Page 9 of Aura Awakened

“They’re opportunists. They must have been in a nearby sector and decided to make a quick stop to steal some humans. I’m sure you weren’t the only one.” He points to a man in a nearby pod to make his point. “Earth isn’t worth a full-scale invasion, but a grab-and-go wouldn’t have been too inconvenient.”

Earth isn’t what, now? “What? Invasion? I need you to slow down and tell me everything. Including why you woke me up.”

“Look, I’ll explain later, but right now, we need to get out of here. Do you not remember five minutes ago? The whole ship is going to be looking for us, and believe me, we do not want to be found.”

“Wait, so did they also abduct you? How did you get out of your pod?”

He shakes his head. “They didn’t capture me. I infiltrated this ship because I need specific information about their operations. I just happened to rescue you along the way.”

I let that sink in. “Well, how did you get here? To…what did you call it? The outer reaches of a weird galaxy? Does that mean you have your own ship?”

“Technically, but if you’re thinking about escape, we can’t go yet. I need to find somewhere safe to stash you while I finish my mission. Then we can leave.”

Stash me? I don’t think so, buddy. If escaping isn’t going to be as simple as strolling out the nearest exit, then that changes everything. I’m sticking to him like wings on a fairy.

“You can’t just drop me in a closet like an old coat.” This guy is definitely the lesser of two evils. I’ll take a hundred giant thorn men over a single spider-roach-lobster any day of the week, especially when he’s my best—maybe only—chance of getting off this ship.

“No. I need to keep you safe. I have to find somewhere for you to hide. Besides, you’re still feeling the effects of the gas. You’ll only slow me down.” He turns, as if to leave, presumably to search for said hiding place.

Hot indignation chases away the chill from everything he just told me. I may have been drugged, but I’m not some helpless flower. I can keep up.

“Uh-uh.” I grab his shoulder to stop him, but immediately let go when more sparks tingle through me, even more intense than before. “What, the thorns aren’t enough? You’re electrified too?”

He spins around and stares at me. “You can feel that?”

“Of course. You have actual voltage.”

He purses his lips and crosses his arms, the picture of consternation. “That’s…unexpected.”

“Why?”

“Never mind. It’s complicated, and I keep telling you, this isn’t the place for long discussions. We’ll talk later. Right now, I need to find what I came for so we can go.”

I realize that my hand is wet where I touched him. He’s bleeding. Makes sense. He did just get shot.

“You’re injured,” I say, helpfully stating the obvious.

“It’s just a scratch. I’ll heal within a day or two.”

I reach for his shoulder again, trailing a finger along the wound, noting the clear liquid that seeps out.

“Is this your blood?” I ask, startled by what I see. It’s something I’m familiar with, which is very, very odd.

He gives me a curious look. “Of course. What else would it be?”

I shake my head and meet his gaze. “I mean…yeah. But I’m a florist and I know what I’m looking at. I majored in botany. This is sap. What are you?”

He chuckles, seemingly puzzled by my fascination with his injury. “Acacian.”

“Acacia? Like the tree? Are you aplant?”

He stands up a little, emphasizing his ridiculous height, and flares his nostrils. “I am an Acacian,” he says again, once more enunciating slowly as if I’m incapable of comprehending.

Wait a minute. Is he actually offended? “Jeez, sorry. On my planet, acacias are trees. Full of thorns and sap,” I say pointedly. I very politely do not point out that standing up straighter to show off how tall he is does nothing to counter the tree comparison.

“I’m not a tree,” he growls. “I’m a prince. From the most beautiful world you could ever imagine.”

“You’re a prince?” I repeat, eyebrows raised. Could this day get weirder? “Why are you alone on this ship doing grunt work, then?”

---