Page 60 of Alien Prince's Claim

There could be no other reason for their circumstances than someone had left them to rot.

Even with their puny intellects, they would begin to investigate, combing the area with all their resources until they had found us, and then…

Then…

I ran a hand over Emily’s forehead, brushing back her hair.

She didn’t flinch from it, even with her eyes closed, and seemed instead to take some comfort in it.

She had been suffering from a nightmare up until that moment and I was pleased I could awaken her from it.

She opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing me standing over her.

“I didn’t think you would come back,” she said.

Hearing her say such a thing in her sweet voice brought a lump to my throat. “Of course I came back. If I had known earlier… I’m sorry. Will you ever forgive me for what I did?”

“You didn’t do anything,” she said.

“And that is the greatest sin of all. It is a badge of dishonor that I will wear for the rest of my life. I promise you I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you — if you’ll let me.”

I fell to my knees before her, taking her soft hands in mine.

“You have nothing to make up for,” she said.

“Then… Then you forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive.”

She smiled weakly up at me and my insides turned to liquid.

I pressed the palm of her hand to my cheek and felt its warmth.

It seemed to melt through my scales and permeate me to a level I had never experienced before.

And there was a good reason for that.

Not just anyone could make a Krev feel this way…

In fact, there was only one who could do such a thing…

And Emily needed to know what it meant and how it might affect us in the future.

Especially our immediate future over the next few hours.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said. “Something that cannot wait. Something you must know if we are to get out of here and for all of this to make sense. Are you strong enough to hear it?”

She smiled up at me, her eyes half-lidded, and wiggled up onto her elbows to get comfortable. “Yes. I’m ready. What is it?”

I stood up and began to pace, unsure how to begin.

I had never explained our link with the Goblars to anyone outside our species before and I wasn’t sure how deeply I should explain it, or how far back I needed to go.

“Those creatures…” I began. “Do you know what they are?”

She shook her head.

“They’re called Goblars. They’re unholy creatures spawned from the depths of hell. Despite all our history with the creatures, we know curiously little about them. It’s not like we actively pursue them the way they do us — or rather… our fated mates.”

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