Page 8 of Interstellar Love Song (Villains in Space #3)

ZIGGY

Well, that didn’t go as planned…

My annoyance rose higher than the flames crackling around me, but I was determined to remain right where I was and salvage my creation.

What was left of my creation…

I can’t believe Theo and Gabriel implied I was creative.

What a load of ? —

I groaned as I stepped backwards into what was certainly a pile of animal shit meant to fertilize this dried husk of a farming field.

How was I supposed to know it would all be so flammable?!

“ZIGGY FREAKIN’ ANDROMEDA!” Micah bellowed from somewhere to my left, loud enough to be heard over the crackling flames. “Why are you trying to wreck shit again?!”

Sigh .

I wasn’t trying to wreck anything. My goal had been to emulate one of the saved pins on Micah’s Pinterest board—specifically, the one depicting the words “Will You Marry Me?” spelled out in flames on a tropical beach.

Perhaps I should have chosen a different medium for my masterpiece…

“Zig!” Micah was now striding toward me through a path he’d magically cleared in the flames like that fictional Earthling parting the Red Sea. “What does setting fire to a field have to do with revealing our space fiancé status?”

“It’s not a reveal,” I grumbled, before wrapping an arm around his waist and projecting us several meters into the air.

Let’s hope it’s still legible from above.

Unfortunately, the only letters remaining when we reached our vantage point were “ill y arr m,” which was not only nonsensical but unacceptable. I’d completely forgotten to utter the magic words during my last proposal and now I sounded illiterate.

I can speak thousands of languages!

“Is that… Spanish?” Micah cocked his head as he gazed down at the mess, his annoyance forgotten in favor of confusion.

“Spanish?!” I sputtered, releasing him so I could toss my hands into the air. “Why in Stellaria’s name would I propose to you in Spanish?”

Micah threw his hands up as well. “I dunno! Maybe because… Wait a minute. Is this? Am I…?”

Getting proposed to? Yes .

“Am I fucking flying right now?! Holy shit!”

Siiiigh.

At this stage in the catastrophe, no letters were visible in the charred field below, and I could only mournfully watch as Leeloo and a few dozen other Eki used their powers to extinguish the blaze.

I suppose I’ll just have to try again another time.

With slightly less pyrotechnics.

“How is this possible, Zig?” Micah was flapping his arms—either from excitement or a misguided belief that was what kept him afloat. “Is it because of your magic Space Daddy core?”

“Yes,” I replied, feeling my lips twist in amusement, despite my terrible mood. “Stellarians are able to control the gravitational pull of our cores, which I suppose sounds magical in a way.”

Micah gaped at me in awe. “Does that mean you’d turn into a black hole if your core collapsed fast enough?”

A black hole?!

My stellar collision’s scientific brain never ceased to amaze—or bewilder—me, but before we could follow the latest derailed train of thought, Leeloo called up to us.

“Zig-ee, if you are done attempting to impress your mate, I would like to hear about your mission.”

SIGH!

Of course, I would gladly assist Leeloo however they needed, not only because of the accidental property damage I’d just caused, but because Micah had been absolutely correct with his earlier assessment.

I’d behaved like an asshole the first time we’d visited Ekistron, and although I’d formally apologized since then, I needed to act like a respectable guest on this planet.

And burning down my “cousin’s” field probably doesn’t earn me any points…

It had taken some time for me to accept the idea that my ancestors had branched off into a sub-species eons ago. While Stellarians had evolved into ambush-predator bodysnatchers, the Eki morphed into matter-manipulating creatures capable of forming permanent vessels around their starry cores.

Show-offs.

As much as this threatened my outdated sense of superiority, I secretly found it incredibly impressive. There weren’t many that could pose a threat to Stellarians, but I had to be grateful the Eki had never had an interest in challenging us.

Especially since they apparently created our Celestial Cubes…

As if on cue, my cube vibrated in my pocket. A message from Honnor was displayed on the screen, asking for our thoughts on the list they’d sent from The Knowledge.

I frowned, realizing Micah had yet to share his hypothesis with my maker, despite my encouragement. Not wanting to speak for him, I simply replied with a note to add Kanrienus to the list of destroyed planets.

Not that I’ve ever heard of that one before…

“Look at me, Sensei!” Micah shouted, bringing my attention back to how he was waving his arms overhead, as if Leeloo had any chance of missing him. “I’m a space wizard, y’all!”

As much as I wanted to “stay mad,” as Micah would say, I couldn’t help the pride I felt at seeing my mate easefully drift through the smoky air like he was born to do it.

A true Stellarian at heart.

I wish…

“You are a quick learner, My-kuh,” Leeloo praised with noticeably less enthusiasm than usual.

“I hope you will forgive me, but I may not feel up to a training session today. However, I would like to continue our discussion from earlier.” They paused to turn their hood my way. “Since we were interrupted.”

I huffed as Micah and I landed on the blackened ground next to Leeloo. “Yes, well, it’s an impossible task, attempting to impress the most impressive creature in all the galaxies.”

“Ziiiig…” my mate groaned as the Eki chuckled. “You don’t need to impress me. I’m already your space fiancé— oops!”

He slapped a hand over his mouth, still under the mistaken impression that I gave a shit which one of us told Leeloo about our transient relationship status.

Everyone knows he’s mine.

We just need to make it legal by Earthling standards…

“It seems congratulations are in order!” Leeloo visibly perked up, which weirdly made my chest warm. “I may have an unopened bottle of sucus solutio we can celebrate with in my office… Come!”

The three of us star hopped—or, particle leaped in Leeloo’s case—to our destination, where there was, in fact, a bottle of sucus solutio waiting for us.

I snorted as Micah eyed the bottle warily, perhaps recalling the time he’d drunk too much of the fast-acting alcoholic beverage and started ranting about “Reese’s Penis Brothers Cups.”

One of my fondest memories.

Luckily for him, Leeloo poured us each a single glass before stashing the bottle away, no doubt to keep us on track after all the day’s excitement.

Specifically, my latest failed proposal.

“Can you tell us more about the True Eki on Kanrienus?” Micah gently addressed the Eki, reminding me of the other recent travesty. “Only if you’re up for it, of course.”

My chest grew uncomfortably tight, and I absently rubbed it as we waited for Leeloo to speak.

“I appreciate the concern, My-kuh,” they replied before clearing their throat. “But it sounds like the destruction of our twin planet—and all the True Eki who lived there—may be related to your current mission.”

Wait.

True Eki?

My cube buzzed in my pocket again, and even though Micah shot me a look that implied what I was doing might be considered “rude” by standards different from my own, I chose to check the message anyway .

We are talking about the mission.

Micah hesitated before nodding resolutely at Leeloo. “So, you mentioned the Eki who left this planet did so because they wanted a simpler life on Kanrienus?—”

“Kanrienus doesn’t exist?” I muttered to myself.

“Ziggy!” Micah hissed through gritted teeth. “Could you try to have a little empathy, good lord!”

What does empathy have to do with…?

Oh.

I sighed and waved my cube in the air, offering Leeloo as much of an apologetic expression as my borrowed face allowed.

“My apologies. I was focused on reading the latest message from Astrum Force Command.” I turned to Micah. “Honnor says Kanrienus has never existed on any registry—not even in The Knowledge?—”

“Astrum Force allows you to call your superior officer by their first name?” Leeloo placed their elbows on their desk and leaned forward, awaiting my reply.

Micah snickered. “Not usually, but Honnor is Ziggy’s?—”

“Head Commander!” I shouted, causing the Eki to abruptly sit back in their chair.

Awkward silence hung in the air between us before Leeloo spoke again. “As Ekistron’s highest representative, I would like to speak to your Head Commander. For the purposes of exchanging intel, of course.”

Fuck.

I glanced at Micah for help, but my stellar collision simply smiled sweetly and gestured at my cube. “Good idea! I’m sure Head Commander Honnor wouldn’t mind. Maybe First Officer Bron would like to join us?”

Double fuck.

Knowing resistance would not only be futile but suspicious, I nodded grimly and set my Celestial Cube on the desk between us. Then, I entered the code to access the direct line to Astrum Force Command.

“Phone home,” Micah snickered, but I ignored him, stubbornly concentrating on not sweating in my Earthling skin.

“Greetings, son!” Honnor cheerfully called out as soon as their holographic image appeared above the cube.

Well, that didn’t go as planned either.

“This is your maker?” Leeloo’s full attention was on me, reminding me they ranked as high as the Stellarian on the call. “Why did you not want me to know your Head Commander created you?”

I blew out an exasperated breath. “Because I didn’t want you to think it’s the only reason I have my position with Astrum Force.”

Bron appeared in the floating image, radiating mischief, and I seriously considered star hopping back to my ship.

“If anyone received their position through nepotism, it was Honnor!” they crowed, and I could feel my maker’s eye roll behind their Stellarian armor. “Since Ziggy was the one originally asked to fill the Head Commander role.”

Maybe I’ll star hop off the planet entirely.

“Interesting…” Leeloo mused, blessedly drawing attention their way.

“You must be Leeloo,” Honnor politely addressed the Eki. “Micah has told us how you’ve graciously trained him to hone his incredibly impressive powers.”

As expected, Micah squirmed under the harsh glare of a well-deserved compliment.

None of that.

He deserved all the accolades and I was more than happy to redirect the conversation to my incredibly impressive mate. “Micah also has a hypothesis about the disappearing planets, Honnor, and would like to share it with you.”

This earned me another look, but I simply responded by pumping unadulterated encouragement through our bond until he found his voice.

“Okay so…” My stellar collision squared his shoulders. “The motive for whoever— whatever— is doing this is still up for debate, but there seems to be a pattern where only planets inhabited by weaker species are hit.”

Leeloo sharply inhaled, which sent Micah scrambling. “I’m sorry, Sensei! Obviously, that hypothesis goes out the window with what happened to Kanrienus… since you said only Eki were there?—”

“Powerless Eki,” Leeloo softly replied. “The Eki who migrated to Kanrienus chose not to utilize their natural powers—hoped to eventually phase out these abilities completely through breeding. Their ultimate goal was to be free of the burden of matter manipulation. ”

The burden?

To my shock, Micah nodded. “I can understand that. Don’t get me wrong.

I am all about my powers now, but as a kid?

In a family that didn’t value me anyway?

There were so many days I wished I could be a normie —do normie things and just live my life…

” He dropped his gaze and huffed before peeking up at me through his lashes.

“But then I guess I wouldn’t have had the chance to go on badass space adventures with you. ”

Does he think…

I made no secret of how impressive I thought Micah was—because it was true, but also because barely anyone else in his life had bothered to do so. It hadn’t occurred to me, however, that this might be contributing to his self-worth issues.

Does he think I’m only interested in him for his powers?

For how useful he is to me?!

“I would love you even if you were a powerless normie,” I harshly whispered to my mate, uncaring that we had an audience.

He has to know that.

“So, when is the wedding?” Bron cackled. “Now that you have completed the low explosive pyrotechnic display ?—”

“I’m working on it!” I snapped, annoyed all over again that I couldn’t seem to get the proposal right.

But since we’re already in this galaxy, we could make a quick stop on ? —

“The gurus of Xuniaa YS may have insight,” Leeloo calmly cut in.

“My knowledge of powerful species is mostly limited to my firsthand experiences, but the Xunis have eyes everywhere. If anyone would know who or what is capable of destroying entire planets—of locating a planet we took great care to hide from the untrained eye—it would be them.”

Ugh.

Not the Xunis…

The last thing I wanted to do was visit a mountaintop hippie commune full of cultists, but with Leeloo sharing this lead in front of Honnor, I knew there was no avoiding the inevitable detour.

“Yes. With the Hydrassians’ psychic abilities being out of commission, the Xunis would be the next logical choice…” Honnor murmured, confirming my assumption before snapping to focus. “Leeloo—you mentioned you hid Kanrienus from sight, but how exactly did you erase it from every registry?”

The Eki shifted uncomfortably. “It was never on a registry to begin with, since it was never a planet…”

What?

Bron joined their mate in a Stellarian’s favorite pastime—interrogation. “Even a moon would need to be registered, and if its status changed to a planet, that change would need to be ? —”

“It did not exist before us,” Leeloo rasped, and my chest twinged slightly in response to the raw emotion I could feel radiating off them.

Is this… empathy?

“Waitwaitwait.” Micah rose and placed his hands on Leeloo’s desk, as if to steady himself. “Are you saying the Eki created Kanrienus from… from nothing?!”

Leeloo scoffed. “From inorganic matter, yes. Our kind are capable of both creation and destruction, but unlike Stellarians, we chose creation.”

I bristled at the repeated implication, as true as it may be, but Honnor objectively let it go in favor of strategizing. “So whoever is to blame for this chose destruction instead…”

The Eki shrugged. “It may be all they are capable of. The Xunis will know more.”