The way that Kade was looking at me right now made me want to eat my own words.
Stupid suggestion, Emily. I wanted to smack my hand against my forehead out of embarrassment. I awaited his response nervously.
"Never have I ever?" He echoed, sounding confused. "What does that mean?" His tone implied that my idea was practically as interesting to him as pond scum.
I frowned at him. God, he was so judgy. I took a deep breath, trying to reason with my more irritable side. He clearly had some unresolved issues about humans and was taking it out on me. We both had our own problems we needed to figure out.
"It's a game that humans use to get to know one another better." I responded dryly.
Do I really want to get to know him, though? The thought swirled through my mind.
The annoying voice inside my head assured me that I most definitely did.
He blew out a breath of air. "I suppose if I don't get your way you will continue to talk anyways." He drawled out, stretching lazily on the bed he was sitting on. He made a motion with his hands for me to get on with it.
I grit my teeth. "Were you always this easy to get along with?" I asked sweetly.
Kade scoffed at me. "Is that your question?" He asked incredulously. "Humans have such small minds." He said, clearly to himself. I wondered if he forgot my hearing had greatly improved since becoming one of them.
I glared. "No, that's not my question." I all but hissed through my teeth. God, he was so attractive but so difficult to be around. In more ways than one. My heart did a little flip at the thought of brushing my lips against his.
Oh. My. God. Get it together Emily! I thought, horrified by my traitorous mind. That was the absolute last thing in this world that I needed. A moody, alien boyfriend.
Does he even have a...
My eyes trailed down from his eyes before I blushed furiously, shaking the thought away. Oh my god. You are the ultimate pervert Emily Cartell. I chastised myself angrily.
Kade raised a dark brow at the blush creeping up my neck. "Next question then." He responded indifferently.
I sighed. "Fine. When did you arrive on Earth?" I asked curiously.
He stared at me for a moment, as if he were truly deciding whether or not he was going to play along with my little game to very obviously gather intel on him and his kind.
"Hundreds of years ago. We only recently revealed ourselves to humans, as it became necessary to our survival." Kade's smooth voice and accent were addicting to listen to. "How do you think the pyramids were built?" He shrugged as if he hadn't just dropped a massive truth bomb on me.
I balked. "Wait, you're hundreds of years old?" I practically hissed out in surprise. "The pyramids, really? Damn. I wanted to give humans credit for that one." My mind was whirling.
Talk about gross. I'm attracted to an old man. He's practically a corpse! My head was spinning at the new information he had just given me.
I was sure he could sense my disgust, because he graced me with one of his famous scowls.
"No, you idiot. My kind. Not me personally. Although, our life spans do vary dramatically compared to humans." He cocked his head at me curiously. "I suppose that includes you now too."
My eye twitched in annoyance at the fact he had just called me an idiot.
I took a deep breath, suddenly apprehensive about the information I was about to learn. Was I ready for it? Truth be told, I didn't have much choice at this point. It was either learn or remain ignorant. And I had never been a fan of ignorance.
"Great. Just great." I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to keep back the migraine that I always seemed to get when I was stressed out. "It's your turn to ask me one."
Kade seemed taken aback for a moment as he thought out his question. A moment later he surprised me by his choice.
"What is your family like?" He asked me unexpectedly. He almost sounded interested in what I had to say before quickly masking his emotions once more.
The question caused my smile to drop. "They were the best people I knew. My parents genuinely loved one another. My sister was my best friend. I loved being around them." I trailed off; lost in my own memories, longing more than anything to see them again.
Kade pursed his lips as if he were going to prod further in to my answer, but decided against it. "Your turn," He responded simply.
I nodded, taking a breath to clear my mind once more. I wanted to be original, but he had picked the next question as if he had read my mind.
"What's your family like?" I asked him, somewhat dreading the answer.
Kade's lip twitched up into the ghost of a smile at my hesitance. He pondered his answer for a moment before responding.
"Strong. In body and in mind. My mother fought hard until the very end of her life on Nauria. My father resisted the grief that threatened to overcome him despite losing his ma-" he stopped mid-sentence, seeming to correct himself. "wife... and focused on our people and finding a solution that would save us."
I pursed my lips. "Will it save you, though? Is it all going to be worth it?" It was a loaded question and Kade knew it. His eyes narrowed at me for the briefest second before his usual mask of indifference overcame his expression again. While talking about his family he had truly looked at peace.
He shook his head at me, "Did I misunderstand the rules of this game? I believe it was my turn to ask the next question."
I scowled at him. "Of course, your Highness." I retorted. He was right, of course. It didn't mean I liked his condescending tone though.
"Do you hate us?" Kade's question took me by surprise yet again. I stared at him with wide eyes, wondering if he actually wanted me to answer this question honestly. When he continued to stare, awaiting my reply I sighed.
I thought about his question. "No..." I answered slowly, "your people haven't done anything to me that would warrant my hate. Yet. However... your kind having part in, and being the main cause of my mutilation and overall treatment while being held prisoner does make me resent you."
Kade looked thoughtful for a moment. "I find it interesting that you being turned into a more powerful being is being classified as mutilation. But I appreciate your honesty. I am trying to gauge your threat level to my people. Are you a threat to them?"
My eyes widened in shock. "Are you asking me if I want to harm innocent people- er, aliens?"
He nodded grimly. "I cannot be sure, as you have told us how horrible your time was in your government facility. I do not know if revenge is something you crave."
I looked away for a moment. "The revenge I want isn't on your people. It's on my own. They tossed me to the side like I was a piece of garbage. They gave no consideration to my care, or to the care of the other women they butchered in the process."
Kade looked relieved at my answer. "I am glad to hear that. But also... a little confused. Our program was agreed by both sides to be tested only the sick and weakest of your kind. People that had little to no chance at surviving on their own due to disease. Are you telling me that this wasn't the case?" He looked extremely troubled, with his brow furrowed in deep thought.
"Uh. No... I was completely healthy when they began their experiments on me." A memory came to mind at his inquiry. "Although I do think that they may have tried and failed on several women who had cancer. I'm not sure how fast they gave up on that idea, but I believe at least one other woman who died recently had been healthy at the time they began as well." I said, remembering the video I saw of Carly. She hadn't looked sick, although that was the excuse Kyle had given me.
I didn't believe him for a second, though.
Kade paced the room, looking almost sick to his stomach. "That is unacceptable. No wonder you were so resentful when you came to us. We were supposed to be your salvation. The only other possibility to life that you had."
I pressed my lips tightly together. The dread that was pooling in my stomach left me feeling drained and uneasy.
"Why are you stuck here with me? Don't you have more important duties if you're a Prince?" I suddenly asked. It wasn't the question I had been intending to ask him, however it was the one that came flying out of my mouth.
Kade suddenly looked amused. "Why? Would you prefer I get someone else to accompany you?"
I spluttered, "No! Um, well I mean if Darius is free I guess that would be fine." My cheeks were red. I didn't want him to know that I was actually enjoying his company at the moment.
Kade's eyes darkened considerably. "You will not be alone with any male other than me. If you truly wish for someone else to attend to you it will be another female."
I raised my hands in surrender. "And what makes you my gatekeeper to all men?" I gave him a quizzical look. I hadn't expected him to get so upset with my question. I figured he had been forced by his father to be here with me.
"You are my responsibility." He responded shortly. When I realized he was not going to elaborate any further, I rolled my eyes.
"Well, I think I get another question considering that wasn't an answer." I raised my eyebrow in expectation. Kade looked like he was about to respond but the door flew open with a bang.
"Never fear, Darius is here!" The blonde announced to the room, throwing his arms out dramatically. I had jumped when the door slammed against the wall, but seeing who it was made me smile. The look Kade gave Darius made him deflate immediately.
"Hey, Boss." He greeted bashfully. "The King told me to come get Emily and introduce her to the people. He figured you wouldn't be into it."
Kade stared at Darius for a long moment, his lips pressed into a firm line.
"She is my responsibility. I will do the introductions today." Kade finally responded. His voice was void of emotion.
"No, really... if you'd rather Darius show me around that's fine." I stared at him with a pensive frown. I didn't want to trouble him; especially if he sounded this unhappy about spending any time with me.
At my words, his eyes narrowed as he stared back at me with a scowl. "My words are final. Come along. Darius, please see to the livestock."
Darius spluttered. "I've never looked after the livestock before, your father already assigned my duties for the day-" Kade's sharp look cut him off immediately.
It looked like Darius was resisting the extreme urge to roll his eyes. "Fine. I hear the cows have had babies. Perhaps I'll name one of them after you." He muttered, stalking away. His body language oozed annoyance. I stared after him, wide eyed, then back at Kade as I waited for his reaction to Darius's disrespect to his Prince.
I nervously eyed a pissed off looking Kade. I was about to open my mouth to protest against him troubling himself for the third time today when he placed his finger over my mouth.
"Not another word. Let's go. Clearly, my father is trying to drive me insane." Kade all but hissed out. Upon saying this, he had practically disappeared out of the room immediately.
"Whoa! Hang on. Some of us can't move that fast." I quite literally ran out of the room after him, looking around for where he could have possibly went. I looked back and forth between the two hallways, wondering which one I should go down. Several Naurians paused what they were doing to watch me curiously.
Movement from behind me caused me to whip my head around in shock. "Oh my god!" I shrieked. Kade had somehow appeared out of thin air. "What the hell are you, Casper the ghost?"
The hint of a smile traced his full lips. "No. You'll find I'm much more impressive than that, Princess." I rolled my eyes at his cockiness.
"Sure." I drawled out sarcastically. "Now, stop acting like a creepy phantom and introduce me to some people. I'm getting bored here." I pretended to yawn.
Kade scoffed and began to walk towards the group of Naurians that had been talking nearby.
"Good afternoon. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Emily here?" Kade asked them smoothly. He almost sounded proud. I pursed my lips, unsure of how to react or whether I should shake their hands.
Did aliens do that?
I tentatively reached my hand out towards the nearest woman standing beside me.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you." I greeted her with a hesitant smile. The woman chuckled, "Not on my watch, dear one!" She ignored my outstretched hand and snatched me into an engulfing hug. My breath hitched in surprise but slowly my body relaxed and I brought my arms up to return the hug.
I laughed awkwardly when she released me.
"My name is Magda. I'm Kade's favourite teacher." She winked at Kade who was standing nearby with a blank expression. I wondered if he was still uncomfortable with me being around his people. Despite not knowing him for long, for some reason I wanted him to trust me.
"It's nice to meet you." I smiled back. "What subject do you teach?" I asked curiously.
Kade looked as though he were about to interject but Magda ignored him completely. She even went as far as to send him an impatient looking frown.
"I teach the youth here to control their abilities. How to turn in to Casper the ghost, if you will." She winked at me. My eyes widened. I had been expecting her to say something more normal.
She laughed at my dumbfounded expression. "I'll be your teacher as well, Emily. Actually, I think the King said we would be testing out your abilities later today when the security threat is evaluated and lifted."
I spluttered. "But I don't have any abilities. I don't feel much different from before, besides my freaky eye colour." I responded dully. My heart was racing at her words.
Kade stepped closer to me and placed his hand on the small of my back. Suddenly, a wave of calmness enveloped me like a soft embrace. When I realized what was likely happening, I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.
"Is that really necessary?" I asked him with fake politeness. I didn't like someone manipulating my emotions, whether or not they thought they were doing it for my well-being.
"Yes." He responded shortly.
When I looked back up even Magda was nodding, her eyes wide. "I can sense your powers. Kade here is only helping so that you do not hurt yourself or others before we find out just how strong you are."
My face must have looked aghast at the news, because Magda gave me a sympathetic smile.
"I know this must be extremely hard for you. Please know that our entire Kingdom is extremely grateful for you agreeing to save our people. Our analysts had gone through every option and this was the only one that presented us with any means of salvation. You are a sign of hope here. I know how scared you must be with everything going on with your body, but we are all here to support you along the way."
My lips pressed firmly into a straight line as I considered my response. I hadn't agreed to any of this. In fact, that was very, very far from what had actually happened.
But how could I say that when this woman that was telling me that this program was going to save their entire species? Or at least.. that was what they believed would happen. I still wasn't a hundred percent sure that I had been turned in to a full-blooded alien. If this was what being an alien felt like, it really wasn't all that different from being human.
"Thank you Magda." I responded tightly. I cringed slightly at the tone of my voice, wishing I could pretend that nothing was wrong with this situation but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. Maybe things would have been different had our government had actually saved me from death but instead, it felt like they had robbed me of my normal life. I would definitely need to have words with Kade's father about the future of this program.
Because as it was right now, it was inhumane and wrong.
Magda smiled, but her expression told me that my response hadn't been what she was expecting. "Well, these are my co-workers. Other teachers that you may have this semester as long as we can get your powers under control. That's our number one priority at the moment." She winked at me.
The man next to her nodded his head deeply. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Emily. My name is Aveke." He was a dark skinned, utterly beautiful older man.
Oh man, if that's how aliens age I'm all for it. I thought, amazed. He looked timeless; like I wouldn't be able to guess his age no matter how hard I tried, but yet... looked wise in a way only many years of life would make someone.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." I responded, more genuinely this time. Kade seemed to look relieved at my choice of words.
God, what did he think I was going to do? Tell them they were all a bunch of assholes? I wasn't that much of a dick. I narrowed my eyes at his apprehensive expression.
He frowned back at me. "Well, excuse us. I have several other introductions to make before we meet with the King to go over the security evaluation. We may see you soon, Magda." Kade gave her a polite smile before guiding me away by the small of my back.
Kade gave several more introductions to members of the King's council and other important officials. I seriously could not remember any other names if my life depended on it.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Let's head to my father's office." Kade walked ahead, motioning for me to follow him. I followed suit, wanting nothing more than to just sit and relax for once. I groaned dramatically, slugging behind him slowly.
Kade looked back at me and shook his head, as if he couldn't believe my overall laziness.
Oh, you haven't seen anything yet, buddy. I thought with amusement.
We walked through the maze-like underground tunnels until we came to an area with several warriors stationed outside of a door. I watched them warily, still not trusting them not to harm me.
The large men parted for Kade and I to pass through the large steel door. Upon entering, I saw the room was nearly empty besides the large mahogany desk in the center of the room. There were two black leather chairs seated in front of the desk, where the King was currently sitting.
King Kagorth smiled broadly when he looked up from the papers on his desk.
"Welcome, you two. I'm glad to see you have not killed one another yet." His voice was filled with mirth as he glanced between us with amusement.
"There's still plenty of time for that to happen." Kade's voice cut through the silence bluntly.
I scoffed at his words. "For once I can say I agree with you. Don't count on that happening again, though." I responded in an overly sweet voice.
The King shook his head at us before clearing his throat. "Now," he began, "I have checked with the humans at the base and our spies on the ground and they have confirmed there is no longer any threat. It appears that the humans we originally feared would raid the encampment simply were following through with an internet meme," his voice slowed over the word, as if he was still testing it out, trying to understand what it meant. "apparently, humans have thought there was alien life here for many years now. However, they have been cleared from the premises and we can now lift the evacuation alert. We can return to the surface effective immediately."
Kade shot a glare in my direction. "Truly, I don't understand how they have survived as a species thus far." His voice was incredulous.
I rolled my eyes in response, "We destroy almost everything on this planet in one way or another. No one said we were the smartest species out there," I paused, noticing Kade's smug looking expression.
"But neither is yours." I sneered at him rudely. I was so tired of his high and mighty attitude towards humans that I didn't care if I insulted him. Although... I glanced at the King awkwardly, I should probably care enough not to offend Kagorth.
Kade's face turned a dark shade of red, as if my words had struck a chord. He opened his mouth to respond but King Kagorth held up his hand, silencing him immediately.
The King looked at me, "Now Emily, Kade told me that things with our program are not keeping to the terms we had originally set. Is there anything you would like me to say on your behalf to the human scientists when we have our monthly report?"
I stared at him in shock. "You mean you actually care about what I have to say about your program?"
The King raised an eyebrow. "Yes..." He responded slowly, as if confused by my question. "You are an important, invaluable ally to us here. We will go over your responsibilities and duties you will carry on your shoulders and the... changes your body will be going through the next month, but I am less than pleased with how you were treated. If other females are being treated the way you were, how can we possibly expect them to be willing brides?"
I spluttered. "Willing brides?" I repeated, feeling a little sick and for some reason... a little excited.
"Surely Kade has explained a little of what will be happening here?" Kagorth glared at Kade. He released a deep sigh, knowing full well that Kade hadn't uttered a word to me.
When I shook my head no, Kagorth ran his hand over his face out of frustration. "Kadeon, you are going to be the death of me." He all but muttered under his breath.
I glanced at Kade, only to find his electric blue gaze focused solely on me. I found myself gazing at him; my eyes slowly trailed over his features, noticing the way his shirt clung to his muscles.
"Good thing you like what you see, Mate. You'll be seeing a lot more of it." Kade's smile had turned mischievous and my mouth went dry at the sight. He looked dangerous but in a good way.
When I finally caught up to what he had said, I frowned at him. "Mate?" I echoed, not understanding what he meant.
He stepped closer to me and my breath caught. I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body and smell the spicy scent of something delicious on his skin. My eyes fluttered, enjoying the proximity between us.
"My bride." Kade answered huskily, brushing his thumb across my cheek. His touch sent delicious shivers down my spine.
Wait. Bride? My eyes flew open in shock, shoving my arms out to create some distance between us. I needed a minute to think here. The moment my palms grazed his chest, an unknown burst of energy left my hands, sending Kade flying across the room.
I stared at him in open-mouthed shock as he groaned, slowly getting up from the ground. King Kagorth stared at me in awe.
"We are not getting married, I barely even like you." I hissed out. Kade's earlier attitude was long gone as he stared at me, expressionless from the other side of the room. His eye twitched in annoyance as he turned to face his father.
"I believe I have played tour guide enough for today. I need to run drills with our soldiers." Kade's voice was clipped as he stormed out of the room. As he was leaving, a familiar face rushed through them.
"Magda, I think Emily is ready for her first lesson. Please take her to the training room." The King gave me an encouraging smile as he gestured for me to follow a shocked looking Magda. Despite his friendly tone, the King's face was quite pale.
I cringed in embarrassment before a slow smile took over my expression. I had totally kicked Kade's ass without even trying. If he thought I was going to be a willing bride, he had another thing coming for him.
Maybe being an alien wasn't going to be so bad after all.
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whew! this chapter took forever. so sorry for the wait but please COMMENT your thoughts and vote if you liked it :) commenting is the fastest way for you to get me to write more because I get so excited reading them!
love kyla <3