Page 49 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

I can blame Volan though. This is all his fault, after all.

“Restricted area?” Melvall scoffs, dancing lightly out of the way of the oncoming warrior. The male gives him a desperate look, like he really doesn’t want to be caught up in this drama. Don’t blame him. “It’s not like you had signs up saying ‘don’t come down here’.”

I nod in agreement. If there had been signs… I probably would have still come this way, after all I had a quest to complete. But at least I wouldn’t have been blindly walking into this trap. I mean, assuming I could even read them that is.

Still, if there were signs, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to follow the back-stabbing, betraying prince to my doom like some helpless damsel.

Zoran steps up beside me, and at first I think it’s to offer me some emotional support. Instead he holds his hands out to the closest approaching warrior, giving him a grin that borders on suspicious. Okay, more than that - he’s flashing pointy teeth like he’s begging the warrior to even attempt tying him up.

The warrior watches him closely, as if he’s expecting an attack at any moment. We all do.

At least someone here is sane. Zoran’s far too excited about the prospects of being marched off to the fight pits… oh jeez, maybe he’s just got a kink about being tied up?

I need a plan. I can’t go to the fight pits. I can’t become a prisoner, and I definitely refuse to become some broodmare for some alien. I need a solution on how to get out of this mess and back to the colony. I start to list out all my needs, practically graphing everything out in my mind. I need to get back to the colony. I need to oust Walter, and any other corrupt individual.

My mind is working a million miles an hour right now. Maybe it’s fear that’s making it feel all jittery, jumping from one idea to another. It’s a very real possibility, after all. But I’m long accustomed to not feeling safe, and I know how to push through those nerves.

I look down at my wrists. Tanis has barely even tied a knot. I wouldn’t even need to try hard to free myself. In fact, I could probably just slip it off like some sort of fabric bangle. Could I just run…? Not that I would get far with five—six, including Volan—big alien warriors quite capable of outrunning me.

I’m going to need allies.

Someone who can help me distract these warriors so that I can make my escape. But then what? Let’s face it, I’m not equipped to run around the Atraxis wilds. Those stories the hunters told us, the ones I thought were to scare us into compliance like little kids, well it turns out that they were totally not exaggerated at all. I definitely need a warrior on my side if I’m going to survive reaching the colony again in one piece.

It might be a little heartless and untrue, but I can totally work the way they treat females as “vulnerable” and “defenseless” into my advantage.

Something tells me Melvall and Zoran will both be down to helping me out. They’ll likely jump at the quest of freeing some poor, defenseless and vulnerable females at the colony from oppressive overlords—little do they know just how much human females can kick ass. Just wait till they meet my friend Chrissy. She trains practically every single moment, all so that she might one day become one of our town guards.

What I’m really relying on is that most people haven’t considered that there is another power player here; the king. I just have to convince him that my colony is worth saving. You know, without killing half of the residents, or putting the rest into some sort of slavery situation.

No biggie.

With my head held high, I follow a warrior through the doorway and down the corridor we came. Melvall and Zoran follow close behind. I keep my head down, playing my role of a weak and defenseless female. Meanwhile Zoran seems more interested in trying to start up a conversation with anyone, and I mean anyone. This guy must be an extrovert. Only an extrovert will think it’s a fun past-time to chat to his guard.

I gasp when, at my side, Melvall suddenly stumbles forward. One of the guards has pushed him.

“You will treat them as honored guests,” Volan snaps, shoving himself between the guard and Melvall.

Oh, sure, he’ll defend them but not me. Though I have to wonder if it’s all part of some act—like the portrayal of a caring prince, and not a soul-sucking heart-stealing male.

Melvall mutters beneath his breath, lamenting his relationship with Zoran.

“Bad day?” I ask my fellow captive, giving him a soft, commiserating smile.

“Have you met many of these males yet, human?” Melvall asks with a sigh. “They cause more trouble than they are worth sometimes.”

“I...”

“Do not fret,” Melvall sighs heavily. “It is a bad day, yes, but one I hope we all survive.”

“You hope?” I ask as I stumble to a stop. That really doesn’t sound encouraging...

Behind me Tanis nearly walks into my back. He grunts. “Please keep moving, female. It’s best if we don’t keep the king waiting. He’ll not be pleased to know where we found you.”

“I only led Maya there to seek shelter from the scampers!” Volan replies, his voice a growl. His eyes meet mine with an intensity that makes me look away. There’s something in his gaze—regret, perhaps—that I can’t bear to see right now.

A couple of the warriors stifle laughter, as if those horrifying bugs were something to be terrified of. Have they not seen them?!

For a prince, they sure don’t seem particularly reverent toward him. Maybe he’s from a big family, the very last in line out of like a dozen princes? Or he’s a brat, and the guards are tired of dealing with him—it certainly fits his current reputation.

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