The Alien’s Unwanted Bride (Alien Brides #4)

Chapter 8

EIGHT

T he cool morning air whipped past Dravek as the hoverbike soared over the sprawling cityscape of the Tharvisian capital. The twin suns cast an ethereal glow over the landscape, turning the metallic spires of the city into shimmering beacons.

As the city limits fell away behind him, the terrain began to change. Lush forests gave way to rugged hillsides, the vegetation becoming sparser and more alien as he approached the borders of the Shadowed Highlands. The hoverbike’s advanced navigation system guided him unerringly toward his destination, but Dravek remained alert, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of danger – or any trace of Zora.

The Shadowed Highlands loomed before him, a maze of jagged peaks and deep valleys shrouded in an ever-present mist. Even from a distance, there was something foreboding about the place. The locals spoke of it in hushed whispers, telling tales of strange phenomena and travelers who ventured in never to return.

Dravek had always dismissed such stories as superstition, preferring to focus on the documented geological and atmospheric anomalies that made the region dangerous. But as he drew closer, he couldn’t shake a growing sense of unease. The mist seemed to reach out to him, tendrils of vapor curling around the hoverbike as if trying to pull him in.

Dravek parked the bike and stood at the edge of the ravine, his dark eyes scanning the terrain with military precision. In the distance, he noted the signs of a recent landslide—disturbed earth, broken vegetation, and scattered debris.

A knot formed in Dravek’s stomach, a feeling he couldn’t quite name. Concern? Worry? He pushed the sensation aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. Emotions had no place in a mission, he reminded himself sternly.

Raising his wrist, Dravek activated the scanner built into his suit. The device hummed to life, projecting a holographic display of the surrounding area. Faint energy readings pulsed at the edge of the screen, accompanied by ghostly outlines of heat signatures emanating from within the ravine.

“Zora,” he murmured, his deep voice barely audible above the gentle rustle of the breeze.

The name sent an unexpected jolt through him, and Dravek frowned. Why did the mere thought of her affect him so? She was reckless, impulsive, and a constant challenge to the order he strived to maintain. And yet...

Studying the scanner’s screen, his gaze fell upon a glint of metal. He magnified the image on the small screen. Though damaged, it was unmistakably Earth technology. Zora’s. The knot in his stomach tightened, and he found himself fighting an irrational urge to call out her name.

Rising to his full height, Dravek retrieved a grappling line from his belt and secured it to the sturdiest tree nearby. As he prepared to rappel down, a memory flashed through his mind—Zora’s playful tone in the gardens as she searched for a discovery of her own. The corners of his mouth twitched, threatening to form a smile.

Dravek froze, startled by his own reaction. Since when did he smile at such frivolous things? He was a prince, a military commander, not some lovesick youth. With a sharp shake of his head, he quashed the impulse. Now was not the time for... whatever this was.

The descent proved as treacherous as he’d anticipated. Loose rocks skittered beneath his feet, and more than once, Dravek had to adjust his grip to avoid a potentially disastrous fall. Yet even as he navigated the perilous terrain, part of his mind remained frustratingly fixated on Zora. Her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of her research...

Dravek gritted his teeth. Focus. Control. These were the tenets he lived by, the principles that had shaped him into the leader he was today. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by... what? Attraction? The very idea was absurd. Wasn’t it?

His boots touched down on solid ground, and Dravek immediately scanned his surroundings, grateful for the familiar routine. A narrow entrance to a cave system lay partially concealed by overgrown vines. The vegetation had been recently disturbed—crushed and bent as if someone had pushed through in a hurry.

Zora. The name echoed in his mind once more, accompanied by a surge of emotions he couldn’t—wouldn’t—name.

Approaching the cave entrance, Dravek strained to listen for any signs of life within the inky darkness. For a moment, all he heard was the steady drip of water echoing from deep within the cavern. Then, barely audible above the ambient sounds of the cave, came a faint, garbled voice.

His brow furrowed. The sound was mechanical, distorted—likely Zora’s robotic assistant, Sprig. The fact that the device was malfunctioning sent a fresh wave of worry coursing through him. Worry? Since when did he worry about anyone other than his immediate family and subordinates?

Dravek’s fingers flew over his wrist communicator, attempting to establish contact. Static crackled through the speaker, punctuated by bursts of unintelligible noise. He grimaced, both at the lack of response and at his own eagerness to hear her voice. What was happening to him?

With no other option, Dravek steeled himself and entered the cavern. The air grew cooler with each step, carrying the earthy scent of moss and minerals. The uneven floor demanded his full attention, patches of slick algae threatening to upend him at every turn. He welcomed the physical challenge, using it to ground himself, to push away the confusing thoughts and feelings that had been plaguing him.

As he ventured deeper into the cave, Dravek found himself in a labyrinth of tunnels adorned with bioluminescent flora. Under different circumstances, he might have paused to admire the beauty of Tharvis’s underground wonders. But experience had taught him that on this planet, beauty often concealed deadly hazards.

His suit’s sensors chirped, alerting him to energy fluctuations nearby. Dravek dismissed them as natural geological activity, but a nagging doubt lingered in the back of his mind. Something about this place felt... off. Or was it just his own inner turmoil, projecting itself onto his surroundings?

Rounding a bend in the tunnel, Dravek finally spotted her. Zora sat perched on a flat rock, her brow furrowed in concentration as she fiddled with the malfunctioning Sprig. The soft glow of the surrounding crystals bathed her in an almost ethereal light, highlighting the determination etched across her features.

For a moment, Dravek allowed himself to simply look at her. The tightness in his chest eased, replaced by a warmth he didn’t dare examine too closely. She was alive, seemingly unharmed. The relief that washed over him was so intense, it was almost physical.

Startled by the strength of his own reaction, Dravek quickly schooled his features back into their usual mask of stoic detachment. He was a prince, a leader. He couldn’t afford to be ruled by such... unpredictable feelings.