Page 103 of Bred by the Alien Prince

I was glad. Cormac was easy to hate, but I couldn't deny the fact that he did do what was within reason for himself to help me, even if it carried other motives behind it. I didn't feel right convicting him as guilty until I heard his side of things, and it seems like Lorvian was perhaps willing to do the same.

"And tell no one you are an AI," Lorvian said before exiting the ship.

Lorvian got on the comms and punched in some numbers until a soft-spoken male replied. "Have a vehicle brought to my ship ASAP. Large enough for four."

"The King is expecting you, sir."

"I'm late already. An hour or two won't hurt any more than it has. I'd rather not get yelled at while looking like I should be out digging ditches."

"Yes, sir, of course."

"Are my siblings here? Regis perhaps?"

"Um…No sir."

I followed along with Zai and the boy Duero. So far, I haven't had the chance to talk to the kid, as he seemed to run away from me whenever I stepped in his direction. But I guess it's understandable. I didn't feel right just tossing the kid somewhere, even when Lorvian mentioned a possible orphanage during one of our talks.

The city was like a golden dream. The white and silver car, or hovercar, glided smoothly through the white cobblestone streets, causing everyone to stop and stare. While the ride was nice and I enjoyed the luxury, I worried about being surrounded by an entire planet of Valisians.

"So, is everyone like you?" I asked Lorvian, who sat and stared out the window before turning his attention to me.

"I'm one of a kind. You should know that by now," he winked.

I looked away and blushed.

"If you're worried about whether you're on a planet of bloodthirsty killers, you can relax. Most of these people have only seen my armor in the vids." Lorvian played around on his wristband until a small screen popped up and he began typing something I couldn't read.

"Ah, I see."

"We call this city White Grove. It's one of the last standing. Our population is much lower elsewhere." He finished but didn't look up from his screen.

Just as he spoke, I saw a group of young Travol children. No, they were leaner, and their faces were more Valisian despite their bluish skin color.

"Um, those children..."

"Those are Travol hybrids, and that Valisian woman is their caretaker."

"Oh yeah, this hegemony," I said. "I half expected marching soldiers down the street or something."

Lorvian laughed. "Unless it's a parade, you won't find that happening."

"So much has changed and yet so much is the same as I remembered," Zai said, looking out the window.

We parked in front of what I could only describe as a boutique and Lorvian finished whatever he was doing and exited the car.

The long red-haired woman opened the door and quickly ushered us inside.

"If anyone found out such vagabonds were shopping here, it would destroy my rep!" She placed her hands on her hips. "Hello, Lorvian. Nice to see you again."

"Thanks for opening up. I know you like to sleep in before a ball."

The woman looked over us all, and her dark eyes stopped at me. "Oh my!" She gasped. "I heard the rumors at the palace, but this..."

I felt self-conscious.

"Caspian, this is one of my sisters, Heime."

"Oh!" I laughed and held out my hand for her to shake, and she looked at it and me for a long moment before holding out her hand in the same way. I took it and shook it. "It's how we greet new people where I'm from."

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