Page 35

ALICE

It was damn nerve-wracking watching the men walk through the ruins and even worse when Zaarek broke down. All of us stared helplessly at the screen, eyes locked on the feed from the drone following them, capturing every move and sound.

Nova's hand reached out, finding mine. I didn't think she was conscious of what she was doing or that it mattered whose hand she was holding, but she squeezed hard, and I returned it. If she needed to break my fingers, I would let her—anything to help ease her pain.

The bridge was deathly silent as we watched the drama unfold.

"This is the first time in history that we see a Space Guardian show emotions," a hushed voice whispered, and we turned to the sound.

Nock had his comm aimed at the screen.

"Knock that shit off, right now, Nock!" Sloane slapped at him, dislodging the earpiece comm that the Holostreamer was wearing.

"Hey, that's expensive equipment," he complained.

"You are unbelievable," Sloane hissed.

"The universe has a right to see this," Nock insisted, picking up his comm but putting it into his pocket instead of in his ear. His words sounded strangely familiar. A small giggle escaped Zoe, and she slapped her hand to her lips.

"I'm sorry." She blushed.

"It's okay," Hannah's lips twitched a little, but we all fell silent again, staring at Zaarek, whose tortured groans of pain left no room for amusement.

It wasn't until he got up that we all let out a small exhale of relief. Tears stung my eyes when Xyrek and Zaarek embraced.

"Very emotional, you two," Sloane snarked.

"Be nice," I hissed at her. She smirked and winked.

"I remember everything," Zaarek said, and his words made chills run down my spine.

"I'm next. How do I do this?" Tharaax asked.

"I don't think it's that easy. This used to be Zaarek's home," Xyrek explained. "We need to find places or things that will trigger you ."

Nova sniffed, drawing our attention to her. Her hand let go of mine, and I wiggled my fingers to bring back life into the stiff joints. She had pressed pretty hard. Nova's hand reached for the screen. "This was my house?"

"I built it for you," Zaarek said in a hoarse voice. "You decorated it."

Nova turned to us, her gaze pained, "Why can't I remember? Why do the men remember and we don't? This should mean something to me, right?" She turned to Hannah, "You remember things."

Then she turned to Sloane, "And you. You have memories of when you were Solaana. Why?"

"I don't know why," Hannah said, shaking her head. "I wish I did."

The others had told me how Hannah had remembered things, like her Darlam name and even bits of Darlam itself.

Sloane, however, remembered a lot more about her past life. "Trust me, when you guys meet Zapharos, you won't envy the gift he gave me."

Zapharos was the same Arkhevari who had invaded Xyrek's mind. Sloane had explained earlier that, for whatever reason, he had allowed her to remember her past life. I still had a hard time wrapping my head around him, but some of the others seemed to think of him as a god. The opinions about him being a god or just a member of a much more technologically advanced species were evenly divided.

Zoe folded Nova into her arms. "We'll figure it out, sweetie. We're so close."

"Shit," I muttered, wiping a tear from the corner of my eyes and noticing Sloane turn away from us. She wasn't as unaffected as she wanted us to believe.

"So, when are we going to kick some fucking Ohrur ass for this?" Tucker demanded. His expression had changed from easygoing playboy to hard. He looked every bit the action hero from any movie I had ever seen.

"Soon," Sloane promised. "So, are you guys good to continue?"

"There is something I need to see," Xyrek said, "then we'll be off again."

"Xyrek, don't," my voice was choked. I knew where he was going.

"I have to," he replied.

I wanted to reach out and hold him. I wanted to be with him when he arrived at that place. A small sob escaped me. Hannah embraced me. "Where is he going?"

"To where I used to work, to where… we died," I answered.