Were they trying to protect Earth from the others?
Or… were they the ones we needed protection from…?
“Weneedto get off this planet, sunshine.” Ziggy’s voice in my ear startled me from my thoughts. “I can’t?—”
There was a hint of emotion in his tone—in our bond—that I rarely witnessed from my unflappable Space Daddy.
Fear.
“Are you… okay?” I switched off my headlamp and turned to face him, unsure what had spooked my man.
“No. I’m not,” he replied, surprising me yet again with his honesty.
Since Iknowhe’s keeping something from me…
Pedro wriggled their top half out of the baby sling and reached for their favorite space dad, but before I could intervene,Ziggyleaped away.
What…
“If the Eki canseeyou have a piece of me inside you…” he pointed accusingly at the cave painting with a shaking finger, “then they know whatIam!”
Is…thatwhat he’s upset about?
I suddenly felt like the biggest jerk in all the galaxies. I’d been suspecting Ziggy might be more invested in the karnilianinside Pedro than the Trol themself. Meanwhile, my ambush predator was legitimately losing his shit over whether the Eki could sniff him out.
“Zig, I need you to breathe.” I stepped closer and placed my palms on his chest, knowing it helped. “Even if the Ekiareaware you’re a Stellarian, it doesn’t mean they see you as a threat.”
I hope.
“They don’t need to!” he shouted, but I held my ground, knowing it wasn’tmehe was angry at. “This entire city is shielded. I can’t… I can’tstar hop,Micah. Not to the surface, not even from here to the ship. I… Wearetrappedhere!”
I hadneverseen Ziggy like this—not when he’d ’failed’ his mission on Earth to capture Theo, not even when his entire worldview imploded upon discovering the truth about Astrum Force Command. This wasn’t just concern over his powers being stifled. Zig wastriggeredand in danger of descending into a full-blown panic attack if I didn’t step in quickly.
It’s time for Commander Babygirl to take control.
“I don’t believe the Eki created the shields to keepyouin,” I calmly stated, desperately wanting him to focus on the facts. “It’s probably how they protect their city in general?—”
“From Stellarians,” he interrupted, crossing his arms, apparently not too scared to stop being stubborn as fuck.
“Fromanyone!”I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air. “The shields I made for Pedro are all-purpose protection.”
Although, yes, it’s effectively Stellarian-proof…
Ziggy scowled, his gaze dropping to Pedro, who chirped and stretched their little pangolin claws in his direction again. This time, Space Daddy allowed them to leap into his arms, and I smiled to see how just having the little creature close seemed to settle him.
Why did I ever think he could hurt our baby?
“Yes, the shields you're able to create—for yourself and others—are quite impressive,” Ziggy murmured, scratching behind Pedro's furry ears while they purred. “Unfortunately, everyoneon this planet aside from the Trol can also create them, which meansanyonecould trap my tendrils at any moment if they wanted.”
“Well, I would never do that—” I began, only to snap my mouth shut.
Because I already did.
Ziggy’s gaze snapped to mine, and my heart sank to see the pain in his eyes.
Pain I put there.
“I’m sorry, Zig,” I repeated, realizing how badly I’d fucked up. “I should have told Leeloo I didn’t want to do it.”
