Page 22 of Guardian's Soul

"What?"

"Give me a moment." I flicked through the screen and opened more.

"What are you trying to find?"

I threw her a warning glare. What part ofgive me a momentdid that insufferable human female not understand?

Just as I was browsing through the Ohrur database to find out which other space guardians had been assigned the same mission as me, all my screens went blank.

Access Denied!

Flashed in big, red letters on every single screen.

"Bastard," I cursed.

"What's happening?" Hannah's voice held enough of an edge to it to raise a dormant protective instinct in me. She was scared, and she deserved an explanation, even if it had to be quick.

"I'm not sure. Something about our mating marks, I suspect, has Possedion all worked up."

Hannah pursed her lips. "He was about to say somethingabout two other space guardians." Her eyes grew wide as she took me in. "Do you think they also have the marks?"

"That's what I was trying to figure out when Possedion locked me out of the database." I cursed. "I need to go to the bridge and see what I can access there."

Hannah was right behind me when we entered the bridge. Strangely, her presence wasn't as intolerable to me as it had been before. She even stayed quiet when my fingers danced over the screens I pulled up.

Until: "If they can deny you access to your database, can they do something to the ship? To make it… I don't know, change course?"

"Frygg." Her words sent off a new wave of alarms, and I checked on our course. "They did. Ordering me back to Ohrur," I informed her. "Give me a tick. I can overwrite this."

"Hold on." She stepped into my line of vision and took my hand, which sent a strange pulse through me. "How long will it take to reach Ohrur?"

"A week, maybe," I guessed. I wasn't certain. I could find out, but she looked like she had more to say.

"Let's think this through first, okay?"

I wasn't sure why she didn't want me to alter the course, but a strange voice inside me told me to hear her out instead of doing what I would usually do: react.

HANNAH

Everything that was happening was so farout of my realm of experience that it wasn't even funny. But if there was one thing my job had taught me, it was the importance of pacing yourself and staying focused on the bigger picture. Whether it was building muscle or shedding weight, progress didn't happen overnight, and you couldn't rush it without risking injury or setbacks. Quick fixes rarely worked—they usually caused more harm than good.

This felt like the same kind of situation. The override felt like a trap, something designed to force us to react without thinking. Maybe that was my paranoia talking—or maybe it wasn't. Either way, I couldn't shake the feeling that rushing to change course would play right into their hands.Slow down and assesswas something I always told my clients. It applied to more than just fitness, and right now, it was the only thing keeping me grounded.

I had no idea why this tiny voice inside me was screamingdon't do it, but for whatever reason, I decided to listen.

"Hold on," I said, stepping into Thrax's line of sight and taking his hand to stop him. His alien skin was warmer than Iexpected, and a strange pulse passed between us. I ignored it and asked, "How long will it take before we reach Ohrur?"

"A week, maybe," he said, though he didn't sound entirely certain.

I nodded. "Then let's think this through, okay? We have the time for it, right? It's not like they're about to implode us or anything?" I glanced around the ship for reassurance, my stomach twisting at the thought.

He shook his head. "I can stop that."

"Okay," I said, steadying myself with a deep breath. "Then let's do that first."

The lights were dimming already, preparing us for nighttime when Thrax declared everything safe for now at least from being blown up by the Ohrurs.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, sitting in one of the captain's chairs while I sat by another bay of screens. I needed a little distance from him and didn't want to sit in the other captain's chair. During the last couple of hours, my body had been acting kind of funny around him, like the magnetic pull between us was gaining in intensity. I wasn't sure if it affected him, too, but to be safe, I felt better with a bit more distance between us.

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