Page 41 of The Alien's Captive Bride

TWENTY

Venus paced outside the medical bay, her heart racing faster than it had during the entire confrontation with Oran. The sterile alien smell of the facility made her nose wrinkle - a bizarre mix of ozone and something vaguely floral. She’d never been good with hospitals, even high-tech Tharvisian ones that looked more like the inside of a spaceship than a place of healing.

When the door finally slid open with a soft hiss, Venus nearly pounced on the attending physician. “Well? Is he okay? Can I see him?” she demanded, her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts to stay calm.

The Tharvisian doctor, still unnerving with his silvery skin and eyes that seemed to glow like moonlit pools, nodded solemnly. “Prince Azlun will make a full recovery. The wound from Oran’s energy glaive was deep, but our regeneration technology is quite advanced. He’s resting now, but you may see him.”

Venus didn’t need to be told twice. She slipped into the room, her breath catching at the sight of Azlun lying on the medical pod, a faint blue light pulsing over his injured side. He looked pale, his usually vibrant silver skin now ashen, but his chest roseand fell steadily. The memory of Oran’s blade slicing through Azlun’s flesh flashed through her mind, making her shudder.

“Hey, tough guy,” she said softly, approaching the pod. Her fingers itched to touch him, to reassure herself that he was really there alive and healing. “I leave you alone for five minutes and look what happens. Trying to win a game of extreme alien acupuncture?”

Azlun’s eyes fluttered open, a weak smile tugging on his lips. Even injured, he was breathtakingly handsome. “Venus,” he murmured, reaching for her hand. His touch sent a spark through her, warm and comforting. “Were you checked out? Are you hurt?”

Venus couldn’t help but laugh, even as she felt tears in her eyes. “Am I hurt? You’re the one who decided to play pin cushion with an energy sword, you idiot.” She squeezed his hand, her voice softening. “I’m fine. Thanks to you. Though if you ever scare me like that again, I might have to kick your royal behind myself.”

Azlun chuckled, then winced. “Noted. Though I must say, the idea of you kicking my ‘royal behind’ is more appealing than it probably should be.”

Venus felt her cheeks warm, a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure flooding through her. “Behave, Your Highness. Or I’ll tell the doctor to withhold your pain medication.”

TWENTY-ONE

The next few days passed in a blur of medical check-ups and debriefings. Venus barely left Azlun’s side, determined to help him recover. Which led to her current predicament, standing in the palace kitchen surrounded by ingredients she couldn’t even name, let alone cook.

“Okay,” she muttered to herself, eyeing what she hoped was the Tharvisian equivalent of a chicken. It had feathers, at least. Sort of. If you squinted. And ignored the fact that they were iridescent and seemed to be humming. “How hard can this be? Boil water, add bird-thing, make soup. Easy peasy. Just like Mom used to make, if Mom was an alien with six arms and a penchant for cooking creatures that look like they escaped from an acid trip.”

An hour later, as acrid smoke filled the kitchen and alarms blared, Venus was forced to admit defeat. She stared forlornly at the charred remains of her “chicken” soup, which now resembled something closer to tar than any form of edible sustenance.

“I don’t suppose you have any pizza delivery places on this planet?” she asked the frazzled kitchen staff who hadcome running at the smell of smoke. “No? Not even a cosmic McDonald’s or an intergalactic Taco Bell?”

When she finally presented Azlun with a bowl of what the kitchen staff had kindly prepared (after putting out the small fire she’d started), he looked at it with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.

“You... made this?” he asked, poking at a floating vegetable with his spoon.

Venus sighed dramatically. “If by ‘made’ you mean ‘nearly burned down the royal kitchen and then begged the staff to save me from my own culinary ineptitude’, then yes, I made it.”

Azlun’s laugh, warm and full despite his injury, made Venus’s heart skip a beat. He reached for her hand, pulling her close. “It’s perfect,” he said softly, his eyes shining with an emotion that made Venus’s breath catch. “Thank you.”

As she watched him eat, occasionally stealing bites for herself, Venus marveled at how natural this felt. Caring for him and being cared for in return. It was so far from the political arrangement she’d expected, and yet... it felt right.

A few days later,Venus paced nervously in their shared quarters, waiting for Azlun to return from his final medical check-up. Everything had to be perfect. She owed Amari big time for helping her plan this surprise - maybe she could convince Azlun to grant her an entire moon or something.

When Azlun walked in, looking tired but much healthier, his skin once again gleaming with its natural silver sheen, Venus pounced. “Get changed,” she said, tossing him what she hoped was appropriate attire for their adventure - something thatlooked like a cross between motorcycle leathers and a spacesuit. “We’re going out.”

Azlun raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Oh? And where are we going? Another attempt at cooking that ends with the evacuation of the entire palace?”

Venus stuck out her tongue, a gesture that was probably very unprincess-like but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Ha-ha, very funny. For your information, Your Highness, that is a surprise. Now hurry up, our chariot awaits.”

As Azlun changed, Venus couldn’t help but admire the view. Even with the lingering marks of his injury, he was gorgeous - all lean muscle and smooth silver skin. She felt a blush creeping up her neck and quickly averted her eyes. “Eyes up, Arison,” she muttered to herself. “You’re a princess now, not a hormonal teenager.”

“Did you say something?” Azlun asked, now fully dressed and looking unfairly attractive in the form-fitting outfit.

“Nope!” Venus chirped, perhaps a bit too brightly. “Ready to go?”

The wind whippedthrough Venus’s hair as she clung to Azlun, the hover bike beneath them purring with alien energy. The landscape blurred past in a riot of colors she’d never even imagined existed in nature - iridescent plains that shimmered like oil on water, trees with leaves that seemed to sing in the breeze, mountains that looked like they were made of crystal and caught the light of the twin suns in dazzling rainbows.

“Having fun?” she yelled over the rush of air, feeling Azlun’s chest rumble with laughter against her back. The warmth of hisbody against hers and the strength of his arms around her waist made her feel safe and exhilarated all at once.

“I didn’t know you could drive one of these,” he called back, his breath tickling her ear and sending a shiver down her spine.

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