First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess

Some time later, the food and drinks Reva had ordered finally arrived. The smell filled the room as trays were set down, steam curling into the air. Reva stretched and waved Xavier over, already grabbing plates, then turned toward Angel.

”Come join us,” she said, patting the empty space at the table.

”I’m working on a new gig,” Angel muttered without looking up. Her hands were still busy with her console, lines of code flickering across the screen.

Reva rolled her eyes. ”You can work after eating. Stop being difficult.”

”I said no,” Angel replied, but there was less conviction in her voice now.

Reva leaned forward, smiling slyly. ”C’mon. Just for once. Don’t make me drag you over.”

Angel let out an annoyed breath, muttered a curse under her breath, and finally gave in. She shut off her screen, pulled the chair out, and joined them.

The three of them ate in silence for a while, only the clinking of utensils filling the room. Angel’s gaze kept flicking toward Xavier, then Reva, then back again. Her eyes finally landed on the bite mark on Xavier’s neck, dark against his skin.

”Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked, raising her brow.

Xavier smirked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. ”Nope. Reva did some magic thing on it. No pain, no infection, nothing.”

Reva clicked her tongue. ”It’s not magic, idiot. It’s a seal. Learn the difference.”

”Whatever,” Xavier muttered with a shrug. ”I, myself, haven’t ventured into that field yet, so it’s all the same to me.”

They went back to eating, but Xavier’s eyes shifted to Angel again. ”Tell me something. How the hell did you manage to hack into Alexander’s penthouse system? And why won’t you tell me the details?”

Angel gave him a flat look. ”Because it’s not worth your time or attention. That’s why.”

”Bullshit,” Xavier said, leaning forward.

Angel sighed, setting her chopsticks down. ”Fine. You really want to know? Alexander was a piece of shit. He used to encroach on land from small tribes and communities, sometimes wiping them out completely, and then built his projects and logistics on the ruins. Someone hired me for a gig to expose his crimes. I’ve been working for over a year to take him down, but no matter what I dug up, it was useless. He was untouchable because of his government backings.”

She smirked faintly now, though it didn’t reach her eyes. ”But then you came and killed him. And honestly? I’m glad. He got what he deserved.”

Xavier leaned back, letting that sink in. ”So how’d you do it? You don’t just stroll into Alexander’s system like it’s a joke.”

Angel’s voice dropped a little, more serious now. ”There’s a device—something rare—that acts as a medium when plugged into a system. Gives you access to everything if you know what you’re doing. I managed to smuggle one into a century old robo-vacuum cleaner Alexander bought.”

Reva tilted her head. ”Why a vacuum cleaner?”

”Because the new ones are all advanced as hell—cameras, sensors, AI, trackers, all that crap. Easy to catch and breach into. But the old ones are just machines. No surveillance, no suspicion. He bought it for his secret basement, where he stored all his dirty little secrets. And that’s how I slipped the device in.”

Xavier whistled low, impressed despite himself. ”Can you get more of those?”

Angel shook her head. ”No chance. I had to burn through all my connections to get that one. Devices like that don’t exist on the market, not even in the black market. What I had was a one-time miracle.”

Xavier leaned back on the couch, twirling his glass lazily as he stared at Angel. ”So that device is still in Alexander’s penthouse, yeah?”

Angel gave him a slow nod.

”Then maybe we steal it back,” Xavier said. ”But not yet. I can’t risk it until I’m done dealing with Ethan completely.”

Angel tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. ”Why don’t you just kill them already? You’ve got the chance. End it.”

Xavier’s smirk curved sharp. ”I could kill them anytime I want. That’s not the point. I’m not giving them an easy death. They don’t get to die clean.” He set the glass down, his voice dropping into something darker. ”I’ll make them feel the way I once felt—helpless, hopeless, cut off from everything. I’ll strip them of money, power, connections. Leave them begging with no one to save them. And when they’re rotting in that pit... that’s when I’ll end them.”

The room went quiet for a moment, only the faint hum of the drones lingering.

Then Xavier straightened, like something had just clicked in his head. ”Speaking of which... Angel, you might have to go undercover soon. Work with my uncle Eamon.”

Angel frowned, resting her elbows on the table. ”Undercover? Explain.”

Xavier tapped his glasses, and a holo-screen flickered to life in front of them from the drones. The recording played—Ethan and Maximilian in Alexander’s penthouse, voices sharp, every word clear. Ethan was talking about selling off Sterling Corporations, about hiring top-ranked space mercenaries to kill Xavier.

Reva leaned forward, brows raised, while Angel just kept her eyes locked on the projection, taking it all in.

Xavier smirked. ”Ethan wants to sell Sterling Corp. and use the cash to put a bullet in my head. Which means I’m not letting that company slip away. I’ll send my uncle and you in. You’ll play the face, he’ll handle the rest. We’ll buy that company for dirt cheap.”

He shut off the holo and leaned toward Angel. ”For that, I need you to start forging the documents, the fake histories, all of it. By the time Ethan puts it on the market, our setup will already be airtight.”

Angel stayed quiet for a beat, her fingers tapping against her glass as her mind processed. Then she nodded with an amused look on her face. ”You really don’t fuck around, do you?”

Xavier’s smirk widened. ”Not when it comes to revenge.”