There was a time I’d felt I couldn’t handle the weight of this knowledge, especially after being raised to believe a Stellarian’s only purpose was to conquer everything in their path. Now I knew the narrative had been a lie. We were made to benevolently coexist with our hosts, to collaboratively guide their thoughts toward a common goal.
Like true partners.
“Could you imagine if you were able to combineyourpower with that of a Stellarian’s, My-kuh?” Leeloo asked.
Excuse me?
I snapped back to the present to witness Micah’s anxiety give way to signature scientific curiosity. “That would be awesome, actually.”
“It would.” The Eki’s gaze drifted to the empty air above Micah’s head before returning to his face. “I want you topretendyou have command over both realms—inorganic and organic. Lead with the inorganic matter and use it topushthe organic. Mastering that will allow you to cause greater chain reactions, to create stronger andlargershields.”
Micah’s cheeks darkened as he shyly dropped his gaze. “Ididcreate shields large enough to protect an entire building once…”
And an entire island.
Leeloo nodded once, as if coming to a decision. “It sounds like you already have everything you need inside you.”
Again, Micah and I froze, and I internally cursed being unable to unleash my tendrils to taste whether the Eki was harboring any suspicions about our unique connection.
“In other words…” they breezily continued. “You simply need to trust what you are made of. Trustyourself.”
“What I’m made of…” Micah murmured before shaking his head and refocusing on his assignment with renewed determination.
It was my turn to gasp as he pulled from the piece of me inside him, guiding ourcombinedenergy through the air to manipulate the lava upward into a perfectly controlled arc. The glowing substance hovered in the air for a moment before gracefully returning to the aqueduct without a drop spilled.
Amazing.
But… why not simply do it himself?
“Well done!” Leeloo clapped their hands before glancing at me. “You may release your mate now.”
Thank fuck.
Micah immediately dissolved my shields, and it was only thanks to my finely-honed self-control that I hid the rawreliefcoursing through me.
Let’s never do that again.
My stellar collision gave me an apologetic smile before turning to the Eki. “Thank you for your guidance, Leeloo. IthinkI understand what it takes now.”
Hmph…
I wasn’t sure I agreed with that statement. Yes, Leeloo had waxed poetic about leading the organic with the inorganic, but the only particles Micah had just manipulated wereairandlava.
No carbon detected.
My heart sank as I realized why my mate still believedIneeded to be involved.
He still doesn’t believe in himself.
This exceptionally powerful superhuman seemed determined to dismiss his own greatness, despite being worlds more impressive than me, than almosteveryoneI’d ever encountered in my travels.
Sounds like some one-on-one training is needed.
“Will that be all for today, Leeloo?” I called out, ensuring my tone relayed there was only one correct answer to that question.
The Eki wisely inclined their head before silently leading us back into the heart of the city. I dutifully plodded after them as Micah chatted away, exercising my self-control yet again to not immediately star hop my mate to our room.
Because it’s time for him to learn.
