Of course, nothing escaped my mate’s notice. His gaze tracked the movements thatshouldhave been invisible before meeting mine, and I braced for being called out yet again for my unnecessarily duplicitous actions.
“I think Leeloo can see my aura, Zig.”
Wait…
“What do you mean?” I carefully asked.
“They kept looking at the space over my head…” He gestured to demonstrate, although allIcould see was empty air. “And it got me thinking about howIcan sometimes tell if someone is a Stellarian or has a Stellarian riding shotgun inside them… Maybe the Eki have similar powers?”
Dread was clawing its way up my throat at the implications. “If Leeloo can seeyouraura, they know exactly what I am.”
And they possess the technology to trap me here.
Which they’ve probably already done…
Needing confirmation before my anxiety consumed me, I opened the front door and stepped outside, immediately scanning the crowd for any sign we were being watched.
Despite Nuclei City’s underground setting and unusual architecture, it operated like any intergalactic metropolis and, just like with most major cities, anonymity was almost a given. Countless Eki bustled past—entering and exiting various buildings or shopping at the nearby stalls—but none were paying me any mind.
They don’t need to.
The instant I gathered my power, I knew it was futile. Just like how Micah had protected The Knowledge on Kaalanesea with Stellarian-proof shields when the planet was under attack, the Eki had fortified their entire city with an impenetrable barrier of pure power.
There’s no way out.
Not unless they let me out…
My only saving grace was, I could still unleash my tendrils if need be, but it was probably only a matter of time beforethatwas taken from me as well—since Micah had already demonstrated how easily I could be contained.
How will I protect my mate?
And…
“Is everything okay, Zig?” Micah was suddenly behind me, pressing his palm to my back, somewhat settling me.
“Yes,” I lied. “But you need to lower Pedro’s shields so we can find them and get them back on the Lodger.”
Then, I can blast a way out of here.
“You got it,” he replied, trusting me without question. “Okay, his shields are lowered.”
He didn't need to tell me. A wave of almost suffocating power washed over me—calledto my more primal instincts—sharpening my focus, promising me everything I’d ever wanted….
“Zig?” Micah dropped his hand, his voice wavering with uncertainty.
“This way,” I growled, stalking in the direction of my prey, knowing my stellar collision would follow.
The Eki we passed continued to ignore us—or at least, theypretendedto.
They know.
They all know.
Stellarianswererightfully feared, but we were ambush predators. Our supremacy lay in our ability to remain undetected within our vessels until it was too late. If this element of surprise was eliminated, we were more easily thwarted or captured. The first time Micah had mentioned seeing my tendrils—and again when he’d identified a Stellarian in the wild—unnerved me, but I trusted my mate implicitly.
Everyone else, not so much.
Most species didn’t possess the technology to kill us, but with what I’d already seen of the Eki’s powers, I wouldn’t put it past them to be one of the few.
