Page 56 of Victoria's Discovery

She paused to let that sink in, the steel in her gaze reinforcing the considerable precariousness of their situation.

“However, we will be preparing for the worst even as we hope for the best. With that in mind, all of you will attend mandatory training classes. I understand you’re all from different worlds with different cultures, beliefs, and practices but you’re not home anymore. This planet is dangerous, and I willnothave a building full of victims. If it only endangered yourself, I’d happily leave the choice up to you, but it doesn’t. Remaining unprepared and defenseless endangers everyone here so, regardless of whether you’re a pacifist, you will learn hand-to-hand combat, receive weapons training, and go through a crash course on how to use the technology here. We’ll also practice emergency drills, so you’ll know what to do if the complex is attacked.”

The guys rumbled approvingly at her back, but Victoria heard a few grumbles of discontent. Turning, she subtly surveyed the crowd to gauge everyone’s reaction. Personally, she was excited to learn how to protect herself and thought Aria’s reasoning made complete sense, but she spotted more than one person who looked daunted, scared, or downright indignant at the decree.

Her first thought at seeing that was that she should talk to them, find out why they were upset, and maybe see if she could assuage some of their concerns, but then she rolled her eyes at herself. She didn’t know anything more than they did, and besides, why should they listen to her?

“Recap. The rules are as follows: One, cause no harm. Two, pull your own weight. We can’t afford to have people who take and don’t give. There’s plenty to do and everyone can do something to help. Three, learn to protect yourself. Four, don’t do anything stupid. Five, no fighting. If you have a problem with someone, talk it out. If you can’t, find a mediator. If you’ve got a problem with something, find one of us. Six, be understanding. This is one hell of a situation, so I get that acclimating will be a struggle, but if everyone keeps in mind that misunderstandings are bound to happen, and makes a conscious effort to be patient with one another, I believe we can avoid most conflicts.”

Aria paused again to make eye contact with the people at the front of the crowd. Her expression didn’t soften, per se, but something in it made it feel like she was seeing each and every one of them, like she was speaking to them personally.

“I’m not here to be a tyrant or your caretaker. So far as I know, you’re all adults. I expect you to behave as such. Yes?”

Victoria added her own decisive, “Yes, ma’am,” to the calls and murmurs of consent, but her eyes were on the crowd again. To her relief, the vast majority appeared calmer and more at ease after Aria’s declaration.

Just as she was about to face forward, she did a double take when her gaze passed over the far back edge of the assembly.

What the…

That was Catty, the female from the hallway that gave her bad vibes. She was sure of it. Except her horns were gone and her skin appeared more pink and less whitish grey than she remembered. She started to second guess herself but, no. Unless she had a twin from a different species, that was definitely her.

So, what? She was a shapeshifter like Snitch?

That was… alarming. Almost as alarming as the look on her face. It reminded Victoria of a black widow: cold, calculating, and hungry, with a hefty dose of anger and… was that desire?

My goodness, that’s horrifying. Who is she staring at?

Victoria followed the female’s gaze, concerned for the recipient, only to relax when her eyes landed on Rellik. Snorting under her breath, she shook her head and smirked.

Pfft, I’d like to see her try something on him. Aria would beat her to death with her own arms. Okay, maybe just kick her ass, but still.

“Good. I think that’s enough for now,” Aria announced. “Kix, Rellik, and Lilac will call on you one at a time for your intake interviews.”

When Aria left, Rellik made a beeline for her.

“Hello again, Victoria,” he greeted with a friendly smile.

“Hey, Rellik. How are you today? Is Thrasin feeling better?”

He seemed a little surprised but pleased at the questions. “I am well, and I value your kindness for asking. Sin is completely recovered. Physically, leastwise,” he finished quietly, glancing at the man in question.

Victoria wondered at that, but kept her curiosity to herself, not wanting to come off as nosey.

“Ah, well. Would you like to follow me, please?”

“Oh. Uh, sure.”

She was a little nervous to go first, but excited about the prospect of being helpful. She’d never been good at sitting around doing nothing, much preferring to keep busy. An added bonus was that a job would help give her something else to focus on outside of crushing on the guys and overanalyzing their reactions.

Rellik came to an unexpected stop after no more than three steps and turned around with an amused look on his handsome face.

“You may stay here. She will be perfectly safe.”

Glancing back in surprise, Victoria realized the guys had stayed on her heels and appeared to have every intention of joining in on her interview. In response to Rellik’s reassurance, Thorn crossed his arms, his already stern expression becoming unyielding. Vi’kail just shook his head in a simple but very clear no. Even Thegan, who was usually the easy going one of the three, looked stone-faced.

Her chest warmed at their show of protectiveness, but she could admit to wondering if they were doing it because they were truly her friends or if they felt responsible for the frail human. Which only further emphasized her need for something else to focus on. Still…

Biting her bottom lip, she turned back to Rellik. “Would it be okay if they joined me? We could go one after the other.”

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