Page 92 of Seeded By Two

But the technology was so advanced I likely wouldn’t be able to see it even if it was there.

They were hoping we might reveal information to them.

And what was the only piece of information they cared about knowing?

Which of us is the real Prince.

They still did not know.

They hoped they could discover it by listening to our conversation now.

But we would not give them that chance.

Once they knew which of us was the genuine prince, they would separate us, likely kill me, and then use the Prince for their own purposes.

Even if they didn’t kill me, they would put me in far worse conditions than this room.

I fixed Aslas with a look and tapped his hand. “That’s because you’re not the real prince,” I said meaningfully.

His eyes rose to mine and an understanding passed through them.

“No,” he said, catching on. “Or am I? Sometimes it’s hard to know the truth.”

“Yes,” I said. “It can be confusing sometimes.”

I decided to change the topic.

Best to keep the Ukmat guessing.

“How’s Beth?” Aslas asked.

“Safe,” I told him. “She has no part in this, so there’s no reason to get her involved. There’s nothing she knows that can help these creatures.”

I planted the seed, hoping the Ukmat listening in would believe me.

The truth was, Beth was the only way they were going to get us to reveal our true identities.

We would take any punishment they dished out to us—although, come to think of it, that was probably the reason they had done little more than pushing and shoving up until now—because they didn’t know which of us was the real prince and did not want to anger the Emperor when they finally handed the real Prince over.

They simply couldn’t take the risk they might injure him.

Once again, I marveled at Aslas’s self-sacrifice in forswearing his own safety in exchange for ours.

“What do you think they're going to do with us?” Aslas asked.

“Exchange us for better negotiation terms, I guess,” I said.

Aslas nodded. “I thought as much. Can you believe the Emperor actually wanted to give them the best terms possible? And we were foolish enough to give it to them? And now they want more?”

He shook his head.

“Sore losers always want more,” I said. “But by kidnapping us, they’re only going to make the situation worse for themselves.”

“They’ll get what’s coming to them,” Aslas said, a stony coldness coming over his face. “You can’t expect to kidnap the Krev Prince without there being some very dire consequences.”

The lock on the door snapped open and the pushy Ukmat guard with the bad attitude marched inside.

“Get up,” he snarled. “You’re wanted.”

---