Page 96 of Seeded By Two

Even in my prime, I was not strong enough to break them, and neither was Feon.

But by the rattling sound behind me, I thought he was still attempting it.

These creatures, devious and disgusting though they were, were not wrong.

The capture of our fated mate would loosen both our tongues.

Feon would give himself up the same way I would if Beth’s life hung in the balance.

There were few ways that could force either of us to admit the truth, but this was certainly one of them.

The hollow image of the escape pod grew larger as drones attached themselves to it, bringing it slowly down to the ground.

They approached the hatch door and began blasting it open with powerful lasers.

It was only a matter of time before they got inside at Beth, locked away like a pearl in a hzis shell.

I growled, spat, and shook, my chair groaning beneath me, unable to take the onslaught.

Feon did likewise.

We both knew what was going to happen next.

These creatures had won, despite our best efforts.

Finally, I gave up and hung my head.

But once again, Feon beat me to it. “Okay…” he said in a sorrowful tone of voice. “We’ll tell you… Just… leave Beth alone.”

The creature’s mandibles quivered with excitement but gave no order for the drones to stop blasting at the pod door.

“The Prince is…” I said, my eyes fixed on the holographic image of the pod doors.

They were torn open like tissue paper and the drones rushed in, metallic arms reaching to grab at its occupant.

I felt my lips begin to form the first sound that would say the word “me”…

And the word died on my lips.

My mouth fell open, staring at the image.

The drones’ metallic hands remained empty.

There was nothing for them to grasp.

Because Beth was not on board.

And that’s when things went crazy.

22

BETH

Under the right conditions—what many would refer to as actually the worst conditions—an instant could stretch to the infinite.

A blink of time that would normally pass unnoticed, could suddenly stretch out into the far distance, the horizon so deep that you were unsure if you would ever reach it.

As Feon handed himself over and left me, and the door hissed shut and the countdown began, and I struggled pathetically at my restraints, such a moment occurred.

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