Page 78 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"Lorvian! You might want to get in here," Caspian yelled for me in the back of the ship. I wasted no time reaching his side. He stood in the distant hallway in front of an opened door. He backed away, allowing us to see inside.

Blood. Black Valisian blood coated the large bed and floor, and someone left a handprint on the wall along with a shoe print on the white carpet. On the floor was a bloody white lace dress.

"Two males, one was an omega," I said, stepping into the room. The blood had long since dried. "There are two sets of footprints," I noted the sizes and possible fingerprints etched on the walls.

"So they were injured before attacking the Connor's ship?" Capsian shook his head trying to make sense of it. "Maybe they needed to ditch this ship for some reason….can Valisians survive FTL travel with no food and water?"

"We can. But all of this blood? They would be unconscious long before getting anywhere."

"Then maybe it isn't as sinister as it seems. Could our droids have attacked them first?"

"Connor?"

"We did not attack them," he replied, knowing what I would ask. "We scrubbed our ship clean after taking all the DNA samples we could."

"Tell us the whole story of the attack on your vessel."

"I was working in engineering when the ship came upon us and attacked using stealth technology. I began repairs while two of our teammates reported entering the pods to return to Earth after our FTL communicator failed. Others reported two alien hostiles. The larger male tried to take over the bridge. However, to make the ship run more efficiently, the bridge was manned by pure AI in the systems. It was unfit for organics. It didn't take him long to realize we were all AI. He ceased his attack, carried the severely injured smaller male to the escape pod, and forced the doors open before takeoff. That was the last we've seen or heard of them. We proceeded on course to the colony to transport supplies. We contacted Earth, yet we received no word. We continued with our main objective to complete the colony."

"My fucking head hurts," I said, beginning not to care anymore.

"Oh," Connor spoke again. "The male hummed a tune to the smaller one." Connor mimicked the tune.

"That sounds familiar," I said. "It's an old Valisian tune typically sung to babies. My Damma used to sing it to me, it's quite common and tells us nothing."

"Connor, keep this place sealed and allow no one else permission to enter but those you trust, perhaps others like you. And I want tests done on the blood and those fingerprints recorded before we leave."

"Sir." There goes that damned salute again.

"We won't sort this out right now. Let's focus on preparations for leaving this place."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Cormac said, already leaving the ship.

Grabbing the wine from the small bar, I escorted Caspian out, leaving Connor to get to work.

There was one more thing I needed to do: talk to my not-so-loyal companion, Tavi, who was now sitting behind bars on the colony.

She stood when we entered the cell. I was half expecting Daruuk to be prowling the building demanding her freedom, but perhaps he realized how ridiculous it would make him look.

"I see my brother is walking free," she said, approaching the bars. "I'm sure his negotiation skills were just too irresistible," she mocked.

"Why did you lie about Swarti attacking you?" I asked although the answer seemed obvious.

"I knew there was tension between you," she chuckled. "What do they say? The recipe for the perfect lie is a sprinkle of truth?" She tried to gesture, only to be reminded of the cuffs around her wrists. I just needed to get on your smaller ship and I knew you would never take me if I asked. Besides, I gave you a big hint as to what he was."

"And so, you've finally revealed yourself."

"Is this the part where you save face by telling me you knew all along?"

"No, I didn't know. I thought the fight was out of you."

"Well surprise, it isn't!"

"Why do you want to be Queen? It was the ruling council who raped you, I don't imagine you would want to work with them after that, and becoming Queen under the hegemony would mean you would have to work with them. You're better off leaving our puppet Queen alone."

"So you never had any intent to hand our world back to my brother."

I laughed. "I would, we rule over too many places as is. But I have no desire to deal with a Queen who only wishes to settle grudges with her family over the fact that they couldn't help you."

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