Page 33 of Guardian's Soul

Startled by my outburst—which, granted, my voice did sound pretty pissy—he looked up.

I glared at him, not backing down. Being mad at him was a hell of a lot easier than wanting to feel his hands all over my body. That and I hadn't fully mastered the new Hannah yet. The one that wasn't bubbly or angry all the time. Finding the perfect balance was still challenging some days more than others.

"Here." He pushed the cube to me, expanding it. On the screen was a small alien, probably shorter than me. He had gray skin and was so slim it looked painful. His oversized head looked too heavy to be held up by his little neck.

"Just one more example of how out of control these Space Guardians are," the little alien was saying. He was standing in front of a marketplace, filming another holovid. The concept of the alien version of a social media blogger was still a new concept that made me chuckle now and then at how similar we all were. The idea fascinated me more than the story he was talking about: a Space Guardian who had caused havoc in the marketplace while apprehending a suspected criminal.

Thrax chuckled again as the little alien kept spewing about theSpace Guardian Menace, as he called it.

"You like him?"

"He's amusing as frygg." Thrax laughed.

"He doesn't sound like he likes you or your brethren," I opinionated.

"He doesn't. He hates our guts, which makes this so amusing. I mean, look at him.Youcould probably wring his neck." I took a sharp intake of breath at this latest insult, but he only grinned atme. "No offense. But you know what I mean. And here he is, picking on the most feared, elite fighters in the universe." He chuckled again.

I still didn't see why that was so amusing, but let him have his fun.

"What's the guy's name?"

"Nock," Thrax said, laughing even harder as if that was a joke as well.

"Here, look at this one." He swiped through the cube and played anothervideofor me. In this one, Nock was confronting a man, towering over him in outraged indignation. The man could have been a carbon copy of Thrax. Just as tall, wide, muscular, wearing the same uniform.

"You killed this man in cold blood," Nock accused the other Space Guardian.

"This man killed more than thirty females," the Space Guardian spat back.

"So you say. What evidence do you have? Are you the judge and executioner?" Nock held his ground. "Why not call the GTU forces? Let them handle him?"

I hadn't realized how close Thrax had sidled up to me until his deep, rumbling laughter alerted me to his presence, instantly sending goose bumps all over my skin.

"I don't see why this is so funny," I mumbled, swallowing, hoping he didn't notice the hoarseness in my voice.

"You see how exasperated Zaarek is?" Amusement dripped from Thrax's voice.

I had, and I hadn't. I took a closer look now, though. I watched as Zaarek's fist balled and unballed, how he leaned forward, towering over Nock at probably twice his size. Pure, unadulterated frustration oozed from the Space Guardian while Nock stared up at him, seemingly nonplussed.

"Nock has balls," I remarked.

Thrax chucked. "Either that or he's incredibly stupid."

"The GTU were the ones letting him go in the first place," Zaarek hissed.

"Because there was no evidence." Nock looked at him triumphantly.

"Then tell me, Nock the Holostreamer, what's stopping me from wringing your neck right now?" The giant alien held up his hands.

Nock did take a step back at that but fearlessly stared up at him. "Because you're live," Nock spat in triumph. "Because trillions of viewers are watching you right now."

"You made sure trillions of people watched me dispatch Gro'Bdhuir. That didn't stop me," Zaarek pointed out.

This time, Nock's lipless mouth opened without reply.

"So think about that before you accuse me next time." Zaarek turned and walked away.

"That male has some serious self-control. I'm not sure I would have walked away from Nock like that," Thrax mused.

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