Alien Insertion: An Alien Warrior Romance (The Tuorin Legacy Book 4) by Immortal Angel Page B

filling my heart with love. “I agree. Let’s ask him.”
    His father glances at him as if he’s out of his mind. “Why do you want to take that crazy old man?”
    Juordin shrugs. “If she thinks he might help, who are we to say no?”
    The king’s eyebrows disappear into the hair on his forehead. “A valid point. I’ll send word to him with your departure time and a request that he join you.”
    I try to hide my pleasure. Even though they might not understand why I want the scientist with us, I’m glad they allowed it anyway.
    Juordin makes the slightest hiss and hits his shoulder.
    We both look at him as one.
    He quickly tries to mask the look of pain that crosses his face, but his father and I both stiffen.
    The king looks at the toxin indicator on Juordin’s arm. It’s already back in the red. Like the fuse on an explosive.
    My heart lurches. Why didn’t he tell me?
    “Juordin…” his father begins.
    Juordin sighs. “Don’t say it.”
    “There’s time to use a healing bunk before takeoff…”
    “I’m fine,” his son says, too quickly.
    His father eyes him for a moment, then straightens. “Take care of yourself.” Then, without warning, his father pulls him into a massive hug.
    For some reason, my eyes start to fill with tears. These men know that they’ll be dying soon. But with this mission, their time together could be cut even shorter.
    Against my will, my thoughts turn back to my own mother. My throat goes dry and my eyes prickle. I understand what it is to say goodbye. My heart aches for them.
    When they pull back, both men’s eyes are bright.
    “Don’t worry about me, Father. I’ll complete the mission. I’ll make you proud.”
    The king clasps his shoulder and stares straight into his eyes. “You already make me proud.” The corners of his mouth twitch downward.
    “I know.” Juordin’s lips quirk up at the corners.
    His father holds his gaze. “I wished so much more for you than this.”
    The king pulls Juordin close one more time and kisses him on the top of his head. He heaves a great sigh and buries his head in Juordin’s hair for a moment, clenching his fists.
    Finally, my tears spill over. I try to brush them away. To hide them. They are the ones suffering. The ones walking away from each other, perhaps forever.
    I don’t know how it happened, but the next thing I know, Juordin and his father have enfolded me in their embrace. I stiffen for a moment. Too shocked to speak.
    “It’s okay,” Juordin whispers. “Cry. Cry for all of us.”
    So I do.
    And for the first time, I wonder what will happen if we don’t find a cure.

2
Ande’ie
    Three hours later, Juordin has used a healing bunk one last time and we’re on his spaceship, Helios, again. He looks better after using the bunk, more energetic. And his sexy smile from the captain’s chair makes me weak in the knees. I rub the tingling skin on my stomach.
    I hope we can use autopilot on this trip. Soon.
    But this time, however, we’re not alone. There are also six warriors and four scientists on board. With four rooms and a small, enclosed loft, space is rather tight. But we’ve split Juordin’s small ship into two rooms for the scientists, two rooms for the warriors, and Juordin and I have taken the upper loft. There is still the small bridge, the cargo bay, and the medical room, so while the ship is tight, there is still space to move around.
    Juordin is busy speaking to the warriors, so I head to the room where Redonim is conferring with his two female scientists, preparing for our attack on the Ardaks. I don’t want to disturb them, but I want to understand our plan better. Alien technology or not, I want to be able to picture exactly how we plan to infect the aliens with the malworm.
    I find the three of them leaning over a pile of smooth rectangular objects.
    “What do we do with this?” I ask Redonim, gently picking up a small smooth rectangular metal object.
    He jumps a little, clearly wanting to take it