Eight and Marina nod, their faces grim but confident. Ella gives me a small smile from her spot next to Marina. Nine doesn’t look too thrilled about being left out of the mission, but he grunts his approval. Sarah says nothing, looking away.

“Good,” I say. “We should be back in two days max. Six, get whatever you need and let’s head out.”

It’s taken a few days, but for the first time, I actually feel like a leader.

Of course, that leadership feeling doesn’t last all that long. I’m back in my room, stuffing a backpack with a change of clothes and some things from my Chest: my dagger, my bracelet, a healing stone. Sarah comes in carrying a holstered pistol from Nine’s armory and wordlessly stuffs it in a backpack of her own, covering it with a change of clothes.

“What’re you doing?” I ask.

“I’m coming with you,” she says, and gives me a defiant look like she’s expecting an argument. I shake my head in disbelief.

“That wasn’t the plan.”

Sarah shrugs her backpack on and faces me, her hands on her hips. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t my plan to fall in love with an alien either, but sometimes plans change.”

“This could be dangerous,” I tell her. “We’re trying to beat the Mogadorians to Five’s location, but we don’t know that we will for sure. We’re going to have to use stealth and Six can only turn two people invisible at once.”

She shrugs. “Six says we can just bring the Xithi-whatever. That stone. She can use it to copy her powers.”

My eyebrows shoot up. It’s a good idea. But I’m more interested in something else she said. “You already talked to Six?”

“Yeah, she’s cool with it,” Sarah replies. “She understands. There’s nothing about this life that isn’t dangerous anymore. I’m getting used to the idea of my boyfriend fighting an intergalactic war, but I’ll never get used to just watching from the sidelines and hoping everything turns out okay.”

“But it’s safe on the sidelines,” I answer weakly, even though I already know this is a losing argument.

“I’d feel safer being with you. After all that’s happened, I don’t want to be apart anymore, John. Whatever dangers you have to face, I want to be by your side.”

“I don’t want to be apart either, but—” Before I can mount any further protest, Sarah steps forward and shuts me up with a quick kiss. It’s really not fair that she can do that during an argument.

“Just stop there,” she says, smiling at me. “You’ve done the whole chivalrous routine, okay? It’s cute, I like it, but it’s not changing my mind.”