Page 12 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

I’ve got places to be. In fact, I’m already doing the math.

“If I walk about three miles an hour, and the map implies this location is what, maybe fifteen to twenty miles away then I can make it there and back again in probably two days,” I say to myself, already absorbed in the data and statistics of my quest. I have a quest!

“Where are you going?” The alien calls out to me as I step out through the communication tower’s door. I fiddle with my communicator, which is honestly just a fancy watch. With a few clicks, I open the compass app, and spin on the spot as I try to gain my bearings. To him, I probably look like I’m doing some weird dance ritual.

“It’s a lovely day out today. You know, the sun’s out, there are only a couple of dark, stormy clouds in the distance. Perfect day for non-existent aliens to attack the colony. I was just thinking of adding a walk in the creepy forest to the list,” I reply. I barely lift my eyes from my beloved tablet. As long as I have it, I’m fine. And I thankfully don’t need to worry about its battery dying since its case has several tiny, but powerful, solar panels built in.

I pat all my pockets. I have maybe sewn just a few extra ones into my skirt’s lining. In one, I have my small water bottle and water filtration straw. It weighs the fabric down heavily, but I don’t go anywhere without it. My life revolves around my bottle and my digital tablet—the only things I need to survive. Finally, my hand lands on the pocket holding a small slingshot. It’s not mine, meant as a gift for my friend Chrissy who’s always wanting to explore the wilds, but it seems I have more need of it right now.

I grin when my compass finally settles, and the companion app on my tablet starts planning out a route across the alien terrain. It’s not quite as straight as I had hoped, though. In fact, it twists and turns a lot around the mountain. That two-day jaunt might turn into three at this rate. Better get going. I’ll collect water and forage for food along the way. I’m sure I can figure out what’s safe to eat along the way, as long as I don’t touch the mushrooms. Mushrooms are universally considered dangerous, right?

Plus, yuck.

I spare a glance back at Eve’s Rest Village. If I had the opportunity, I’d go back for Stacy. She’s the youngest of my friends, barely even an adult. Thankfully she wasn’t due to meet us today at the marketplace, opting to go on some date with someone closer to her age. Of course, I had planned to spy on her, just to make sure that she was safe, at least before Ariana had shown up again…

Only a few days ago, life was somewhat simple. Keeping my friends close, should anything happen to them, and just doing my routine coding. How did my life turn so hectic and dangerous, so fast?

But then again, maybe I shouldn’t take Stacy with me. I’m about to set out on some quest across an alien wilderness. She doesn’t need me dragging her into this mess, no matter how much I wish I had her support. The whole point of me doing this is to keep her safe.

Stacy will be better off staying at the colony. Once this is all over and done, I’ll tell her of my adventure.

Firming my resolve, and gripping my tablet between white, shaking fingers, I start following the dotted GPS line.

This is my adventure.

Just watch, I’m going to be the heroine of this story.

ChapterEight

VOLAN

Icalled this little human my mate. In the middle of the battle, surrounded by my enemies, bloodlust had ridden me hard. I’m familiar with life-and-death moments thanks to patrolling the kingdom’s borders with other warriors, ensuring peace. I’m used to protecting those weaker than me…but this moment felt remarkably different. She was there. Not just another female, but her. An instinctual response, a snap decision, propelled me to chase after her. To claim her and declare to the world that she was mine and mine alone.

She isn’t. But she could be, a little voice whispers in my mind. I’m a prince. I work hard for my people. I deserve this. I deserve her. It’d be easy to just tell her who I am, to have her fall at my feet and promise me her body and soul…

But then she’d just be like everyone else. I wouldn’t know if she’d be with me because she wants me, or if it’s because I’m a means to an end.

And so I follow the human in a thought-fueled daze as she chooses to run not towards her village but away from it. Everything about this female intrigues me and draws me in; her smell, her appearance, even her behavior. I find myself wanting to know more about her. No, I want to know everything about her.

It’s clear Maya isn’t accustomed to traveling outside the safety of her tribe’s walls. Her long dress scrapes on the ground, catching impossibly at what seems every root and rock. Her feet slip in icy patches unmelted beneath the thick tree canopies. She grumbles constantly.

I keep her in my sight, watching over her closely. It disturbs me how confidently she walks through the undergrowth, making so much noise, as if she is completely oblivious to the dangers that lurk on the surface. She doesn’t carry provisions with her, and unless the box she carries is some sort of formidable weapon—it might be—she is entirely unprepared to defend herself.

Occasionally, Maya glances over her shoulder and shoots me a glare, but does little else. For each of my steps, she takes nearly three. There is little hope that my little human will ever be able to outrun me. Even if she did, I’d hunt her down endlessly until I had her back in my grasp.

Maya’s dress once again snags on the undergrowth. She tugs at it with her hands and screams in frustration. I try to hold back my chuckle, but her roar of anger was perhaps the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She truly appears like an angered halvi.

Of course, she hears my laughter, and she shoots me a glare that’s as icy as our surroundings. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity to engage her in conversation, I jog to her side.

“Why are we running?” I ask her.

“Maybe I’m running from you!” Maya snaps at me. She tugs on her dress repeatedly, ripping the thick material. I sigh. If she continues like this, the material will be completely ruined. Fabric isn’t the easiest to come by, even for my people, and it’s best to reuse it whenever possible.

I kneel before her and slip a blade free from its sheath around my thigh. Maya sucks in a quiet breath between her lips, and her whole body goes still.

I hate how she does not trust me in this moment. Had I truly intended her harm, she would have no hope at defending herself. She is small, fragile, delicate…she needs a strong warrior to protect and care for her.

She needs me.

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