And of course, Cage, his presence simultaneously reassuring and threatening as he stood at my back, Rune as far away as she could manage. She still hadn’t forgiven him for arguing in favor of venting the aliens into space. I wasn’t sure I had either. He might have been right to do it, and we’d reached an uncomfortable truce in the matter. But I couldn’t help remembering how easy the decision had been for him. And there was the way he’d turned on Rune: It’s not the first time I’ve had to kill someone to keep you safe. I’d let it go. I mean, we’d been in the aftershock of an alien attack. But for three weeks, we’d had nothing but time to talk, and I still hadn’t brought it up, still hadn’t asked the questions hovering on my lips. Every day I didn’t, it got a little bit harder, and the space between us got a little bit wider.

He looked to me for support. He wanted answers, but I didn’t have any. I wasn’t sure how I felt myself. Cage was my lifeline on Sanctuary. We’d saved each other half a dozen times, not only physically, but mentally. In a short time, I’d drawn closer to him than to almost anyone else I’d ever met. But the last three weeks had driven home how little we knew each other. I liked Cage. I liked his humor, his level-headedness, his charisma. But even after a month, I didn’t know him. Did anyone, really?

Every eye landed on me. I met Cage’s gaze and nodded. How could he make me feel so confused, so uncertain, and yet so secure at the same time? “The aliens are looking for their own,” I announced without preamble. That brought all movement in the room to a standstill. I spoke quietly; we hadn’t dared close the door for fear of creating too much curiosity in the other prisoners. I didn’t want them to hear what I said, not yet. They were too volatile, too recently released from their cells, and some of them for very real crimes. The last thing we needed was a panic in an enclosed environment.

I allowed myself a small smile. I was thinking like a guard again. Omnistellar would be proud. Too bad I wanted nothing to do with my former corporation ever again.

Mia snapped her fingers an inch from my face, and I recoiled in spite of myself. She smirked. “Wanna explain that, sunshine?”

I counted to ten before I answered, grinding my teeth in irritation, managing to keep my voice level. So much for our moment in the control room. “We received a message. It’s nothing important, a basic call for information, I think. It looks like they’re telling us where they are and asking for our location in return. The good news is, their position seems pretty far off. But it means there are other aliens, and they’re tracking us.”