Page 26 of The Alien's Unwilling Bride

He spun just in time to see Wrezen charging them, a vibro-blade humming with deadly energy in his hand. Time seemed to slow as Roq assessed the situation. He could push Mila to safety and face Wrezen alone, or...

In that split second, Roq made a decision. He trusted Mila—not just with his heart, but with his life and the fate of Tharvis. Instead of shielding her, he pulled her close and whispered, “Together.”

Understanding flashed in Mila’s eyes. As one, they moved, Roq meeting Wrezen’s charge head-on while Mila ducked low, sweeping her leg out to catch Wrezen’s ankles.

The maneuver worked perfectly. Wrezen, caught off guard by their coordinated attack, stumbled and fell hard. Before he could recover, Roq was on him, pinning him to the ground.

EIGHTEEN

“It’s over, Wrezen,” Roq declared, his voice firm but not unkind. “Surrender now, and we can still find a way forward—together.”

For a moment, it seemed as though Wrezen might yield. Then his eyes hardened, and he spat in Roq’s face. “Never. Tharvis will never bow to weaklings and outsiders.”

A tremor ran through the complex, more violent than before. The mining equipment groaned ominously, and cracks began to appear in the chamber’s walls.

Mila’s voice cut through the tension: “Roq, we need to go. The systems are overloading—this whole place is going to collapse!”

Roq hesitated, looking down at his cousin. Despite everything, they were still family. “Wrezen, please. Come with us.”

But Wrezen only laughed, a bitter, broken sound. “Go, cousin. Run away with your Earthling whore. But know this—Tharvis will remember who stood for it, and who betrayed it.”

With a heavy heart, Roq released Wrezen and grabbed Mila’s hand. They raced through the crumbling complex, dodgingfalling debris and sparking equipment. The air was thick with dust and smoke making it difficult to breathe.

“This way!” Roq shouted, pulling Mila toward an exterior door. They burst through the exit just as a massive tremor shook the mountain. The complex behind them groaned and shuddered, imploding with a deafening roar.

Roq and Mila didn’t stop running until they were a safe distance away. As they watched the dust settle over the ruins of Wrezen’s operation, Roq turned to Mila, his eyes searching her face.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, his hand still clasping hers.

Mila nodded, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “I’m fine. Do you think we stopped him? Is he dead?”

“There are thousands of tunnels with tons of escape routes. He could have easily gotten away. As for stopping him, we did, even if only momentarily. You were... incredible in there.”

A faint blush colored Mila’s cheeks. “We make a good team,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The air between them seemed to crackle with unspoken emotion. Roq found himself leaning in, drawn by an irresistible force. Mila tilted her face up, her lips parting slightly.

But before their lips could meet, another tremor shook the ground beneath their feet. Reality came crashing back, reminding them of the urgent task still at hand.

“We need to get back to the palace,” Roq said, reluctantly pulling away. “The environmental damage from the mining operation... we have to start working on a solution immediately.”

Mila nodded, her expression shifting from disappointment to determination. “You’re right. There’s still so much work to be done.”

As they continued the journey back to the palace, Roq’s mind whirled with conflicting emotions. The threat of Wrezen had been neutralized, at least for now, but at what cost? The damageto Tharvis’s ecosystem was severe, and the political fallout from this confrontation would be immense.

And then there was Mila. The way she had stood by him, fought alongside him... it had awakened something in Roq that he could no longer ignore. What had started as a political arrangement had become something far more profound.

Glancing at Mila as she walked beside him, her face set in determination as she had already begun formulating plans to heal the planet, Roq felt a surge of emotion so powerful, it nearly took his breath away. Whatever challenges lay ahead, he knew one thing for certain: with Mila by his side, there was nothing they couldn’t face together.

The future of Tharvis—and their relationship—remained uncertain. But for the first time in a long while, Roq felt hope blooming in his chest. They had won this battle. And together, they would win the war for Tharvis’s future.

As they made their way down the mountain, the first tendrils of dawn were beginning to streak across the sky. Roq looked at Mila, her profile illuminated by the soft light, and made a silent vow to protect her, to cherish her, to stand by her side no matter what challenges lay ahead.

The trek back to the palace was arduous, their bodies aching from the battle and their minds heavy with the weight of what they’d witnessed. Roq kept a watchful eye on Mila, noting the slight limp in her gait and the way she cradled her injured arm.

“We should rest,” he said, gesturing to a small clearing nestled between two towering rock formations. “Just for a moment. You’re hurt.”

Mila shook her head stubbornly. “We can’t afford to stop. Every minute we delay is another minute Tharvis suffers.”

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