Page 81

Not even her malnourishment could distract from the muscles on her forearm; they weren't large or out of proportion, but as a fitness instructor, I could spot if a person worked out or not, and she definitely had.

"So you're CIA now?" Nova questioned.

"Was," Sloane said with a wry expression around her lips. "I don't think there is a CIA any longer."

"No, probably not," I agreed.

"Well, we can sure use you." Nova still didn't sound very enthused, but that could be just because of who she was, not because she was mistrusting Sloane. It was hard to tell with Nova. She could be very cold until you got to know her better.

"Use me?" Sloane arched an eyebrow.

"Well, you weren't exactly rescued," I admitted. "We're in the middle of something."

Sloane chuckled slightly. "Yeah, Vraax said as much."

"I'm sorry we can't take you to Astrionis," Zoe apologized.

Because I was still scrutinizing the hell out of her, I caught the flicker of anger in Sloane's eyes before her smile deepened. "That's all right. Astrionis was just a place I thought I could find safety."

"Well, we're safe." Luph smiled her bright smile.

"Yeah, for now." Nova rolled her eyes.

"Killjoy," Zoe accused her.

I was still staring at Sloane during the exchange, and amusement spread between her and me at the exchange. I would have loved to add to it, but as usual, I had no idea what I could have said. As it was, all five of us giggled now, and it felt not only good but right as if the five of us were meant to be together.

Finally, Sloane shook her head. "I should have known. Danger is literally my middle name, and I seem to attract it wherever I can."

"Your middle name?" Zoe asked.

"My full name is Sloane Pericolosa Storm. My father was Italian. He didn't like taking my mom's last name, but she made him, so he filled out my birth certificate before Mom had a chance and put Pericolosa in, which literally means Danger in Italian. It was supposed to be a warning never to let anybody get so close to you that they will emasculate you."

All four of us stared at her incredulously.

"It's true," she said, grinning widely.

"Wow, I feel kind of small now, having been named after a supernova," Nova said.

"Hannah isn't exactly colorful either." I tried to make her feel better.

"Or Zoe." Zoe laughed. "But Princess Luphelia might offer some competition."

"Princess?" Sloane asked, and we gave her more details about our motley group than Vraax probably did. And the Ohrurs.

"Doesn't sound like people you want to fuck with," Sloane agreed.

"No, they aren't," Zoe agreed. "They did something to the men, erased their memories or grew them in a lab or both. We don't know…"

"Erased their memories?" Sloane creased her forehead.

"Yeah, whenever they try to remember something from before they were Space Guardians, they get incredible headaches, stopping them from remembering," I added.

"They are the worst. We're trying to get to Darlam to find more answers, but the Ohrurs put a force shield up around the planet that's impenetrable." Zoe got herself back under control.

"And that's what they're interrogating the Ohrur about now?" Sloane asked.

We nodded in unison.