Page 72 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

“You jumped off the arena wall,” she says, her voice tight with pain. “That was either really brave or really stupid.”

A laugh breaks free from my chest, rough and desperate. Even injured, she challenges me. “I would jump from much higher to reach you.”

The words slip out before I can stop them. Maya’s eyes widen slightly, and I curse my lack of control. I need to focus on helping her, not making grand declarations that I haven’t earned the right to speak.

“Your leg,” I say, kneeling beside her but not daring to touch. “Will you let me help?”

She studies me for a long moment. Beside her, the blue-scaled male - Melvall - groans as the harkcana helps him into a sitting position. Zoran hovers anxiously between them both. They fought to protect her when I couldn’t. They proved themselves better allies than I ever was.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t walk,” Maya admits. Her fingers dig into the sand beneath her, and I recognize her frustration. She hates feeling helpless - it’s one of the first things I learned about her. One of the many things I admire about her. She’s not a warrior in the traditional sense, but she embodies the spirit and loyalty of one.

“I wonder who can help with that,” Melvall pipes up, giving me a distinctly firm and pointed look. “He’s got all sorts of medicine that-”

“I will give her the nanites,” I cut him off. My hand goes to the pouch at my belt, where I keep a personal supply of the medicine. The same medicine that’s caused so much strife, so many battles. The same medicine that might now let me help her, if she’ll trust me one more time.

Maya’s spine stiffens. “The medicine everyone’s fighting over? That’s what you want to give me?”

“Yes.” I pull out the small container, its metallic surface catching the arena lights. “It will heal your injury completely.”

I swallow hard, then force myself to meet her gaze. “I know I have no right to ask you to trust me again. But please, let me help you.”

The words feel like shards of glass in my throat. Everything in me screams to simply gather her up and treat her wounds, to protect her as I’ve failed to do so far. But I won’t take her choice from her. Not again. Not after everything she’s gone through. In this manner, I will fully respect her decision - even if it kills me to know that she chooses pain rather than my assistance.

Maya’s gaze darts between my face and the container in my hands. Around us, warriors continue to battle the escaped creatures, their shouts echoing off the arena walls. We’re in the eye of the storm, a small bubble of quiet in the chaos. Just Maya and I, and this fragile moment that could shatter with one word from her.

“I betrayed you. I led you here under false pretenses. I-” the words tumble from my throat, completely unplanned. A confession - and one that doesn’t feel good enough. Nothing I will ever say will be good enough. Not for what I’ve done to her.

“You also just killed a giant tentacle monster to save my life,” she cuts me off. “So maybe we start there?”

Hope flares in my chest as I glance up at her face. The same face that has haunted my every thought since I first met her. She looks at me not with the hatred that I had expected, but with a complexity of emotions that makes my heart race.

“The nanites will heal you,” I tell her softly. My fingers shake slightly as I open the container, revealing the silvery gel inside. “But there are things you should know first.”

Maya’s eyebrows raise at my hesitation. I can almost hear her thinking how unusual it is for me to show uncertainty.

“The medicine... it changes you. It becomes a part of you.” I meet her gaze, willing her to understand the magnitude of what I’m offering. “This isn’t just healing, Maya. This is something that will alter you forever.”

“You mean like how you heal so quickly?” she asks. Of course, she noticed. She notices everything.

“Yes.” I find myself leaning closer, drawn to her despite my attempts to maintain distance. “The nanites in my blood are why I heal so fast. Why many of my people do. It’s our greatest secret... and our greatest shame.”

A cry from the stands draws my attention. More warriors pour into the arena, dealing with the remaining beasts. I should be leading them. I am their king now, after all. But I can’t leave Maya’s side. Not until she understands everything.

“Your father,” Maya says slowly, “He was protecting this secret. That’s why he wanted me dead.”

Pain lances through my chest at her words. At how close I came to losing her. “He was wrong. About so many things. About you most of all.”

“And you?” she challenges. “What were you wrong about?”

“Everything,” I admit. The word comes easily now that I’ve started confessing. “I thought I could protect my people by following his path. I thought I could protect you by bringing you here. I was wrong about what it means to be a protector, a warrior... a king.”

Maya’s eyes widen at that last word. “A king?”

“Yes.” I look down at the container in my hands, unable to meet her gaze. “I am - was - the prince. Now I am king. But none of that matters. Not compared to what I did to you.”

“It matters,” she says softly. When I dare to look up, her expression is gentle despite her pain. “It matters because it explains why you did what you did.”

“No,” I tell her. “Being king, having power... none of it means anything if I can’t protect those I care about.” I meet her gaze, willing her to see my sincerity. “Your quest - to save your people from corruption, to protect them - it’s more noble than anything I’ve achieved. Let me help you. Let me prove that I can be worthy of your trust again.”

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