“May we see the baby?” One of the backup Eki stepped forward. “Perhaps we will recognize what it is.”
I only hesitated for a moment, knowing any longer would seem suspicious. “O-of course,” I stuttered, turning to reach inside the sling. “But I’d prefer to keep their shields up, if you don’t mind…”
Obviously, these creatures could remove my lame shields if they wanted, but I didn’t want to risk anyonesensingthe karnilian.
And I’m really hoping they don’t recognize what Pedro is…
With a deep breath, I lifted the sleeping Trol out of the sling, cradling them in my arms as I turned to face our hosts once again. The Eki went perfectly still in the way only supernatural creatures could, and I immediately knew the jig was up.
They know exactly what Pedro is.
“So what do you think?” Ziggy interrupted in a big, dumb cheerful voice. “Ever seen something like this before?”
My man was one of the most observant people I’d ever met—if you didn’t count identifyingbig feelings—so I knew he’d noticed the Eki’s reaction, despite how he was playing up the himbo vibes.
A master of disguise.
“No,” the first Eki replied, lying through their wizard teeth. “Who sent you here?”
“A couple of Kaalas we met at the Muonova,” my man smoothly improvised like the pro he was.
Okay, so I guessthisis our story…
“They sawmy mateusing his powers and mentioned there was a planet full of ‘matter manipulators’ like him,” Zig continued babbling, as if he didn’t have a single thought in his pretty head. “I guess they have a famous library, so they know this stuff. The Knowing, or something.”
“The Knowledge,” the Eki in charge corrected before stepping closer to Pedro. “They did not know what this creature was?”
Ziggy glanced at the curled up Trol and shrugged. “It sleeps a lot, so it was hidden in the sling.”
By some miracle, the Eki seemed satisfied with this answer—with all the masterful half-truths Ziggy fed them. While wehaddiscussed our story a bit beforehand, I knew my man liked to pivot if he sensed things were going sideways.
And pivot he did…
Meanwhile, I was over here just praying I hadn’t fucked things up with my emotion-fueled input. It had been the whole-truth that I’d never met another supe like me, and despite Ziggy being weirdly impressed with my powers, most everyone else in my life had always brushed them off.
Ekistron was my chance to level up, to actually become a bad bitch like my stellar collision. Yes, I’d managed to finish off the last corrupt commander in Astrum Force, but whether I could truly back up Ziggy in battle remained to be seen.
He insisted I was fine the way I was—that I didn’t need to prove my ‘usefulness’ with him—but I wanted to offer more to this relationship than comic relief and a fantastic ass.
Listen, I know my strengths.
So, while my first priority on this planet was protecting Pedro, followed closely by making sure Ziggy’s cover didn’t get blown, I was also desperately hoping these ‘matter manipulators’ were going to teach me all their space wizard ways.
Pick me, please, coach!
“Your shields might impress a lesser species,” the first Eki addressed me. “Unfortunately, byourstandards, they are lacking.”
“Okay, t-thank you,” I stuttered as my dreams were dashed with a single sentence.
I couldfeelZiggy about to step in, but I shook my head at him.
This is my loss, not yours.
“However,” the Eki continued, “it fascinates us that a creature such as yourself can manipulate matter at all. You have potential, and we would like to help you hone your powers during your stay with us.”
Oh.
My.
