Page 76 of Alien Prince's Claim

This room was not where I wished to make my last stand, that was for certain.

If they could create one entrance, they could create more, surround us, and we would be overwhelmed.

Emily approached me and gripped my arm. “They’re getting closer, aren’t they?”

She nervously peered at the walls as if they might break through at any moment.

I held her close. “Yes. They are.” She deserved the truth and I would not sugarcoat it or lie to her. “But by the time they get in, we’ll be long gone.”

I took her hands in mine and gently kissed her fingertips.

Cayah had wanted to leave immediately.

How, I had no idea and he refused to reveal.

I had scanned every inch of the room with my eyes and not discovered where the secret exit might be concealed, but he seemed confident we could indeed get out.

But I insisted on staying here as long as possible.

I had given him the excuse that it was to rest, as we had been racing all day.

I needed to recover before I could lay siege to the Goblars and tear a path through them for us to reach the docks.

It was true… to an extent.

A Krev’s body could recover at extremely fast rates and, in truth, I had fully recovered several hours ago.

Emily needed longer to recover and it would likely take days, or weeks even, for her.

The real reason for wanting to delay leaving was because of the ticking clock hanging over us at all times.

I had to keep Emily safe for twenty hours.

After that, the Goblars would lose interest and go seek another fated female.

So, it was best for us to spend as much time in this room as possible — assuming it remained safe — before heading back out into the endless hallways of the Seeding Facility.

Already, we were down to two hours remaining.

I wished I could say the time we spent in the room had been boring but that constant scratching and pounding at the walls, knowing the Goblars were out there doing everything within their power to get inside and take Emily from me, put my nerves on edge.

It made every second drag out to the length of a full week.

Emily looked over at Cayah and the way he took care of his mate.

He hadn’t once left her side, save for refilling the bucket of ice to continue dabbing at her brow.

Nisa lay prone, a frown forming on her brow every few minutes, mumbling something to herself beneath her breath.

Then Cayah would stroke her hair, calming her, relaxing her.

And she would become still again, but apart from that, she hardly ever moved a muscle.

“He really cares for her, doesn’t he?” Emily said.

Maybe, I thought. Maybe not.

With my earlier outburst, gripping Cayah by the neck and pinning him to the wall, Emily already knew how I felt about him and his species, about how they could not be trusted.

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