Page 2 of Gifted to the Alien Prince

"Isabelle Hartman?" Her voice was steady as her holo-display looked around the bookstore for me.

“H-here I am.” Stammering, I straightened my posture in front of what was essentially intergalactic royalty.

"Sorry to contact you out of nowhere.” Camille's eyes were kind as if she could sense my apprehension through the screen. "But it’s urgent.”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet her gaze. "What can I do for you?"

I heard the distant wail of a baby in the background. Camille paused, a small sigh escaping her lips. "This will be our son’s first Christmas. Rone and I want to spend the holidays with him."

“That’s understandable.” What I couldn’t understand was why she was telling me this. “I saw a picture of him. Your son’s got your hair and his father’s horns.”

“Everyone says that.” She offered a smile that eased my nerves. "But everyone also knows it can be hard to travel with a baby. That’s why I contacted you. Rone and I screened the human contractors and out of them we selected you to represent us at the gift exchange on planet Glaciara."

My breath caught in my throat, the bookstore around me blurring. “Me? Why?”

"We’ve noticed your bookshop is a hit with all kinds of people. You seem to have a way of getting along with a diverse crowd. That’s a crucial skill as a diplomat.”

“But I’m not a diplomat.”

“You are now. Prince Thadron Elyndor of Glaciara will be your counterpart in this interstellar gift exchange," Camille said, her tone imbued with significance. "This is a big role, Isabelle. Rone and I know you’ll do a good job."

"I’m exchanging gifts with a prince?" I was still sorting out the details.

"Yes. You're going with him to an ambassador dinner at the opera house here in Kajal tonight."

"Tonight?" I echoed, my mind struggling to keep pace with the sudden turn my life was taking. “I’m not even dressed properly.”

"You look fine," she assured me, her image nodding approval at my clothes, a basic olive green dress made from fleece sweatshirt material. The dress covered my arms and reached down to my ankles. I liked to tuck my feet into the skirt when I curled up to read a book. It even had a hoodie.

I tucked the hoodie down the back and hid the drawstrings. “Maybe I can add a necklace," I managed, touching the fleece as if it might transform to silk.

"Stand by for more details," Camille added before her projection flickered. "Just keep your com link active. You got this.”

I did. I got way more than I wanted or could possibly handle.

Camille’s image flickered out, leaving me alone with the rows of books. My shop suddenly felt too small for the universe it now connected to.

My fingers hovered over the darkened com link screen on my wrist. The co-ruler of the galaxy was gone, but my uncertainty remained. Who was this Prince Thadron of Glaciara, anyway? His name and title conjured images of ice shards and jagged rocks.

I should stop being dramatic. The prince was likely a gentle elderly ambassador.

The door to my shop burst open, letting in a shock of cold air. Books fell from the shelves. I gasped and covered my arms as frost crystals struck my skin.

A pillar of a male figure entered, frost swirling around his boots. Crystalline blue armor, as sharp and clear as ice, decorated his chest and jutted out from his wide shoulders. A long midnight velvet cape blew out from behind him as he moved further into the shop.

“I am Prince Thadron.” His voice rang with authority that chilled my heart and kept me frozen in place. “Where is Isabelle Hartman?”

Chapter Two

ISA

Igawked at Prince Thadron standing in my little bookshop. Both his blue cape and silvery white hair blew against the merchandise from the winter wind of the open doorway. This guy had the build of a Greek statue, if Greek statues had smooth frost-blue skin and cobalt eyes. One stretch of his arm and he’d be able to straighten my chandelier that tilted.

“Don’t just stand there.” He addressed me. “I’m looking for Isabelle Hartman.”

He looked down his straight nose at me. That annoyed me. Then I thought otherwise. I guess since he was so tall he had to look downward at everyone. But I wasn’t about to let some towering ice prince order me around like he ruled the galaxy. As a matter of fact, I was handpicked by the rulers of this galaxy to talk tohim.

I straightened my posture and pretended like my sweatshirt dress was as regal as a ballgown. “I’m Isabelle. And don’t you just stand there. Kindly close the door. You’re letting the heat out.”

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