Page 99 of Bred by the Alien Prince

The man laughed. At least he had a sense of humor.

"Here!" He stopped and dug into the snow, picked the plant, and handed it to me. "I can extract the cure from this."

"Good!" I said, feeling worn out. "Let's get out of here."

"Hold on!" He rushed to a batch of white plants and flowers peeking from the snow. "Yes! I knew it!" he celebrated as he took a knife, dug the plants up by the roots, and placed them in a separate container.

"What is that?"

"I can give you the entire dissertation or—"

"Shut up and let's go."

We rushed back to the small ship and closed ourselves inside, though it was a cold storage container at this point. I flipped the switches. Good, none of them froze yet. Thankfully, the ship had some flight capabilities, but whether it was enough to push us into orbit was another matter. On top of that, the glass partially cracked from the landing.

We took off, rising above the mountains and the thick clouds, and then we reached a stalemate. "We're not going any higher." I focused my jiva on the vessel to keep us steady.

"I'll do what I can to help!"

I felt the burden lift, but my heart pounded faster until my head ached and everything spun out of control. We focused and pushed through until we gazed down at the half-planet looming below.

"Connor, come and get us the hell out of here. We've just run out of fuel." I plopped back; my nose was wet with blood.

"Yes, sir!"

I climbed from the ship to the launchpad and leaned against the freezing machine, which was now locked into the track. If those doors opened now, I knew I wouldn't have the strength to fight back. How this man was still standing, albeit on shaky, wobbly legs, was a mystery. His jiva must be immensely strong.

"I will go to your medical lab and extract the cure."

"Yeah. I'll—"

I opened my eyes, my head feeling like the morning after shore leave. That man stood over me. It pissed me off with how fast he could recover himself after such a massive power drain.

"Drink this. It should help you recover." He held the thin, long tube with the light blue liquid inside, and I took it and drained it before plopping my head back on the vessel.

"If my Caspian trusts you, then I will too," I groaned. My blood might as well be made of lead with how every inch of my body was pinned to the floor.

Connor entered the room, his boots echoing in the space.

"How's Caspian?" I asked. At that moment, no other news seemed worthy of my attention.

"He's fine, along with the child. He kept muttering about losing it, and nothing seemed to console him, but I gave him some sedatives to help him rest."

"I never thought I'd be praising the existence of a machine." I looked at the newcomer and stood up so I could look down on him. Not that it mattered. He had already seen me weakened and coughing up blood. I hated that he seemed to be more powerful than me despite his smaller size. "What happened down there?"

"I think it would be better if he told you himself. He would want that. I helped him the best way I could with the promise he would allow me passage onboard your vessel."

"Where?"

"As long as needed until I can find passage back to Ashan."

"This isn't a cruise ship."

He followed me until I reached the Nav room and stood on the podium to help plot the safest course home.

"I can be of some help. I don't expect free passage, and I require little."

"What can you do? I'm assuming you've never left that planet."

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