Page 11 of Taken By the Alien Triton King

I swallowed, trying to recall details from my chemistry courses. “It’s… a solution that can break down organic material. It disrupts the cellular integrity of spores. It’s used in some antifungal treatments on Earth. And all you need is salt and water to make it, though the process is a little dangerous and involved.” But it wouldn’t necessarily take long, depending on what setup they had.

Firia, who had been standing tensely near the door, took a step forward. “Kaerius,” she said, her voice sharp with urgency. “You need to handle the Vekesh situation now. This infection isn’t your only crisis.”

Kaerius’s entire body went rigid. “I will not leave her.” My gasp was fuel to that fire, and I raised my untainted hand to contain it. I did not want him to leave, either, but I recalled the harried,fearful expression on the Ondrithar woman only too well. She thought Kaerius's kingdom was on the brink of collapse because of this final councilman, Vekesh.

“That is not an option,” Firia snapped. “He is stirring rebellion in your absence! You swore to protect our people. The kingdom must come first.” I hated every word of that statement, but I had to admit I admired her loyalty. If this was about the safety of the humans in stasis on the USSLegacy, I knew I wouldn’t have much choice either.

Kaerius’s jaw clenched. “She is my heart,” he growled. “Nothing else matters.” My heart clenched. This was everything I had feared. His love—hisclaim—was pulling him away from his duty. I couldn’t let my presence be the reason his kingdom fell apart.

I reached up, cupping his face and forcing his silver gaze to meet mine. “Go,” I whispered. “Be a king.” His lips crushed against mine—desperate and consuming—as if he were sealing a promise between us. I kissed him back with everything I had, even as fear twisted in my gut. When he finally pulled away, I saw the battle raging in his eyes. Then, with a final glance, he turned and left. I let out a shaky breath and turned back to the doctor. “We don’t have time. I need to make that solution.”

He hesitated only a second before nodding. “Tell me what you need.” Digging through the recesses of my mind, I rattled off the basics of hydrochloric acid synthesis—what elements, what temperatures, what stabilizers. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t a guarantee. But for the first time since I had been infected, I had a sliver of hope.

As the doctor moved to prepare the solution, I felt Aenon step closer, his presence steady beside me. When I glanced up at him, I saw something new in his expression—not just duty, but respect. I wasn’t just Kaerius’s mate. I wasn’t just some helpless human to him anymore—a liability. No, I’d proven myself.

Chapter 14

Kaerius

I had never felt so torn. Every instinct screamed at me to turn back, to abandon my duties, to return to Samantha’s side. She was fighting for her life, her body warring against the Shadefin spores, and I had left her—left her in the hands of my healers, left her to battle an infection that had never been beaten. But I was a king, and my kingdom demanded my presence.

Water rushed past my gills as I propelled myself through the tunnels, my tail slicing through the current with brutal efficiency. My mind was a storm, chaos twisting within me as I fought against the primal urge to return to my mate. I could still feel her warmth on my lips, the fierce determination in her eyes as she told me to go.

Be a king. The words echoed through me, warring against the pull of my bond—the instinct to protect her above all else. But I could not protect her if my kingdom fell.

The moment I reached the entrance to the throne room, I surged upward, breaking through the surface in a violent cascade ofwater. The chamber was packed with my people—a seething mass of bodies—their voices a dull roar against the chamber walls. The crowd filled the space from the edges of the great war table to the raised platforms where my advisors normally stood. But today, no counsel was being held. Today, they gathered in anger. And at its center stood Kevesh.

I did not shift as I rose onto the dry floor, water streaming from my scaled skin. My fins remained fully extended, the deep blue of my Ondrithar lineage shining under the bioluminescent glow of the chamber. I wanted them to see me like this. I needed them to remember who I was—their king.

Kevesh’s voice rang out as he turned to face me. “There he is!” he roared, his dark eyes gleaming with triumph. “Our mighty king who abandoned us for his human whore.” The crowd snarled in agreement, their frenzied energy swelling.

“She is dying.” My voice cut through the noise, sharp as a trident’s edge. The room fell silent, the echo of my words hanging in the air. I glided forward slowly, letting my scales scrape against the metal floor with deliberate purpose. “That outsider you so despise is fighting for her life as we speak. She’s battling the Shadefin spores that our healers have never been able to stop. And she does it with more bravery than most of you in this room.”

A murmur rippled through the gathered Ondrithar, uncertain and uneasy. Good. Let them think. Let them see the truth. “She is a scientist,” I continued, my voice steady, cutting through the murmur. “And she will find the answers we need to destroy the Shadefin once and for all.”

Kevesh scoffed. “And you expect us to trust an outsider?” He spread his arms, turning to the crowd as if they were his to command. “A human? A weak, land-dwelling creature who does not belong in our waters?” The crowd ate it up greedily, nodding their heads. I wanted to curse them for it, but I knew fear had them in its thrall.

“Trust?” I snarled. “You speak of trust?” I lifted a hand, and Firia stepped forward, her expression cold and merciless. I knew there was a reason Morven had always preferred her counsel over any other, and she was proving to be as loyal to me—and to the kingdom—as she had been to its previous king.

“Kevesh is the traitor. He marked the human for death before the King ever claimed her,” she announced, her voice unwavering. “Kevesh sought to eliminate her. He sent his men to drag her into the abyss, to be swallowed by the darkness. Would you follow a male who would kill the only hope we have of ending the Shadefin threat?”

A stunned silence fell over the chamber. The rage that had once fueled the crowd wavered, now laced with uncertainty. “You would believe in a human over your own kin?” Kevesh spat, but there was an edge of panic in his voice. He had not anticipated Firia’s testimony about his scheming nature. I should have known that Tapin and Melar were too short-sighted to act independently.

“I would believe the truth.” I turned to my warriors. “Bruinen, take him.” Bruinen did not hesitate. He stepped forward, his broad frame cutting through the tension like a blade, and seized Kevesh by the arm. The traitor snarled, struggling, but it waspointless. He had lost. The crowd, their fury now turned to quiet contemplation, slowly began to disperse.

I did not stay to watch Kevesh be dragged away. I turned, dove into the water and raced back to Samantha.

Epilogue

Kaerius

The soft hum of the council chamber’s holo-table filled the room, its blue light casting shifting shadows over the curved walls. My hand rested lightly on the edge as I watched the glowing projection of the Ondrithar territory: the shape of the palace ship, the edge of the seashelf, our pastures, and our town. Across from me, Samantha was adjusting the controls, her fingers swift and certain as she fine-tuned the frequency.

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since she arrived on Sanos, since she stormed into my life like an unexpected tide and refused to be swept away. Two weeks since I nearly lost her to the Shadefin spores, only to watch her survive—no, conquer—what had once been an assured death sentence.

The hydrochloric acid solution had worked. What had seemed a desperate gamble had turned into our greatest weapon, giving us control over the infestation that had plagued us for generations.We had burned through entire nests with it, driving the Shadefin back into the Abyss where they belonged.

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