeing her not as Igor's daughter, not as a compeller or a troublemaker, but as a female of worth he would one day be proud to belong to.
50
GERTRUDE
Gertrude leaned over Rob and kissed his forehead. "I'm only going to make a quick phone call, and I'll be right back."
He tilted his head to look at her with curiosity in his eyes, but he didn't ask why she needed privacy for her call. "Can you get me fresh coffee from the vending machine? A big cup. Just pretend that it's yours if you bump into Bridget."
She laughed. "I'll see about that."
"Please?" He looked at her with a puppy-dog expression.
"Oh, that's not fair. Fine."
On her way out, she passed by Margo, who'd taken a seat in the waiting room to make phone calls to everyone she wanted to invite to her brother's testing ceremony.
"You seem so sure that he's not going to slip back," Gertrude said.