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  I didn’t have time to answer any of his questions, as he charged me, pushing me to the side.

  Regaining my balance, I raced after him, terrified that this mess would come to blows. They had almost ended up fighting before, and I didn’t want it happening again. We didn’t need anyone getting into a scrap and injuring themselves before reaching Earth—we needed to have everyone in one piece.

  I lunged to try to pull him back from Lauren’s bedroom door, my hands accidentally catching the edge of his towel. It fell to the ground with agonizing slowness, but it was too late now—he had already burst into the room.

  “I demand you stop this immediately!” he cried, while scrabbling on the ground to regain his dignity. He managed to pull the towel back up and fasten it around his waist, but I’d already seen far more of him than I’d ever wanted to. By the shocked looks on both Lauren’s and Stone’s faces, they had too.

  “What are you talking about?” Lauren asked, recovering quickly. Her cheeks were bright red.

  “My feelings for you are far stronger than this rude criminal’s feelings could ever be. I am not one to point out the failings in another man, as it is not my style to be cruel, but he lies and cheats for a living. What sort of romantic relationship could he offer you, considering his nature?” he replied, taking a deep breath. “Forgive me, I should not have said all of that. Stone is a good man, in his own way. The truth is… I love you so very much. I do not think I could stand to see you in the arms of another. I fear it would kill me.”

  Lauren turned to Stone, her eyes widening in surprise. “What’s he talking about, Stone?”

  The ambaka lowered his head, sighing in exasperation. “Cheers fer gettin’ the jump on me, Xiphio, old pal.”

  “Stone?” she pressed.

  He looked up, a glitter of irritation flashing in his eyes as he glanced toward Xiphio. “I was buildin’ up to it, Ren,” he said, his tone bitter. “Ye just couldn’t stand to let me have a shot, could ye? Ye just had to come in ‘ere and ruin it, didn’t ye?” He glared at Xiphio. For the first time ever, he actually looked angry.

  “I didn’t realize you had not yet told her,” Xiphio mumbled.

  “It’s none of yer business, anyway!” Stone snapped, getting to his feet and storming over to where Xiphio stood. “I know yer half nekkid, but it’ll not stop me from knockin’ yer fishy head off yer fishy shoulders.”

  “Oh, yes, well, it shan’t stop me from defending myself, either!”

  “Ye sure you’re not a snake instead o’ a fish?”

  Xiphio scowled. “I am not a fish—that is terribly insulting. I am a merevin.”

  “Yeah? Well, I’m pissed off.”

  “You’re not seriously telling me that you think you’re a good match for Lauren? Look at her beautiful face—it’s evident to me that she had no idea you were besotted with her. What sort of suitor are you, if you cannot even make your feelings known?”

  “I was tryin’ to, before ye burst in here with yer giblets swingin’!”

  “An accident, good sir. I was simply trying to stop you from making a colossal mistake. I’m the better suited one. You know it, and I know it. So, let us shake on our differences and allow me to take it from here.”

  Stone bared his teeth. “Listen ‘ere, pal. I traveled with ‘er for over a month, while you were hearin’ of her second-hand. Ye didn’t even know her!”

  “Well, you were going to sell her on the flesh markets!”

  “No, I weren’t, ye lyin’ sack of fish guts. I don’t go in fer that sorta thing. I trade in inanimate objects only.”

  Xiphio snorted. “Says the man with the living creature wrapped around his wrist.”

  “That were a one-time thing. I already explained all o’ that,” Stone hissed. “I’d never ‘ave sold Ren to no one, even if I were in the market fer that kinda stuff. She’s special!”

  “I know she’s special, which is why I knew, even before I met her, that I would fall madly in love with her.”

  “D’you know how mad that sounds? Can ye hear yerself?” Stone shook his head. “Must be all that deep water back home gettin’ to yer head, crushin’ the sense out of it.”

  Lauren stood up and folded her arms across her chest. The two guys turned to her slowly, her actions silencing them. Evidently, they were expecting her to put one of them out of his misery. I watched her in anticipation, wondering which one she was going to choose.

  “I guess neither of you has considered my feelings in all of this?” she said calmly. “Look at the pair of you, squabbling like kids over a toy. Well, I’m not a toy you can play with, and I’m not a prize to be won in some slinging match. I’m not interested in either of you. At least, not right now.”

  “What do ye mean?” Stone asked, his face remaining blank. Next to him, Xiphio looked downright crushed.

  “We’ve got way too much to worry about without bringing crushes and feelings into the equation. We just don’t have time for any of this nonsense,” she said firmly. “My home is in danger, in case the two of you had forgotten. That includes my parents, my friends, every creature, every plant, every book. It’s all at risk—everything I’ve ever loved is under threat, and you two are fighting over something that doesn’t matter right now.”

  Xiphio’s cheeks were purple with shame. “I just wanted you to know that I care… before we enter a fight we might not win.” His tone was bordering on childish, and I could see from Lauren’s face that she wasn’t impressed.

  “If you really cared about me, the way you say you do, you will be my friend and ally first, before asking for more. I need people to have my back and the backs of everyone on this ship. I need you to be working together, not fighting over who you think has more right to be with me.”

  Her words cowed them both in an instant, and the two of them exchanged a shy glance.

  “Sorry, Xiphio,” Stone muttered.

  “Sorry, Stone.”

  Lauren smiled. “Good. Now, I don’t want to see either of you for the rest of the evening. I suggest you go and get to know each other better before we reach Earth. Although, Xiphio, you should put on some clothes first.”

  “Yes, Miss Lauren,” Xiphio mumbled.

  “Sure thing, Ren.”

  With that, the boys left the room, hurrying off with their tails between their legs. As soon as they were gone, I flashed an impressed look at my best friend, giving a low whistle of congratulations. I’d never seen her like that before. As much as I hated to admit it, Lauren’s time with the scavengers had done something remarkable, turning her into this fierce young woman who could command respect from anyone. The shy creature she’d once been had gone, though there was something sad in that, too.

  “I can’t believe what a badass you are!” I laughed as I wandered over to join her on the edge of the bed. “Honestly, you’ve changed so much. It’s like you’re a completely different person. A total badass person.”

  A funny expression drifted across her face. “I’m not a different person. I’m the same Lauren I always was.”

  “Still, I can’t imagine you doing that a month ago.”

  Lauren rubbed the back of her neck. “I just… I have a better picture now of who I am on my own. Before, I was always one of three, you know? When we got separated, I learned what it meant to just be me, without the two of you propping me up.”

  I felt stung by the words. “I guess I never thought of it like that.”

  She reached over and took my hand, a warm smile on her face. “Please don’t take offense to it, Riley. It has nothing to do with you or Angie, or anything that the three of us have shared. I love you both just as much as I always did. The only thing that’s changed is, now, I’ve found a sense of independence that I didn’t have before. It’s the kind of independence I’d hoped to get in college—it just came from being on board a scrappy little spaceship instead.”

  Lauren leaned against my shoulder, and we sat like that, side by side, as I marveled at all the ways the u
niverse had changed us.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Three days later, Lauren, Angie, and I were huddled in front of the cruiser windshield, watching the planets of our solar system pass by. It was weird to see them close up, after a lifetime spent hearing about them on the news, or in documentaries, or described in textbooks. Pluto came first, with its snowy heart showing on the surface. Even if it was technically categorized as a dwarf planet these days, I still liked to think of it as fully-fledged. Then, Neptune passed in an electric blue haze, followed by the peculiar blue of Uranus.

  Naturally, Angie snorted. “Ha, I’ve seen Uranus.”

  “Real mature, Ange,” Lauren chided playfully.

  She shrugged. “What? Someone had to say it.”

  We fell silent again as Saturn appeared alongside the cruiser, her icy rings glinting, then the mighty Jupiter with its signature red spot. We started to really get excited as Mars came into view, knowing we weren’t far from home now. Soon enough, we would see the familiar sight of Earth again, and though I was thrilled by the prospect, it didn’t quite seem real. Earth felt like a dream, left over from another lifetime.

  As we passed by the welcoming warmth of the rusty-colored Mars, the cruiser came to a standstill, just short of Earth. Even so, we could see it through the glass pane, all three of us in complete awe at the vision of our beautiful blue, green, and white marbled home. Tears sprang to my eyes, my heart overwhelmed at the sight. Turning to my friends, I could see I wasn’t the only one.

  There she was, just as we’d left her, with no sign of Queen Gianne and her army anywhere. I wasn’t sure which one brought me more happiness—that we were home, or that we’d reached it before Gianne could.

  “Why’ve we stopped?” I asked, turning to Bashrik. I was too excited about going home to think straight.

  “I figured we should stay up here a while longer before landing,” Ronad chimed in. “The merevin Feds aren’t here yet, and we should probably get in touch with the lycan contingent before we start setting any shields up. Plus, we’re going to need to conserve our energy up until the last moment, when we put the nudus on.”

  Bashrik nodded. “Yeah, the last thing we want to do is start building shields without the lycan Fed knowing about it. They might think it’s an attack and start retaliating.”

  So close… and yet, so far, I thought grimly.

  Navan came up and put his arm around my waist, before addressing the room. “We need to get in touch with the lycans and make sure they’re fully on board with the plan, so we can figure out how they’re going to prevent mass human panic. We can’t exactly make the shields invisible, so we’ll have to explain it somehow.”

  “And how do we contact the lycans?” I wondered, remembering how difficult it had been the last time. “I mean, we don’t even know where their headquarters are.”

  Dio, who had been minding his own business in the corner, sat up straighter, attracting our attention. “It’s good you’ve got me, then, isn’t it?”

  “What, does your kind have a pack mind or something? Like, a telepathic link?” Angie asked, arching an eyebrow.

  Dio laughed. “Not quite. I used to be a Fed agent. I wasn’t stationed here myself, but these will probably be the same bunch I left behind when I got kicked out.”

  Xiphio gasped out loud. “You were a Fed agent?”

  “I was, though I wasn’t very good at it. Apparently, it’s bad form for a Federal agent to take bribes.” He flashed a wolfish grin. “Anyway, I know how to get in touch with my lycan pals. All I need is a quick lend of the ship’s systems and I’ll have us there in no time.”

  Bashrik moved away from the controls. “Sure, do what you’ve got to do.”

  “Are we sure this is a good idea?” Xiphio protested, evidently struggling with the idea of a dirty agent. For me, it only confirmed something I’d already been suspecting: with a Fed that spanned the universe, there had to be some underhanded activities going on. I’d already wondered if that was how the rebels had been allowed to build their base on Earth in the first place, with their secret being kept by some lycan agent down there. It really wouldn’t have surprised me.

  “Relax, Xiphio. I realized my calling in the end—I was always destined for the scavenger life,” Dio replied, chuckling as he made his way over to the controls and started to work his magic. Before long, a flashing light showed up on the navigation system, though it didn’t appear to be coming from Earth at all.

  I thought back to the first time I’d been taken to the Fed HQ, after coaxing them out and forcing them to come to us. The air had felt distinctly different—I remembered that much—and there’d been a sharp wind that had carried the scent of saltwater. I’d been convinced we were by the ocean, somewhere on Earth, but this was just confusing. Judging by the flashing light on the navigation monitor, it looked like the headquarters were stationed on the moon. There was a strange sort of irony in a bunch of lycan agents living on the moon, but I didn’t know if it was polite to say in front of Dio.

  “Are there two Fed HQs here?” I wondered.

  Dio shrugged. “Wouldn’t surprise me. They’ll have an outpost down on the surface, for immediate purposes, and one farther away. Especially considering this planet is part of the Embryo Project, they’d try to keep their distance, with only a few guys on the ground.”

  “There’s one on the moon? The actual moon?” Angie looked stunned.

  Alfa padded across to the windshield and looked out, before casting a bemused expression back at us. “Don’t you Earthlings have a name for your moon? Seems a bit unfair, just to call it ‘moon.’”

  I guessed he had a point, though it wasn’t something I’d thought about before.

  “It’s probably because it was the first one we ever saw, as humans,” Lauren explained, though she didn’t look entirely convinced.

  The cruiser jolted forward unexpectedly. “Sorry—not used to these controls!” Dio yelped, as Bashrik swooped in and took over, directing the ship toward the flashing beacon that had appeared on the screen. It was taking us away from Earth, much to my dismay, but I knew we’d soon be back on her surface, forging our shields and keeping her from harm.

  Keeping my eyes on her until the ship turned too far in the opposite direction, I added fuel to the flames of the hope that burned brightly within me. We’d made it here before Gianne, and we were about to enlist the lycans into our fold. The merevins were on their way, and Alfa’s Rexombran pals would be coming too. Even so, the thing I was looking forward to the most was sinking to the ground and feeling Earthen grass under my feet again. It would be strange to smell the scent of home again, but I was more than ready for it.

  Ten minutes later, the surface of the moon came into full view, the cratered landscape barely seeming real from this distance. It looked like a set, something from a Hollywood movie. The sight completely took my breath away; it resembled one big mountain range, with peaks and gorges. I couldn’t see any sort of building, but that didn't mean there wasn't one down there—the rebel base had taught me that much.

  “Since everyone is getting a turn on the controls today, do you want to send updates to your buddies?” Bashrik asked, glancing at Alfa. “I can send them to the merevins, but you all might as well meet us at HQ instead of frightening some poor, unsuspecting humans.”

  Alfa grinned. “Thought you’d never ask.”

  As soon as Alfa had sent the coordinates, Bashrik put the cruiser into landing mode, and the ship descended toward the rocky, gray landscape. He tried to get as close to the flashing beacon as possible, but as soon as the underside of the cruiser hovered above the given coordinates, a shiver of electricity bristled through the ship with a loud crackle. There was a shield below us, blocking our entry. He tried to touch it again, but the same thing happened, a shimmer of movement rippling outward, revealing the vague shape of a small dome.

  Undeterred, Bashrik lifted us up and moved us a short distance away, before setting us down on the silty s
urface. This time, nothing stood in our way, though I wondered if the lycan Fed would fear we were an enemy ship.

  As if sensing my concerns, Dio pulled out a curious-looking object. It looked somewhere between a flute and a panpipe, and was forged from a bronze-tinged metal. Gripping it in his clawed hand, he moved over to the windshield and blew into the instrument’s mouthpiece. A faint whistle emerged. It was difficult for the human ear to hear, but it seemed to be causing everyone else some trouble, as all of them were covering their ears and grimacing in pain.

  “Do you hear anything?” I looked to Angie and Lauren.

  Lauren shrugged. “A tiny whistle, maybe.”

  Angie nodded. “Yeah, same.”

  “Are you kidding? I think it’s going to crack my skull open!” Bashrik gasped, squeezing his eyes shut.

  A moment later, Dio stopped blowing into the mouthpiece, and a look of relief washed over the face of each alien in the room.

  “What the hell was that?” Ronad muttered, rubbing his temples.

  Dio grinned. “My calling card. Just give it a minute, you’ll see.”

  Sure enough, five minutes later, the comms system sparked to life, an image flickering up on the monitor. There, facing us, was a stern-looking lycan with distinctly feminine features, and she did not look impressed that we had settled on her territory. Her bright orange eyes pierced through the screen, her long, dark lashes giving them a dramatic, almost Egyptian appearance.

  “I am Commander Mahlo of the Universal Federal Agency. State your purpose,” she demanded.

  I wandered over to the monitor, just as Dio hurried over from the windshield and appeared at my side. She frowned at the sight of me, a glimmer of surprise flickering in her eyes. Evidently, she hadn’t expected to see a human on the ship. As Ronad entered her line of vision, her entire face softened.

  “Ronad, is that you?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Back from my adventures, Commander Mahlo!”