Page 22 of Interstellar Love Song (Villains in Space #3)

ZIGGY

“What is this fabric? It feels cheap. I understand your main vocation is stitching up loincloths for Stellarians infiltrating distant mud huts but this is a wedding. An incredibly prestigious wedding—for the closest thing this glittering rock has to celebrities. We need ‘wow factor.’ We need drama. We need COLOR!”

I need to get the fuck off this planet.

At least, out of this fitting room…

“Calm down, Theo.” My space fiancé strolled through the door, distractingly shirtless. “These are custom fits, so the tailor is just taking some measurements on throwaway fabric before they make the final cuts. Don’t tell me you’ve never had a bespoke suit made before.”

As I’m sure Micah intended, my maker only became more offended. “Of course I have! My suits, however, are made on Earth, where the inhabitants don’t spend all day clanking about in unfashionable armor. ”

“You mean the armor you were prancing around in back home, brat?” Andre scoffed, although his focus was locked on the tailor kneeling in front of me for some reason. “Just waiting for Gabe to notice and fall on your dick.”

“It worked too!” Gabriel shot Micah a wink as he petted a purring Pedro in his lap. “The Space Daddy armor is hot as hell, amiright?”

Agreed.

Especially when Commander Babygirl wears it.

“I must admit, I’m surprised you still possessed your old armor, Theo,” I remarked as my tailor stood and scurried to their worktable. “With what the Star Unit insignia stood for, I would have expected you to destroy anything that reminded you of your service.”

Theo sniffed. “I kept it for the aesthetics. It would have made a gripping showpiece in my entryway, but I honestly forgot about it until someone decided they liked playing Captured by the Enemy Alien.”

One of our favorite games.

Micah cleared his throat, no doubt picking up on my lust. “So what will you guys be wearing tonight?”

Both twins answered “black” as Theo shouted “color!” and I decided to put my maker out of his misery.

“The base of my outfit will be black…” I glanced at the Star Wars style tunic the tailor was furiously stitching. “And Micah will be wearing mostly white, but the most impressive creature in all the galaxies has hidden a colorful surprise in the material. ”

Our Earthbound family looked equal parts intrigued and impressed while Micah pulled his “Y’all Need Science” tee shirt over his head to hide his blush.

“Let’s take our guests to the bazaar, Zig,” my flustered mate suggested, attempting to redirect. “I wanna show them the bootleg Morning Light merch before we get some grub.”

It was my turn to blush, but I agreed with the plan, if only so the humans— partial humans and baby Trol —in our midst could eat.

And I know what Micah will be ordering for everyone.

A quick star hop and several minutes of haggling proved me correct. As the six of us settled around a stone table in Stellaria’s safest bazaar, I used my tendrils to slice up the Corpus spongiosum, so my babygirl could enjoy it with Pedro and the twins.

Who look aesthetically pleasing seated on either side of him…

“Okay, since consent is sexy, I want everyone to know this is alien dick.” Micah grandly gestured at the chunks of meat spread out on gup-gup leaves. “It’s elite—pretty much my favorite thing in the universe besides… you know—but yeah. Get ready to eat a dick.”

Gabriel was already popping a piece into his mouth with a satisfied hum but Andre hesitated, eyeing the meal suspiciously.

“What’s the matter, Demon?” Theo teased. “If you’re unsure about how such a delicacy might feel in your mouth, I could give you something to practice on.”

Here we go .

Gabriel briefly choked on his bite and Micah looked like he was trying not to laugh, but the violence in Andre’s glare—squarely aimed at his “brat”—would have sent an entire Star Unit into hiding.

He gets that from his Stellarian side.

I wasn’t planning on getting involved, but then Andre’s vibrant blue gaze drifted to me. “What do you think, Ziggy? Should I give alien dick a try?”

Micah and Gabriel released matching gasps, and even Theo sat up straighter in anticipation of my reply, but I had no intention of stoking this particular fire.

Not today, anyway.

“Only if you want to try alien dick, Andre,” I coolly replied. “Take your time. It will be here when you’re ready.”

“Dang,” Gabriel muttered as Andre gaped at me in astonishment. “That was smooth as hell.”

Micah blasted me with smug pride through our bond as Theo reached across the table to steal a piece of Corpus spongiosum for himself

“Well played,” he chuckled. “Nothing quite throws my Demon off than others refusing to participate in his games.”

Andre’s eyes narrowed at both of us before he plucked a chunk off the leaves. “Maybe I’ll just feed some dick to Micah instead…” He dangled the meat between two fingers, centimeters from my mate’s lips.

Looks like someone wants to play the brat.

And be punished like one .

“Not on my wedding day!” Micah dramatically exclaimed, dodging the offering so Gabriel could capture it with his mouth instead.

Well played, indeed.

“You’re such an asshole, G,” Andre grumbled, although the only emotion I picked up on was loving exasperation as he wiped his twin’s spit off his fingers.

“As if you haven’t fed him dick before,” Theo grumbled under his breath. “Insufferable teases…”

Andre rolled his eyes before holding out his hand. “Hey, Space Daddy—throw me some bones. Imma go buy something less weird to eat.”

I handed over the currency and directed him to a nearby stall with the closest thing to vegetarian options one would find on this planet.

Never mind that the foliage is usually sentient.

He doesn’t need to know.

“Grab some Ogorn’s milk while you’re up!” Micah shouted around a mouthful of food, waving his hand toward another stall. “It’s bussin’.”

Whatever that means.

“What’s Ogorn’s milk? Is it cum?” Gabriel asked, not seeming at all turned off by the idea, although I appreciated how he shielded Pedro’s ears from the adult language.

Such a good space uncle.

“It’s, uhhh…” Micah scrunched his face and looked at me. “I actually don’t think you’ve ever told me what it is, Zig. ”

“Sweat,” Theo stated before I could decide how to soften the news. “The milk is harvested from the sweat glands of mature Ogorn—sustainably, of course—and it is quite bussin’.”

He turned to me as our mates snickered. “Bussin’ means exceptionally delicious. As I’ve been given no choice but to tolerate these two scandalously younger men for the rest of my life, I must keep up with their slang.”

“You love it, old man,” Gabriel crooned, gazing at my maker with what Micah would call heart eyes .

Gross.

An anguished scream emanating from the direction of the stalls had us all scrambling to our feet.

“Andre?” Theo called out, looking part murderous, part terrified. “Is that you?”

His doing, more likely…

I was proven correct once again as Andre sauntered into view, holding an Episcia wrap in one hand and a tray of froth-filled mugs in the other—looking no worse for wear.

“What?” he snapped as he placed the drinks on the table and flopped onto the bench. “Some rando looked at me funny so I fried their brain.”

Understandable.

“Dre!” Gabriel hissed as we all sat down again. “We are guests on this planet. You can’t just throw hands like that.”

Theo scoffed, offended all over again. “Stellaria is just as much your home as Earth is. ”

“That’s right,” Andre replied with a mouth full of leafy Episcia. “Don’t you remember the dreams we used to have together?”

Dreams?!

Micah and I glanced at each other before my mate carefully spoke. “What kind of dreams? About… Stellaria?”

Gabriel twisted his lips, deep in thought. “More like… space in general. Existing in the universe, feeling at peace. Feeling like we were home.”

“We usually keep the door closed at night,” Andre added, reminding me they usually allowed their telepathic abilities to flow between them in a continuous loop. “It’s a way to give our brains a break.”

His twin nodded. “Yeah, but every time we have this dream, we’re somehow both there, just floating through the stars.” He took a sip of Ogorn’s milk. “Or… not stars.”

Oh, no…

“Like intergalactic space?” Micah asked, chewing his lip anxiously. “The space between galaxies, you mean?”

“No,” Andre replied, watching my mate closely, catching onto the anxiety flavoring the air. “One minute, we’re chilling inside a star-filled galaxy. The next, there are no stars. Something blocks them out.”

“Some thing or some one?” I growled, causing everyone’s attention to snap to me.

“Ziggy…” Theo warned .

Gabriel looked confused, but Andre was now laser focused on me. “I guess you could say someone, since it talked to us once.”

What?!

“Oh, yeah,” Gabriel laughed. “It was like, ‘he will arrive in due time.’ I was so blazed, all I could think to say back was, ‘sounds good, fam…’”

Was the Musaa talking about me or Micah?

Doesn’t matter.

“Don’t. Fucking. Talk to it,” I gritted out, rising to stand so I loomed over the others. Pedro squeaked and hid their face against Micah’s shirt while Gabriel and Andre sat frozen, staring up at me with big blue eyes.

I can’t lose any of them.

I can’t.

“Ziggy.” Theo also stood, an aggravating reminder he’d chosen an Earthling skinsuit as big as mine. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“No,” I barked at my maker before turning to the twins again, my chest so tight I thought it might explode. “Please, just… don’t let it in.”

“All right. Enough of this,” Theo huffed before grabbing my arm and star hopping us to the far side of the bazaar.

I turned and steadied myself on the low stone wall overlooking the government and weapons district, willing the familiar glittering skyline to distract me from how helpless I felt.

How can I possibly stop this ?

“Care to tell me what that was all about?” Theo leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and gazed at me expectantly. “Especially the part where you somehow managed to silence Andre?—”

“Have you ever heard of a Planet Eater?” I softly asked, wincing as my normally unruffled creator froze.

“Yes,” he carefully replied. “All novas were sufficiently traumatized with tales of Planet Eater bogeymen. I recall being convinced during my first mission with a Star Unit that one would appear out of nowhere and swallow me up. Imagine my annoyance when I later learned they’d gone extinct.”

Wait.

“No…” I scowled as I turned my back to the city and sat on the edge of the wall. “The Markarians —original progenitors of Stellarians and all the numerous alien species we’re apparently related to—went extinct, not the Planet Eaters.”

Theo’s brow furrowed. “Odd. I was always told Markarians were Planet Eaters. Either way, we come from a deliciously terrifying lineage, hmm?”

I stared at my maker for a long moment, deciding whether I should ruin his delusions with the truth.

Yes, I believe I should.

If for no other reason than me being forced to discover this on my own.

“I also had a dream recently.” I lifted my chin. “A vision I supposedly obtained by tapping into the collective well. Ever heard of it? ”

“No, I haven’t,” Theo replied—much to my satisfaction—before sitting beside me. “I wonder if that could be the explanation for my unprecedented dream.”

Oh no…

“When was this? Tell me what you saw,” I demanded, although part of me didn’t want to know.

You need all the facts, Ziggy.

“It was soon after I met the twins,” he began, uncharacteristically serious. “I didn’t yet know I was dealing with non-Earthlings, but the connection between us was already forming, whether I liked it or not.”

I wanted to point out he did a lot of complaining for someone so obviously in love, but held my tongue. “Yes, apparently these connections of ours reawaken dormant powers—like our ability to access the shared subconscious known as the collective well.”

Theo nodded, absorbing the intel. “I dreamed I was back on Stellaria with the twins. It wasn’t the planet I remembered, however, all pristine and untouchable. It was delightful chaos.”

My blood ran cold. “Was Stellaria under attack?”

He gave me a strange look. “I… huh. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me that could happen but, yes… now that you mention it, Stellaria may have been under attack.”

I shuddered as my disturbing vision rose to the surface again. “Did you see who was attacking?”

Theo shook his head. “No. I was too focused on sharing my powers with the twins, which they were funneling to… so meone else I couldn’t see. Gabriel said, ‘he’s here. He’ll keep us safe,’ but I never saw who he was talking about.”

It was Micah.

I startled as Theo’s hand landed on my forearm, his resonance calling to mine, soothing the jagged pieces of my soul whether I liked it or not.

“Why don’t you share what’s going on, my perfect creation,” he said. “Tell me everything.”

So I told him. I told my maker everything that had occurred over the past several days, from my terrifying vision to the encounter with the Planet Eater yesterday within the collective well.

How I lost everyone I cared about.

How all I wanted was for Stellarians to know the truth.

How sharing the truth would mean dooming everyone.

When I was finished, Theo was quiet for a long moment—most likely longer than he had ever been quiet in the thousands of years he’d been alive.

There’s a first for everything.

“Once again, I’m rudely reminded that even hiding on a remote floating rock like Earth won’t ensure my safety…” He chuckled dryly at the memory of our first encounter. “Well, son. It sounds like you need to somehow defeat a Planet Eater.”