The hall of the Thryxx palace gleamed with crystalline walls and shimmering lights that pulsed like living veins. Kaelen stood on the polished floor, his knees aching from how long he’d been forced to kneel, the weight of alien armor pressing on his shoulders like a cage. The air was thick with a metallic tang, cold enough that each breath fogged faintly.

Before him sat the Thryxx King, massive and draped in robes strung with jewels that glowed faintly in the dimness. His voice was deep and commanding, speaking in the alien tongue Kaelen had grown too familiar with. Guards stood at Kaelen’s back, the hum of their shock-staves ready to strike at the slightest movement.

The King’s gaze slid past Kaelen toward a figure who entered from the side. She was nothing like the King. Where he was imposing, she was luminous. The daughter of the monarch—princess in their tongue, though Kaelen did not know the exact word. Her skin was a deep, radiant blue, patterned with glowing specks that resembled a constellation across her cheeks and brow. A diamond-like jewel sat embedded at her forehead, glowing softly in rhythm with her heartbeat. Her long dark hair shimmered with strands of silver light, woven with ornaments of crystal. Her eyes, bright and calculating, fixed on him with a mix of curiosity and caution.

The King rose, his booming tone filling the chamber. Kaelen didn’t understand every word, but he caught enough. Gift. Yours. Obedient. He swallowed hard. He’d been prepared for the King to take him, to become just another piece in the monarch’s collection. But instead, the King gestured toward his daughter. The meaning was unmistakable.

Kaelen’s stomach dropped as the guards pulled him to his feet, dragging him toward her. His boots scraped against the crystalline floor, and he dared not resist. The King’s words grew final, his tone closing like a door: she could use him, keep him, discard him—it mattered little. With that, the monarch turned, his heavy robes trailing as he left the chamber.

The doors sealed shut with a hollow echo.

Now Kaelen stood in a chamber bathed in softer light. Curtains of shimmering fabric hung along the walls, and the scent of flowers—alien yet sweet—filled the air. The guards were gone. It was only him and her.

The princess tilted her head, stepping closer with the grace of someone who had never known fear. Her eyes lingered on him, studying every detail: his pale hair, his scarred hands, the faint glow of the control implant on his neck. Her lips parted slightly, then closed again as though she weighed the thought of speaking.

Finally, she did. Her voice was melodic, the alien syllables flowing like water. But then, as if testing him, she switched—her words halting, uncertain, but in his language. “You… understand me?”

Kaelen’s throat was dry. He had not spoken aloud in days, maybe weeks. His first attempt came as a rasp, barely more than breath. “Y… yes.”