Page 54 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

“Oh, no.” I shoot up in bed, recalling the sight of her packed bags yesterday. Just like that, my moment of bliss disintegrates.

After throwing on some clothes, I race through the hallways, bound for Zaya’s quarters. I only hope she’s still here, so she can hear me out on my proposal to stay. I come to her door, my heart beating with uncertainty as I gently rap upon it.

“Come in,” says Zaya’s muffled voice.

“Okay, she’s still here,” I whisper to myself with relief before stepping into her room.

I greet her with a smile, but my eyes immediately dart to the bed where her bag is ready and packed. If she and her bag were gone, there’d be no sign that she was ever here. It makes my stomach drop.

“Good morning, Zaya.”

“Nice to see you, Prince Taurek. No important duties to attend to?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m doing here.”

“Oh?”

“I didn’t expect you to be leaving so soon.”

“Well, curing your daughter is what you brought me here for, right? And now she’s cured, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

“I don’t understand,” I mutter.

“Look, my mind is settled on leaving. I just need to say goodbye to Hanai before I do. I don’t belong here. It’s clear to everyone.”

“But, Zaya. Please, wait.”

“Please, Taurek,” she interjects, throwing up a dismissive hand and walking down to Hanai’s room.

A weight bears on my shoulders. If I’ve lost her already, then fighting for it won’t make me lose her more. I run after her as she heads down to Hanai’s suite.We found love and warmth in icy, unforgiving mountains. It can survive there, but not here?

I spin around and jog after Zaya, making my way to Hanai’s room. As the door opens, Zaya takes a step back, seemingly pausing in shock, then she rushes forward.

“What the hell is happening in there? Oh, no…” My thoughts immediately spring to Hanai as I run to her room. Bursting through the door, I spot my daughter passed out once again, her face once more writhing in pain. “No… This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“I told you!” spits a shrill voice from the corner of the room. I turn to see Kantha approach from the shadows with Zephyron following close behind. Next to me, Zaya tenses herself. “I specifically said that Zaya wasn’t to lay a hand on our daughter, and now look what’s happening!”

“Hold on just a minute,” I hiss. “Are you implying this was all her fault?” I gesture to Zaya, more beautiful than ever, although I’ve never seen her so terrified.

“Implying? No, this is a straight-up accusation, Taurek!”

“It can’t be,” says Zaya. “She was fine yesterday, I don’t understand…”

“You don’t understand much, do you, now?” retorts Kantha.

“Stop!” I yell. “Enough with the baseless accusations and finger-pointing. No one knows for sure what’s going on with Hanai!”

“Her vitals are stable, but she’s fallen ill again, so it seems,” remarks Zephyron, somehow finding the audacity to weigh in on the matter. “Who knows if she will even wake up again? Your cure did not work.”

“Neither did yours. For all we know, this could be some sort of side effect to your so-called miracle serum.”

Zephyron snarls, and I’m just about ready to take him on when Zaya’s hand pulls on my arm. I turn to her in confusion.

“Can I talk to you outside?” Zaya asks.

“As soon as I talk to the nurse on-call, and then that’s all I want to do, Zaya.”

I ask the nurse if there’s anything we can do in the meantime, and the nurse is giving conventional treatment to wait it out.

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