I couldfeelZig preparing to star hop us to the Lodger—to cut the action short once again—so I went off script.
Just like a True Stellarian.
Before he could catch on to my plan, I star hopped myself out of the skinsuit, landing directly in front of Uuktar with only the Eki-made shields between us.
Ziggy shouted as the mech froze in place, but we didn’t have time to waste—not with how the entire pier violently swayed from the force of the waves.
“Who told you we were coming?” I demanded, quickly activating an extra filter on my glasses to block any hypnotism attempts, but the Hydrassian ignored my question.
They leaped forward and frantically pounded their clawed fists on the transparent walls of their enclosure. “I will tell you how to reach the planet of Karn, but you must let me out before they surface.Please hurry!”
Fuck.
Unlike the natural affinity I felt toward Leeloo, I did not trustthiswitchy bitch one bit, especially as we still didn’t knowwhythey’d been imprisoned here.
So, I switched gears once again.
“Do you trust me, Zig?”
“Of course I do, but we need to go. Now!”
The uncharacteristicpanicI was feeling from my Stellarian almost made me abandon my plan, but I was determined to follow my intuition.
Here we go.
Three enormousLacertusbroke the surface of the water the same instant I conjured myself a Jedi robe of glittering, lava-infused space sorcery.
May the witchy bitch Force be with me.
36
ZIGGY
Without Micah physically in theOpertumwith me, I was no longer able to move to defend my mate—at least, not without exposing my true form.
It was tempting to do just that, but the last thing I wanted was to be a lone Stellarian facing off against threeLacertus.This wasn’t because I wasscared,but because the sight of me would most likely ruin whatever plan Micah’s beautiful brain had come up with.
And I need to show him respect by letting him lead.
My stellar collision disguising himself as an Eki lessened my anxiety for his safety, but only slightly—especially as our opponents finally appeared. It was difficult to explain exactly how large an adultLacertuswas, but the newer Earthling Godzilla movies came fairly close.
Just add horns and wings…
And intelligence, as loathe as I am to admit it.
I could feel my mate's instinctive terror at the sight of the beasts, but luckily, the hood of his robes hid his reaction.
“Holy shit, Zig… You weren’t kidding when you said Zion is a miniature version of these lizards.”
Of course, I wasn’t kidding!
“What do we have here? An Eki?” a deep greenLacertusboomed in the trade language. “And what brings you to our planet today with your… Well, we have not seen one of these in many moons. AnOpertum!”
They lowered their massive head to sniff at my skinsuit while I made myself as undetectable as possible. One of the Stellarians’ greatest defenses againstLacertushad always been our ability to stay several evolutionary steps ahead, so I assumed—hoped—this species hadn’t suddenly developed the ability tosmellmy kind.
That would be inconvenient.
“Yes!” Micah shouted, drawing the curious lizard’s attention back to him. “TheOpertumis simply a… creation of mine. But, to answer your question, I am here to check on the barrier containing this Hydrassian—to ensure everything is secure.”
