Liam grinned, back to his cocky self. “When I first came here, I flipped through some books without understanding how historical they were,” he explained. “By the time I realized the pirate look was outdated, I’d decided I liked it.”

Of course he had. I sighed. “Can Cage take your cutlass?”

Cage blinked. “I’ve never used a sword, Kenzie.”

“No, but with your speed, that could be a pretty deadly weapon in your hands, even against the aliens.” And with mine, I reminded myself. But I still wasn’t sure how to trigger my new abilities. For Cage, his speed was second nature. For me, it only seemed to appear when I panicked. And if I lost control with that blade in my hand . . . I squared my shoulders. No more accidents.

Slowly he nodded, accepting my logic, and Liam passed him the cutlass without argument. Cage tested the edge with his thumb, wincing as he drew a drop of blood. “Why’d you do that?” Liam demanded.

Cage shrugged, sucking on the wound. “It’s what they do in the movies.”

Somehow that struck me as incredibly funny, and I had to purse my lips against another hysterical bout of laughter. “Okay,” I managed. “We rescue our friends, find a way off Obsidian, and avoid getting killed by aliens. Anything else?”

“That’s not enough?” Liam asked dryly. “My advice, forget your friends. You can’t take on the zemdyut and Legion.”

“We’re not abandoning them,” said Rune sharply.

Cage laid a soothing hand on her shoulder. “Of course we’re not.” He gestured to Liam. “You can stay here, if you want. We’ll come back for you.”

He laughed scornfully, apparently attributing the same lack of honor to us that he’d displayed. “No thanks. I’ll tag along. Safety in numbers and all that.” He hesitated. “But let’s be clear. Once the zemdyut show up, it’s everyone for themselves. Don’t expect me to sacrifice myself to save you.”

“I appreciate the honesty.” I shoved a few more protein bars into my pockets and stared at the wall. “I wonder if I can open a door anywhere on the station,” I said slowly. With a glance over my shoulder at Liam, I added, “Or if you can.”

“I told you on my ship. I seem to have burnt out my powers getting here. Or maybe it’s a mental block. I don’t know. I’ve tried using them since and nothing happened.” He looked very young and tired all of a sudden and scrubbed his fingers over his face. “You have the same power as me?”

“I didn’t,” I said. “Not until recently. Our powers seem to be changing.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, the same thing happened on my planet.”

“What?” All three of us spun on him.

“How?” Rune demanded, at the same time that I said, “Explain.” We drew forward, fists taut at our sides, our shoulders squared, and faced him down.

Liam seemed taken aback. “How much do you know? Did you figure out where your powers originated?”