came home, he tossed one in Axton's lap and told him it was so Axton wouldn't forget what they looked like. That set off a whole event where they threw the package at each other as hard as possible. At least, they did until it exploded when it hit Trace's face. They ended up picking the tiny, broken pieces out of the couch cushions forever. Pretty sure there are still bits left, waiting to poke someone in the ass.
“Oh, shut up. I said I was sorry,” Axton bit out, not sounding apologetic at all. He turned to me again before asking, “What about it felt weird?”
I opened my mouth to answer him but promptly closed it because I didn't understand why. It simply did. All of them stared at me, and I could sense their rising anticipation, but I had nothing to give them. Finally, I shook my head and shrugged.
“I don't know. I watched it several times, but it seemed fine. Nothing about it really stood out. Might just be me being a bit paranoid.”
“Got that right,” Trace mumbled.
I jerked around, glaring at him before a thought hit me. I rose, and a toothy smile stretched across my face. He looked up and noticed me. A shudder ran through him before he started trying to wave me off.
“No, I don't like how you're looking at me.” He leaned to the side, seeking to connect with Axton, who was blocked from Trace's view by my body. “Help! She's going to change me into somebody else, I can tell.”
“Maybe then you won't complain so much about a fucking snack. Hey, Kian, any requests for Trace's new personality?” Axton asked lightly.
“Oh, yes. Can we remove his instigator trait? Maybe replace it with something really upbeat? Oh, I know. Make him bouncy.” Kian ended with a high-pitched hysterical-sounding laugh.
I stopped in my tracks and twisted until I could see him. With an eyebrow raised, I repeated, “Bouncy?”
Kian shot up out of his seat as he said, “Yeah, bouncy. Like this.”
He skipped around our little square, running his hands along Trace's upper back as he passed by.
“Do not make me bouncy,” Trace growled as he jerked away from Kian's touch.
As Grace giggled behind me, I took advantage of Trace's distraction and lunged forward. I snatched his hand out of the air, pulling it against my chest as I dropped onto his leg.
“Oh, now I'm making you extra bouncy. And chipper. Oh, and super friendly.”
I dove into his mind before he could protest, quickly locating his memories since I'd already played with them before. His check went rather easily, and I ran into nothing that I found suspicious.
When I exited, Trace scowled before wiping it from his face.
“Did you just test to see if you could be grouchy?” I asked, biting back a laugh.
“Well, you never know with you, so yes, yes I did. What did you find?” The scowl returned, this time pulling his brows together.
Grace snorted, slapping her hands over her mouth as she shrank down. That killed my amusement, but Grace wouldn't be a quick fix, so I focused on answering Trace.
“Nothing except when I messed with you. I wasn't very careful, so it's pretty obvious, but the rest of your memories seem fine.” I jumped off his lap and clapped my hands together. “Now, who's ready for our next batch of Earth trips?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
We landed in Dalrin's version of the DNB's portal room. Though it appeared to be much smaller with only three portals, it resembled the one in Orusian in every other aspect. A single Tech sat at the controls, his green eyes locked on the disc that we stood on.
I checked to ensure I hadn't lost Shadow, then pulled my husk forward, allowing it to cover my soul once again. The trio followed and hopped off the circular platform. When I turned, Grace didn't appear, though.
“Come on, Grace. It's time to make an appearance,” I muttered out of the side of my mouth.
Just when the notion that we'd lost her in the stream passed through my head, she became corporeal. Her eyes were a bit wild, and her clasped hands trembled.
I threw an arm around her shoulders and stepped closer to her, whispering, “The stream?”
I couldn't see her downcast face, but her head shook, and she coughed lightly. She took a step, and I mirrored her, trying to stay even with her.
Finally, she answered me with a question. “Is it always like that?”