The Academy Read online

  “You like it?” North, who was standing beside me, asked softly.

  I nodded. “It’s breathtaking.”

  “And it feels even better than it looks.” He gave me a challenging smile. “Come on, I’ll race you.” He took off like a golden arrow over the silver sand and I threw down my towel to chase him.

  “Wait up,” I yelled as he pulled ahead easily, his long legs quickly outdistancing my own.

  “Try and keep up, shorty!” He laughed at me and skidded to a halt as he came to the edge of the ocean.

  “No fair,” I said, finally reaching him. “Your legs are so much longer than mine.”

  “That’s no excuse for being slow,” he teased me. “Come on, into the water.”

  “Wait—” I started to protest but North already had me by the wrist and was dragging me into the sea. I was frightened at first but the cool waves lapping my ankles and North’s warm grip on my arm soon soothed my fears. At his urging, I waded out farther, feeling the soft crunch of sand and shells beneath my bare feet, and filling my lungs with the salty sea breeze.

  “Well?” North said at last when we were standing waist deep in the water—though it was more like thigh-deep for him. “What do you think?”

  “I’ve never felt anything like it,” I admitted in a low voice. I could feel the muscular strength of the current pushing against my legs, could smell the salt on the air and hear the soft cries of birds overhead. I was almost overwhelmed by the new sensations and yet, I felt a peace standing here in the ocean beside my friend—a peace that I’d never had before.

  “It can be a little overwhelming the first time you see it,” North said. “Especially if you’ve never seen any kind of ocean before.”

  Overwhelming was a good word. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but water and sky—well, except for a long rocky finger that extended far out into the ocean to my left. It seemed to be composed of dark red stones with bright blue spiking branches growing out of them. “What’s that?” I asked North, pointing at it.

  He gave it a cursory glance. “The breakwall. It’s to keep the waves from getting too high—they have them out here every mile or so. You want to be sure and keep your distance from it—the sea thorns will rip you to shreds if you get too close.”

  “Sea thorns?” I looked at the bright blue spikes.

  “They grow on the rocks—nothing seems to stop them.” North shrugged. “Just keep away from the breakwall and you’ll be fine.” He looked back at the sea and sighed softly. “You know, they say of all the moons in our system, Apollo is the most like Earth-that-was. Except the sand there was supposed to be gold instead of silver.”

  “I’m sure that was beautiful,” I said, loving the feel of the sea breeze ruffling my short hair. “But I can’t imagine anything more gorgeous than this.”

  “I came here a lot last year after…well, after.” North’s pale blue eyes were fixed on the distant horizon as he talked. “It helped. Some.”

  I wanted very much to know more about his brother and exactly how he had died but he didn’t offer anything else. “It’s very peaceful,” I said, scrunching my toes in the sand.

  “Too peaceful.” He looked at me suddenly with an unreadable look in his eyes. “Which is why you need to learn how to swim—now. C’mon, I’ll show you.” He grabbed my wrist again and began pulling me deeper into the water but this time I resisted.

  “North, don’t,” I protested, my voice tight with fear. “I don’t want to go in over my head!”

  “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to dunk you.” He stopped pulling and spread his arms. “Although it’s better if you’re not afraid to put your head underwater.”

  “I don’t want to do that—not yet,” I said quickly.

  “All right, then, we’ll start with something else. You need to learn how to float.”

  “Float?” I said stupidly. “How…?”

  “I’ll show you but you have to come a little farther out.” He waded out until the water lapped at his chest and waited patiently for me to join him.

  Hesitantly, I made my way to his side. I was standing on my tiptoes now, the water almost up to my chin. The current, which had felt so soothing pressing against my legs earlier, now felt dangerously strong. I clutched at North’s arm to keep my balance as a particularly strong wave rolled in, almost lifting me off my feet.

  “Good.” North looked pleased that I had trusted him. “Now you’re going to lie flat on your back and let the water hold you up.”

  “What?” I began to shake my head. “I don’t think so, North.”

  “Don’t worry—I’ll be holding you. Look, just trust me.” He stooped and suddenly I found myself being held in his arms like a baby. Panicked, I locked my arms around his neck. Was he was going to push me out on my back and just let me go?

  “Don’t strangle me,” North said, although he didn’t make any move to put distance between us. “Just relax.”

  “I…I can’t,” I whispered, frozen with fear.

  “Jameson…Kris, look at me,” he murmured.

  I turned my face up to his and realized, with embarrassment, that we were only inches apart—close enough to kiss. It reminded me of the position we’d been in when he pinned me to the mat during our first Judo lesson. But this time instead of pulling away, North was still holding me close, still looking into my eyes.

  “North?” I whispered in a tiny, uncertain voice.

  “It’s okay.” His deep voice was soft and soothing—almost tender. “I told you I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?”

  “Yes…” I licked my lips nervously and tasted salt. “It’s just…I’ve never been in so deep before.”

  “Neither have I,” North murmured and I wondered if he was talking about the ocean…or something else. “But we’re here together and I swear I won’t let you go, Kris. I’ll never let you go.”

  For a long moment we looked into each other’s eyes. I felt like his piercing blue gaze was staring right into my soul and my mouth was so dry I couldn’t form words to answer him. I had the strange idea that he wanted to kiss me but I knew that couldn’t be—not when he still thought I was a male. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally whispered, “North…”

  He sighed and shook his head, as though trying to clear it. “Look, the point is, you need to relax. Okay?”

  “All right.” I nodded, sensing that the strange moment between us was broken. I tried to clear my own head of the unsettling feelings inside me and concentrate instead on relaxing. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to let go of my fear. I was safe in North’s strong arms, I told myself. Safe and secure. He wouldn’t drop me. Wouldn’t let me go.

  “Good,” I heard him murmur, as I loosed my hold around his neck. “Now just lean backward a little at a time. I’m going to keep my hands under your back and hips but the water is going to take most of your weight.”

  It didn’t seem possible that the thin liquid slapping gently against my skin could bear me up, but I told myself again to trust him. Leaning back, I felt the cool waves lapping against the back of my head, then kissing my cheeks as North’s strong hands held me steady. I unbent my legs, straightening them out to rest on the surface of the water and doing my best to let myself go boneless.

  To my surprise, North was right. Though it seemed impossible, once my body was completely relaxed I could feel the salty waves bearing me up, almost like a giant, friendly hand.

  “It’s working!” I looked up at him and grinned. “I’m floating, North!”

  “I know.” He grinned back. “I’m barely touching you—can you tell?”

  I nodded. I could feel only the slightest pressure of his fingertips against my back. “It’s amazing.”

  “It’s relaxing when you really know how,” he said. “But you have to be careful you don’t go to sleep out here and float out to sea.”

  I couldn’t imagine doing that. I enjoyed the giant water-hand holding me up but the sky above my head w