Bliss sat next to the head of the obnoxiously long conference table. That spot was reserved for Crux himself, taking his place as the agency’s beloved leader. All around the room sat various representatives from the Coalition of Unaligned Planets. A wide-screen covering the entire wall sat behind Crux.

  The president of Rengues himself sat at the opposite end of Crux. It would’ve been a very inconvenient seating arrangement for the most important talkers in the room if not for Crux’s psychic method of communication.

  Rengues’s president got the dance of diplomacy started. “Dr. Crux, while I understand the importance of your agency’s work, my planet suffered a great loss from the actions of your agents. The Treetop Hotel is one of our largest sources of income.”

  “President Jezyn, I understand your frustration. Rest assured we are committed to making this right.” Crux waved his hand and the screen behind him lit up. “Not only will we offer financial compensation, we will send you agents to help with reconstruction efforts for the hotel.”

  The president looked at the aides to his side. Bliss watched them whisper and nod at the man. Crux was offering a large-sum of oracles, an amount that clearly paid for more than a hotel’s repairs. The aides seemed happy to take it, but the other leaders at the table looked displeased.

  “You have to understand that money is not the issue here. The statement came from the minister of Rengues’s closest neighbor. “Nula’s ship flew right through our atmosphere on their way out. You didn’t inform any of us about your intel regarding the scorpaenidae.”

  “With all due respect, there was no chance of Nula attacking anyone else during her exit, and we had no intel to suggest that she was even on Rengues.” Crux clumsily shoved his glasses up. “We made the choice to prioritize confidentiality as it was the option that maximized safety.”

  The leaders reacted just as well as Bliss expected. Palms slammed against the table. Shoulders tensed. People covered their mouths. Crux was only good at talking to those beneath him. People who expected someone to yell and scream at them just for breathing the wrong way. A low bar for charisma.

  You’re never gonna get them this way, Cruxy. Put me in already. I’ll end this meeting in three minutes tops.

  “You maximized safety?” She let out one hardy laugh. “Is that what you would say if it was the high emperor of Agónta sitting before you?”

  Bliss put his hand up in front of Crux’s face before he could speak again. “If I may interrupt, I’d like to clarify our reasons for the strict confidentiality.”

  The room was silent. Bliss stood up and pointed at the screen. It flipped from Crux’s bland presentation to an image of the letter Loshket sent the GSA. Dramatic red streaks underlined the words “human hero,” “project,” and “investor.”

  When in doubt, do what you do best. Sell that rise from tragedy.

  “This was the letter sent by our target.” He walked up to the screen and traced the words with his finger. “Given our knowledge of Placebo’s powers, we suspected immediately that he managed to produce reality glue with his own venom.”

  The leaders shifted in their seats. No one wanted to argue with a human who had walked through hell. They saw Crux as a CEO protecting his own interests. Bliss was a victim trying to reclaim his safety. He watched as everyone exchanged glances. It was a delicate game of who could make the awkward call of interrupting the sympathetic little human.

  Bliss was about to seal the deal. He just had to imply that Placebo had some nasty contacts he fully intended to sell to during this whole ordeal. It was true, even if the man never meant for it to go that far. It was a maliciously idiotic plan meant to force Bliss’s attention. He should’ve thought about how his chemical escapade looked before putting a target on himself.

  At least, that’s what Bliss wanted to feel. Instead, he found himself stuck on the first word: Placebo. He was now facing the screen, his back to the leaders hanging on his every move. Loshket was known for drug manufacturing and now the occasional mind-control. Calling him a trafficker would close any door to redemption that may have still been available to him. Bliss just couldn’t bring himself to slam it shut.

  “Placebo and I went to school together. I know him.” He turned back to the audience, his polite smile gone. “I don’t think he wanted to hurt me, but he got some very bad people involved in a foolish attempt to see me. For his safety and my own, I had to find him as soon as possible.”

  I can still make this work. I can sell it as my own personal issue. Who would say I needed clearance to go yell at an old childhood enemy?

  “The GSA only accompanied me as a safety precaution. This was more of a personal trip to clear things up between me and Placebo. None of us expected Nula to be waiting there for me.”

  Bliss was used to lying, but now he was lying for someone else. Not just because someone told him to. Because he wanted to. It made him want to rip his own throat out. That stupid man with his stupid pincers and stupid stinger always fucked with his head. He shouldn’t feel anything for a guy who mailed one of his greatest enemies his weakness like it was a gift. A man who must have spent countless nights trying to perfect the synthesis of said weakness within his own body.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Loshket did it all to get Bliss’s attention. And fuck, he knew the hero well. It was so dramatic. So antagonistic. So self-sabotaging. It made Bliss’s heart come to life for a brief moment. Just another example of how messed up he was. How could that be what he’s into?

  Crux remained silent after Bliss’s explanation. It was certainly acceptable by his standards. Bliss figured that Crux saw potential in Loshket. His skills with his venom could save countless lives as a cheap source of rare medications. Now that he could make reality glue, Crux would be all over his rehabilitation and subsequent recruitment.

  “I see,” said president Jezyn. “The additional agent was only sent after Bliss was determined to be in distress.”

  Bliss nodded. “Exactly. The only agent that knew Nula was on Rengues was Sir Jelly, and undercover agents have a strict protocol about revealing their position.”

  The diplomat dance continued with every leader taking a moment to confer with their neighbors. Bliss could hear the frustration in their forced whispers. His presence made scolding the GSA quite difficult. It was exactly the reason why Crux dragged him to the meeting in the first place. He’d let the man borrow his charm for free this time. He owed him for screwing up the mission in the first place.

  “Would you all like some time to discuss this situation?” Bliss asked them.

  They all looked to president Jezyn. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat before speaking.

  “Yes. The coalition will inform you when we’ve decided on the appropriate course of action.”

  Bliss relaxed his brows and widened his eyes just a fraction. The corners of his lips tilted up into a petite smile. While the group focused on his best human next-door face, his shadow stretched forward and started spreading across the table. Everyone but Crux started shivering in place, their eyes still locked on the anomaly unraveling in front of them.

  “I can feel it in my heart.” His voice echoed across the room, sending a chill down the leaders’ spines. “I know you’ll all come to a fair conclusion.”

  The shadow retreated to its rightful place. Several gasps for air filled the room as the leaders remembered they had to breathe. The weakest coalition members clutched their stomachs and leaned over the table. A few glanced at Bliss with their eyes trembling in fear and excitement all the same.

  Bliss remained for a few seconds to make sure the room settled down. When emotions started fading away, they took memories with them. No one could truly say what just happened in that room. They wouldn’t understand that Bliss did it on purpose. His allure was a natural phenomenon. It didn’t need a reason to capture hearts and minds.

  Crux stood up and held the door open for Bliss. He smiled one last time at the coalition leaders before leaving the room. The two of them walked just far enough down the hall to ensure their conversation wouldn’t be heard. Crux stood there and stared at Bliss for a few seconds.

  “What are you looking at?” Bliss leaned against the wall. “Are you thinking about how to thank me?”

  “Thank you for your assistance. I’m not lifting your suspension for this, but I’ll consider us even for you leaving me stranded with Lugal.”

  “Stranded? You’re standing right there. Don’t tell me it was difficult to retrieve one measly fragment.”

  Crux put his hands in his pockets. “It wasn’t. I still had to deal with Lugal while the rescue shuttle was in transit.”

  “Did you come to an agreement?”

  “I didn’t agree to kill you, if that’s what you mean.” He slid against the wall opposite from Bliss. “Even if I wanted to, I’d have to get through Entropi first. I don’t think either Lugal or I would be capable of that.”

  Bliss put his hand over his heart. “I’m sorry I broke up such a beautiful and enduring friendship.”

  “Maybe I’m just getting old.” Crux massaged his temples. “If I couldn’t console one worried president without help, I certainly couldn’t soothe a god preparing for the end of the universe.”

  “You’ve lived too long. Both you and Lugal. It can’t be good for your psyche.”

  “Agent Bliss, you’re immortal as well. One day you’ll be my age.”

  Bliss wheezed. “Oh Old God, I hope not!”

  He laughed, but the thought truly terrified him. Getting through the day was hard enough at just twenty-two years old. He didn’t want to reach thirty, let alone two-thousand. The only thing stopping him from ending it all at that very moment was Entropi. She had to go first.

  Even if I can’t speed up the process, she won’t live past a century. I can hold on for that long, I think.

  He’d miss the mad woman when she was gone. That was the worst part of all. If the universe planned any kindness for him, maybe they would meet again in the afterlife. He just hoped it wouldn’t feel like his current life.

  “Excuse me?”

  Bliss shot up. He didn’t realize how much time had passed. One of the aides was poking their head into the hallway.

  “They’re ready with a plan of action.”

  Bliss worked on putting the smile back on his face as they walked back to the door. He could feel Crux’s attention burning through the back of his head. It almost felt like he was trying to read Bliss’s thoughts. He knew better than to try that.

  Bliss and Crux took their rightful seats at the head of the table. None of their guests looked particularly pleased at the moment. President Jezyn was the only one willing to look them in the eyes.

  “Dr. Crux, we have carefully considered your offer for repayment and help with reconstruction. Rengues is happy to accept this compensation.” A few leaders looked away with a groan. “But the coalition will require more cooperation from the agency in the future.”

  “We always strive to improve ourselves. Please tell me what you have in mind.”

  “All we ask is for you to notify any relevant planets of the GSA’s presence there and that you give a simple reason for it.” Jezyn glanced at Bliss and appeared to sink further into his chair. “It doesn’t have to go into detail, just specify if there’s any potential danger involved.”

  “So long as we do not need to disclose specific details, we can absolutely give notice of our presence to cleared government officials.” Crux put a hand on Bliss’s shoulder. “We can all thank agent Bliss for helping to clear this misunderstanding, and ensuring continued cooperation between our organizations.”

  Crux was born to be an administrator. Well, not exactly born. Formed? Spawned? Evolved? I have no idea what it would be called.

  “We do have one more request,” the minister of the neighboring solar system said. “The unauthorized ships that flew through our system scared away many tourists. We’d like Bliss to make a televised visit to planet Novrun.”

  Crux looked to Bliss for an answer. The only acceptable one was to happily agree. He was already on suspension. A little vacation couldn’t do any harm.

  “I’m honored by your invitation, and I’m happy to accept.” He placed his elbow on the table and held his chin in his hand. “When do I leave?”