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ALICE

I didn't know what the others were thinking, but Sloane's actions froze me for a few moments. She just shot that guy. Point blank . My mind repeated. Fuck!

I wasn't upset about an Ohrur dying—well, maybe a little, because… because killing was wrong. Unacceptable. So is kidnapping, experiments … I remembered Sloane telling us about all the pregnant women she, Vraax, and Zapharos had saved. The Ohrurs had done that to them. This compound here. It wasn't good. It was just like the one on Morrakbarr. The Ohrurs weren't good people.

It was still a hard bite to swallow watching a person I had come to like and respect kill another being like that.

There was plenty of killing earlier , I reminded myself. But that had been different; that had been a battle. This… this had been an execution, and I didn't think I was okay with it. At least not the human part in me. My primal, animal part was actually cheering, filling me with shame.

"Damn, that female is lethal," Raasla observed over the comm. The other two Space Guardians, Raasla and Vraax, were watching what was happening down here just like we were.

"That's my mate," Vraax's voice was filled with pride.

I felt like crawling into myself. What had I gotten myself involved in?

On another screen, I watched Tucker and Zaarek kill two more Ohrurs they found, one in a breakroom and one in his quarters.

Bile rose from my stomach. I looked up. Nova's expression was as hard as Sloane's. She seemed fully on board with this slaughter. Surprisingly, Hannah was also fully on board. Zoe and Luph were the only ones looking slightly aghast, but even they didn't seem to be going to object.

Was I the only one not okay with this?

"Do we have to kill them?" I whispered. The words escaped me before I could hold them back.

"Right now, yes," Nova said. "We can't risk them getting out and falling into their backs."

I didn't try to point out that these Ohrurs appeared way too scared to fall into anybody's back, but I bit my tongue. I thought I had done some ruthless things, like leaving my family and friends behind without a second thought, but that was like getting a parking ticket versus driving drunk compared to what these people were capable of.

These people ? My mind snarked. Really? These people. Are you ready to run again, little girl ?

More shame filled me. My mind was right. I was a runner. I had given up on my family, telling myself there was nothing for me to fight for, and maybe I had been right about that. But there was no running here. This was my home, my new family, and my friends.

"Noodar and Zaarek, two hostiles by the elevator," I advised when Vader sent me the footage of two Space Guardians taking cover inside.

"On it. Thank you." Zaarek replied.

Time to put your big girl panties on , I told myself. After all, who was I to judge? The others had seen things I hadn't. The night they’d told Xyrek and me about it, I had been revolted just hearing about all they had been through. They had lived it. I promised myself that I would not judge until I had the full story. It was still hard to watch Xyrek take another cowering Ohrur down from his hiding spot inside a bathroom, though.

Noodar and Zaarek took care of the Space Guardians, and Vader and Maul informed me that the first level was clear, which I relayed to the others.

"How many levels?" Sloane asked, leaning against a wall and drinking water from a pouch. All six of them were together again. Well, seven, counting Nock, who was happily streaming.

"No snarky remarks?" Tharaax asked Nock.

"What do you mean?" Nock tilted his head.

"Well, I remember a lecture from you about killing…" Tharaax drifted off, staring challengingly at him. "Something about judge and executioner?"

"I might have changed my mind on that," Nock mumbled.

"What?" Zaarek put his hand to his ear. "I didn't hear you."

Nock glared at him.

Tharaax laughed.

My stomach churned. They had just killed about twenty Ohrurs and even more Space Guardians. And now they were joking? No, I didn't think I was okay with that.

"Welcome to the world of the grown-ups, little man," Tucker pounded on Nock's back so hard Nock moved two stumbling steps forward, but he grinned from ear to ear, happy about the praise.

“Did you guys feel that too?” Xyrek asked.

“Their aura?” Noodar checked, nodding. “Yeah, it’s evil at its deepest root.”

"Two more levels down," Nova said, having found something like a blueprint of the building.

"Are there any stairs, or do we need to use the elevator shaft?" Sloane questioned.

"Elevator shaft. No stairs." Nova advised.

"Alright, gang, party is over, let's go." Without waiting, Sloane jumped forward, straight into the shaft. A small cry escaped my lips until I realized she had only jumped to the other side, where a ladder was attached to the wall. I blinked a few times. She made this seem so easy, holding her blaster in one hand, reminding me of a cat. There was no way I would ever be able to copy a move like that. Never.

"Wow, I wish I could do that," Zoe took the words out of my mind.

"Same," I admitted.

"I'll teach y'all," Nova said, not looking up from her cube.