Page 54 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

“Maya’s given me the strength to stand tall,” I declare, my voice carrying through the chamber. “She’s shown me that you can be afraid and still be brave. That you can be small and still be powerful. She’s opened my eyes to the way we live; all the injustice of who we’ve become!”

“By your own words, she has tainted you.” The King cries, hurriedly coming to his feet. “We cannot allow one as dangerous as her to stay in our midst,” the King declares. “She’ll bring doom upon us all!”

“No! She’s spent her life giving others the strength they need when they falter. She’s sacrificed herself for others. She will make a fine queen! One better than we deserve,” I shout.

“She’s an outsider that convinced you to take her to our most sacred zone! She could have poisoned us all, destroying our medicine supplies!” The king shakes his head, an expression of sadness crossing his face. “She must be dealt with. For the safety of our kingdom. Take her to the pits, where all will be able to see this threat snuffed out.”

His words freeze me to the bone. The chill of darkness has nothing on what I experience with his decree.

“No!” I shout, reaching for my own weapon. A blade that I handed over when we were found at the medical lab. A blade I thought I would no longer have need of. “You can’t do this! She’s done nothing wrong!”

Several guards step forward, blocking my approach. They are quick to protect their king. Yet, very few courtiers make a move to stop me. Is it because of loyalty to me, or to my father?

The king steps down from his throne, his cloak wrapping around him like a shroud.

“I love you son,” he says, his voice devoid of any actual emotion, as he approaches me. “I will personally deal with this threat to you. Maybe once you heal, and are free of these delusions of outsiders, we can re-discuss you becoming king.”

“What?” I gape, disbelief bubbling up out of me. “Who cares about that!? I won’t let you touch her!”

Fury burns through me, pumping through my blood. The need to do something, anything…

I lash out. With no way to convince my father otherwise, I’ve become desperate. My very instincts scream that I must protect Maya, even if it’s against my father.

The King recoils, his expression horror-stricken.

Two of the King’s personal guards dash forward, roughly seizing my arms and holding me in place despite my attempts to wrestle free. I fight them with all my strength, my claws scratching across someone’s skin before my hands are pinned behind my back. More guards surround me, hands reaching to restrain me. I roar, kicking out, even at the risk of losing my footing.

“For your sake, we will deal with this quickly,” he tells me. He turns to place orders, addressing those around us, ignoring my struggles. “Bring them to the pits. May the tangler devour them quickly.”

Somewhere, beyond the sea of bodies, I hear Maya scream.

This can’t be how this goes. I was supposed to be King, to lead our people to a better future. I was supposed to help Maya achieve her dreams. That was my destiny. Not this!

“Please no,” I scream, my throat raw with fear. My struggles become frantic as I desperately fight, pleading with the universe for some small form of mercy. Take me instead. Anything but this. Anything but her.

“Maya!”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

MAYA

The metal cell door slams shut behind me with a finality that makes my teeth rattle. I jump to my feet, spinning to yank the bars, yet they don’t budge. Not even a millimeter. Of course.

“Please, I didn’t do anything!” I exclaim, hating how desperate I sound.

On the side of freedom, the King’s dispassionate face stares back at me. His expression is carved from the same stone as these walls, cold and unyielding.

I huff out a slow breath, trying to steady my racing heart. Panicking isn’t going to solve anything right now. It never does. Think, Maya, think.

“Seriously? You’re going to just throw me in the pits? For existing?” I snark. I don’t expect him to honestly answer me, let alone change his mind. I’m beyond help now, so what does it matter if I speak my mind? No one is around to tell me that I’m being an idiot or saying the wrong thing. I mean… if my destiny is to die, how much worse can it get? Dead is dead.

“I’d rather not,” the king replies, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “But it seems that I have no choice.”

“Yeah, I’d rather you didn’t either,” I snort, a mixture of laughter and disbelief. “So why are you doing this? Don’t you care about your son at all?”

“Of course I do!” The king snaps. “But the idiot youngling’s got it into his head that you outsiders can be trusted.”

“I can be!” I snap, anger flaring. “I came to you for help. I came to work with you, not against you. I never meant Volan harm. I love him. I…”

---