Page 56 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

“Put them in with her. At least she will not be alone when she dies,” the king commands the guards. He looks over his shoulder at me. “Send them all to the arena. I doubt any of them will last long. It’s the best mercy I can give,” he adds, glancing at me.

I snort. Like the guy’s giving me a lifeline. Still, a quick death is better than a slow one… I guess?

Knowing the door to my cell is about to be opened, I prepare to fling myself through it. My muscles tense, ready to spring. And then what? Somehow fight off multiple opponents bigger, stronger, and more experienced at combat than I? While wearing this stupid skirt?

With a sigh, I step back. I’m not a fighter, and I can’t fight my way out of this. But I am smart; I will make my escape. I’ve done it once before, and I’ll do it again.

I refuse to die here.

I barely step back quickly enough to avoid colliding with the bodies they throw in my direction. The cell door clangs shut once more, the sound reverberating through my bones.

“Now that just hurt!” Zoran grunts, standing and dusting himself off as if he’d merely tripped rather than been tossed into a cell like a sack of potatoes. When he sees me, he gives me a toothy grin as if he’s sharing some secret joke, as if none of this concerns him in the slightest.

Melvall just lies on the floor and groans, dramatically flinging an arm over his face.

“Today was supposed to be a short day,” Melvall groans as he lies on the floor. He flings a hand over his face. “Take me out, you begged. Just one fight. It’ll be easy, you said.”

“It was supposed to be easy,” Zoran replies with a shrug, flexing his muscles as if making sure everything still works. “How was I supposed to know that we’d be visiting the arena twice?”

“Seriously? You two are still bickering?” I ask, as I crane my neck to watch the King and his guards walk away, their footsteps fading into the distance.

I guess there’s no more reasoning with him or the King. Maybe there never was.

With a sigh, I slump against the bars and sink to the ground. The stone floor is cold and slightly damp beneath me. “I totally get the sentiment, Melvall. This was supposed to be a short quest. Just explore the mystery, an abandoned building then return to the colony. No complications. Why can’t life ever be simple?”

“Umm, because then it’d be boring?” Zoran replies. He comes to sit beside me, propping an arm on one knee. He still looks far too upbeat for the situation. I much more relate to Melvall’s outlook at the moment.

Another roar from the arena makes the walls vibrate slightly. Someone—or something—is enjoying the current match. My stomach churns.

We all remain in silence for a while, absorbed by our own thoughts. Of course, Zoran freaking hums the whole time, like we are simply waiting for the next bus to arrive. His foot taps against the floor in an irregular rhythm that’s slowly driving me insane.

“Can you explain something to me, please?” I ask, desperate to break the humming if nothing else. “What’s going on? The king was going on about slavers and being brought here... and none of it makes any sense.”

“Well you see—” Zoran starts, leaning forward eagerly.

“Like you would know, Zoran! You’ll leave out all the important parts.” Melvall huffs, sitting up and joining our little circle. “Let me tell the story.”

The two males stare at each other, participating in some staring contest as to who will be the better storyteller. You could cut the tension between the two with a butter knife—somehow this is more important than the fact that we are about to be sent to our deaths. Men.

“Fine.” Eventually, Zoran flicks a hand at Melvall in defeat. “I’d just tell her about all the interesting things, like grand battles and legendary males, not the boring facts like dates and numbers.”

He leans closer to me and whispers in an overly loud voice, “I’ll tell you the real story later. Just smile and nod at him—it always works.”

I stifle a laugh despite myself.

Melvall sighs, but thankfully starts to explain. He stands to pace the small cell, arms behind his back and held in a stately pose as he fully embodies the appearance of a teacher. “There once was a mighty pirate?—”

“The king of all pirates!” Zoran cuts in, jumping to his feet with excitement. “Undefeated in conquest. He soared through the stars and?—”

“There once was. A. King. Pirate.” Melvall says, talking over his over-zealous companion. He shoots Zoran a glare that could melt steel. “He found a planet at the edges of space, and decided to make it the heart of his empire. It was far enough away from the Galactic Federation that he could make his own laws, or lack of them.”

“This is already sounding like a terrible vacation spot,” I mutter.

“It was truly a land where only the strong thrived,” Melvall continues, ignoring my comment. “Before long, every villain had a hand in the dealings that went on; drugs, trafficking, slavery, and fight-pits. If you can imagine it, then probably worse actually happened.”

“That planet is Atraxis, isn’t it?” I ask, not needing the clarification. It’s so obvious that even Zoran knows it.

“Wait until I tell you about the dragon fight!” Zoran interjects, bouncing on his toes like an excited child.

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