Page 61 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

“Hey! I can look after myself!” I glare, hands on hips. “I mean, I took down at least half a dozen scampers back in the tunnels, didn’t I?”

Both males look down their noses at me. Not in a bad way, as if they are purposely looking down on me as a person, but simply because they are so much taller than I. And larger. Even Melvall, sleek compared to Zoran’s bulk, has muscles on muscles compared to my slight chub.

“I have claws,” Zoran admits. “And am a trained fighter. I can best many of my clansmen in unarmed combat. Can you say the same?”

Melvall nods. He holds out an arm, revealing the row of small but noticeable spikes across his forearm. “I have my spikes. They are quite sharp, and I can excrete poison if it comes to it. Enough to even take down a male like Zoran with ease.”

“And I have strength,” Zoran says with a grin, sharp teeth on display. He flexes his arm before me, muscles rippling. “I am strong enough to pummel a male like Melvall to the ground.”

“Well, my tail is much bigger than yours. I can sweep you off your feet and hit you several times with it.”

“Ha! You want to know what I’ve got that’s bigger?”

“Enough!” I shout, covering my face. “I swear to God, you are all as bad as teenagers. This isn’t a contest. Stop beating your chests!”

Melvall and Zoran quirk their heads towards me, expressions confused. “We are not hitting each other’s chests…”

I squeeze the bridge of my nose, frustration mounting. Why are aliens always so literal, and always at the worst possible timing? “Let’s just focus, okay? Right now we are going to vote on whether we save these beasts. You two can release your own beasts to compare later if you want, but right now, our priority is getting out of here.”

“We should not feel sorry for these creatures,” Melvall tells me, changing the subject. “Each of these beasts will eat you if given the chance.”

“I am not leaving them behind,” I hiss. “It could have been us left in these cages, with no one to help!”

I blink, shocked by my own sudden anger. Melvall’s recoiled from me, eyes wide as he looks down at me like I am some creature ready to spit acid or fire at him.

“No one’s ever helped me before…” I tell them, throat tight. It’s not entirely the truth, though, is it? Volan helped me. At least, he pretended to help me when he said he’d guide me to that room. And he did… right before he betrayed me.

“Just because no one else does the right thing, doesn’t mean I have to act like them. I want to help these creatures, because it’s the right thing to do. Help others, that is.”

“It is the honor of a warrior to help others weaker than themselves,” Zoran admits.

Melvall sighs but nods. “I’m not a warrior,” he tells us. “But you are right, we should help those in need. After all, who knows when one day I might need the help in return?”

He turns and paces to the purple bear’s cage. “So we just use your device and open the doors, right? Let’s hope that the creatures choose to follow the hallways and not… you know, eat us.”

I slip my tablet out of my pocket, walking up beside Melvall.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him, already pulling up my apps to initiate the same unlock procedure I used before. Melvall simply grunts in return, his body stiff. I can feel the anxiousness rolling off of him… because it’s literally bubbling under my own skin. No one ever said that doing the right thing wasn’t foolhardy and safe. Opening these cage doors could very well mean that we are about to be mauled and ripped apart… but sometimes you need to look fear in the eye and choose to keep moving despite it.

“Right… On my mark, get ready to pull the doors open, okay?” I call out, making sure that I’m loud enough for Zoran to hear me. He’s still hanging about with the birds, probably poking his finger into the cage. Given how loud the birds are squawking, I really don’t doubt it for a moment.

“Umm, guys…” Zoran replies over the increasing shrieks and calls. “It’s not pull. It’s push.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, turning to look at the green alien. The one with more brute strength than sense, but a heart of gold nonetheless.

My eyes widen as the meanings of his words sink in. Standing before me is a green alien. At least, what used to be a green alien. Latched onto his body, hanging off his arms, and perched on his head… are a dozen flapping, rock birds. They cover so much of his body that I can barely see any skin anymore. And of course, what I can see of him is his wide smile and obvious delight, despite the small claw marks all over his cheeks.

“Turns out the cage doors are unlocked already,” he says, the birds flapping their wings furiously as he shrugs. They practically threaten to lift him up and carry him off in flight.

“He’s right,” Melvall says from behind me, voice quiet. A chill goes down my spine as his hand grips my elbow, very slowly inching me to the side. “Turns out the cages are already unlocked. All of them.”

Oh shit.

ChapterThirty-One

VOLAN

Anger thrums through my body, pure and righteous and unbelievably powerful. All my life, everything I’ve worked towards… it meant nothing. My father never cared about our little kingdom - all he wants is power. He never cared about me, either—I was just a tool to use and discard.

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