"Are you sure we're safe here?" Iris flinched yet again as a foreign sound broke through the forest's silence.

The two of them were cooped up in a tiny cavern, its small opening only covered by some bushel Niklaus had collected some moments ago. To say that the human girl was out of her comfort zone was an understatement, and that was coming from someone who actually enjoyed the outdoors and nature.

But in this situation, she was on an alien planet, relying on an alien for protection, with a dead alien predator a stone throw's away from where she was meant to be sleeping.

Iris had tried to convince Niklaus to keep the Setai outside of the rock enclosed cave, but he had adamantly refused. Apparently, the prey would be eaten by other animals that roamed at night and he could not have that. Iris, however, didn't see an issue.

"No."

The girl's head whipped to the right when he spoke, her brown tendrils sticking to her skin as the back of her neck grew clammy to reflect her nervousness.

"No? What do you mean no? You said it would be best to stay here after the second sun set." She whispered in panic.

The tall man didn't even glance her way as she spoke; instead, he was making himself comfortable on the hard ground, his long legs stretching out in front of him as he took the spot nearest to the entrance.

"Yes, but I didn't say this dwelling would be safe. It's an acceptable resting spot for the night, but we are in the middle of the geíosi forest."

Iris's eyes were drawn to the long spear-like weapon he had in his lap, and she swallowed as his forearms flexed as he used a rock to sharpen it.

Stop it. She chastised herself.

"You can sleep. I will keep watch."

The girl hummed absentmindedly, not having heard what he said. She was too distracted by the way his tanned skin shone flawlessly in the moonlight, and how his voice sounded even more hypnotic with its slightly fatigued gravel.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The question made Iris jump in surprise, and her eyes immediately drew away from the extremely attractive stranger. Her cheeks were already warm from the heat, but the sudden embarrassment had them blazing.

"I-I wasn't" She stuttered, all while staring at a shiny rock to her left.

Niklaus tilted his head slightly, intrigued by the change in the girl's behaviour. It was evasive...bashful even. She was embarrassed—why?

"You're lying." He murmured.

His eyes followed her hand as she tucked a curly strand behind her ear. She seemed to do it often, most times appearing to not even notice that she was. The alien found it endearing.

"What are your people like?" He asked as he wondered if all of her kind behaved the same way.

Iris was grateful for the subject change and her muscles relaxed against the hard surface of the wall as she considered his question.

"Um...humans are.... complicated. We're all very different from one another. We love, we hate, we build, we destroy..."

Niklaus watched as her voice trailed off, her mind seeming to be somewhere else in that moment. Instinctively, he felt the need to move closer to her. He wanted to touch her, embrace her. It was strange for him to feel so strongly about a female. It confused him. He had found women attractive in the past, but somehow this was different.

"But what about your people? What are you called?"

"My people? We are called dasáki. We are an old species, and very powerful. My people have a strong connection to geíosi, our planet. We can control its elements and communicate with all life."

Iris was amazed at the way he spoke about his kind. Contrary to her depressive dictation, he was proud of his people. She was intrigued.

"You can control elements? In what way?"

She couldn't help but scoot closer to him then, her curiosity getting the better of her.

His golden orbs watched her closely, his jaw clenching as her soft, bare thigh brushed against his leg from her movements.

"Well, only my father can. The ability is hereditary so my siblings and I have the gene, but only one of us will show signs of the gift. Whoever that is will be next to rule."

Iris paused for a moment, his words taking her aback. Next to rule? Had she somehow managed to find an alien prince?

"So...you're from a Royal family?" She worded delicately.

Ash coloured strands tickled the boy's lashes as he tilted his head in question.

"Yes, is that foreign to you?"

The human girl stared at him for a moment, once again caught up in his unnatural beauty. However, she just as quickly tore her eyes away from his pretty face, not wanting to be called out yet again for her leering.

"Monarchies? No. Meeting somebody from one...yes."

Niklaus furrowed his brows at this, as if he couldn't understand how that was possible. He knew all of his people by name, and they were even comfortable enough to address him casually in public. It was hard for him to imagine it any other way.

"How peculiar..." Was his only comment.

Golden eyes flickered over the girl's small frame once more, his gaze travelling from her unruly curls before lingering on the bare, bronzed skin of her neck. The alien found himself asking a question that had been nagging him for a while.

"Are you mated?"

Niklaus assumed that she wasn't as she bore no mark, but it could be that human customs were different to his own.

Iris' lips parted in surprise at the question, and what was now becoming a familiar heat, spilled down the base of her neck. She didn't have to be from his world to know what he was referring to.

"Me? U-um, no...I'm not."

Her bashful mannerisms were back and Niklaus found himself studying her more intensely than before. Perhaps he was the reason behind it?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any harm...did I offend you?"

Iris blinked up at him with an inquisitive tilt to her head.

The question was genuine, and she couldn't help the slight stutter of her heart at the concerned crease in his brow. For some reason, she appreciated his worrisome state, it made her feel as if, for once, someone actually cared about her feelings.

"No, you didn't. I was just...not...expecting the question." She worded carefully.

The girl freed her bottom lip from her teeth once more, not even realizing that she had resumed engaging in the nervous habit.

"Are you...are you mated?" The words felt foreign coming from her mouth, but she couldn't deny the lingering curiosity.

Anyone with eyes could see how attractive he was, alien or otherwise—and to top it off, he was a Prince. The guy was a royal Adonis, there was no way that he was single—

"I'm not."

Iris nibbled on her lip again, but this time to stop herself from releasing a confused "why?" No doubt that would be extremely inappropriate and boundary-crossing. They had not even known each other for a full day.

"Oh, okay." She decided to reply dumbly. She vaguely noted that her cramped stomach relaxed a bit at his comment. Strange.

A sudden hiss sounding from the entrance of their cave interrupted the brief calmness. Slightly shaken, Iris scooted away from the noise until her back was pressed against the damp stoned wall.

Niklaus glanced at her, and the girl could've sworn his lips twitched upwards in amusement.

"Don't worry, it's only a ber. They can fly but are harmless."

His words didn't seem to calm the girl as Iris' brows remained furrowed, the weight of stress holding them down.

"Perhaps you should get some sleep." The alien mused as he really took in her tensed form. The poor thing looked nearly erratic as her eyes flew to every darkened corner, almost searching for something that she would never find. He'd inspected the cavern thoroughly before they'd settled in for the night, he was confident that it was clear.

Niklaus wasn't sure what conditions humans were accustomed to, but clearly the nature of his world was a step outside their comfort zone.

"B-but I can't let you stay up all night by yourself. You've done so much already; I should help out."

The alien didn't want to damper her mood by admitting that she would be of more use to him asleep than awake. He doubted she possessed the skillset to attentively keep night's watch, especially not in her current state; besides, he worked best alone.

"We have a long journey tomorrow, so you need your rest. I'm fine to keep watch."

Iris slumped against the stone wall in what appeared to be silent relief. This confused Niklaus; if she truly wanted to rest, why did she ask to keep watch with him? He was starting to think that humans were a peculiar species.

"Okay, yeah, you're right. Wake me if something happens."

Niklaus didn't respond, but simply watched as she curled into a ball at the farther end of the cave.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. He detected the change instantly; the deeper pattern to her breathing and the relaxed tone of her muscles.