Alien Prince Charming

by Zara Zenia

  Where was Amy? Her disappearance was still a mystery to me and added to my discontentment over this affair with Darla. The scanners always read true, there was no arguing with science, but I’d never gotten the chance to scan Amy. I still needed the closure before I could get on with this vile wedding to Darla.

  It was preposterous to consider that I could have two perfect matches, I knew, but the question remained. Until I knew for certain, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else, certainly not the wedding ceremony to a wretched, hostile woman like Darla.

  I set my drink down, deciding to summon Coel to rush the search for Amy, by any means necessary. Surely, there must be someone we could bribe, something that we could do. I just knew that if I didn’t see her again, if I didn’t have the chance to scan her, the uncertainty would plague me forever. She seemed scared to face me on her own, for fear of her sister’s safety.

  As I went to put the glass down, I saw my phone. When I grabbed it, the screen lit, declaring a message—the message I had forgotten to check in the resulting chaos of Darla’s scanner reading. Everything had been a murky blur ever since then.

  I selected it and lifted the speaker to my ear. My heart drummed anxiously in my chest. I could barely breathe with the anticipation of what I might hear.

  “Gardax, it’s Amy. Please, I need your help. I’m sorry I ran from you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you what’s going on, but she was watching me, tracking me, and she would have hurt my sister if she knew I reached out to you.

  She? I struggled to untangle her message as my pulse leaped. Amy’s voice sounded crackly and frightened. My mind swirled in an abyss of confusion.

  “It’s Darla. My supervisor. When I first started working for you, she acted like a friend, but the more I got to know her, the more I saw the cracks in her veneer. She turned around and used every weakness she found in me to bully and control me. I could have handled all that, but then she took my sister.

  If I had reached out to you, told you what was going on, she said she’d hurt Corinne. I’m sending this message to you as a last resort. Everything is spiraling way out of control. Please, I’ve got nowhere else to turn. call me when you get this.”

  The message ended with her pleading tone shaking me to the core. It took several moments for my fists to relax from the white-knuckled balls they’d curled into. Amy’s voice reached directly to the most sensitive part of me. She was afraid, and my immediate reaction was to eliminate whatever threat had put her into such a position.

  So Darla was behind Amy’s disappearance? What kind of person does such a thing as taking a child hostage for blackmail? And why would she have tried to cut Amy off from me? She hadn’t done the same to any of the other kitchen workers I’d interviewed. It didn’t make sense. Fury consumed me. I didn’t’ even realize the height of my anger until my jaw began to ache because I’d clenched it so tight.

  Every instinct in me wanted to react, to protect Amy. But, I knew that to do so would mean that I would be failing my people. How could it have come to this? I paced the floor, trying to make sense of something that was so diluted with emotional clutter that I didn’t know if I’d ever reach a solution.

  In my heart, I knew I could never align myself with someone capable of such cruelty, such depravity. If it were true, I could not marry her. But with so much at risk, could I afford to believe this without evidence? There had to be some way to discover the source, but how? There were a million questions trolling my brain, and they were urgent, with no sign of getting any closer to finding Amy.

  Every personal inclination led me to believe Amy’s accusations against Darla, but there was another layer to consider. If Darla really held Amy’s sister, if Corinne really was in danger, I needed to be sure that Darla acted alone. If I acted too quickly, if I alerted Darla to my knowledge of her actions, I risked further harm to Amy’s sister. Did I have any choice but to play along with this wretched game? I certainly didn’t want to be the reason something terrible happened to Amy’s sister. I would have to play my cards right and cautiously weigh the options.

  There were too many questions left unanswered, and my duty warred with emotions greater than I’d ever known. I felt a pull toward Amy, but on the other hand, I knew the scanner didn’t lie. Deep down, there had to be a way to follow my heart while ensuring the future of my people at the same time.

  Chapter 18

  Amy

  “What do you want?” I asked, unsure why someone would be coming to me for help when I couldn’t manage to help myself. I gave the strange man a scowl and took an instinctive and reluctant step backward.

  “May I please come in?” the man asked, craning his neck to curiously search behind me.

  I was unsure, but at this point, what did I have to lose? With the exception of Darla, I was generally a decent judge of character, or at the very least, who was a threat and who wasn’t. I’d been right about her. It was hard for me to read this man’s neutral demeanor so far.

  Apprehensive, I stepped aside, allowing him to enter the room. He looked around and caught sight of Bodi.

  “Who is this?” he asked, more curious than demanding.

  Bodi, still holding the device he’d been tinkering with, stood and puffed his chest. “Who wants to know?” he asked, the screwdriver tight in his hand. My lips curled with amusement. The kid could stand up for himself after all.

  I hadn’t known him long enough to know his tells, but the screws he’d loosened on the machine he held rattled just faintly and I felt a surge of protectiveness. I was warming up to him. I wished I could help him and not bury him in the mess of my own problems.

  I stepped between them, raising my knife once more as a threat. “You came here for help, then tell me what it is you need and quickly. I won’t ask again.” My eyes seared into the strange man. I wasn’t playing games.

  He looked faintly alarmed for a moment and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay, I’m not here to harm you.” He flicked his glance nervously between me and Bodi.

  He looked forlorn, sad, pacing the floor. Something troubled him, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be dragged into it, but if he knew my name and how to find me, then it seemed I had little choice in the matter.

  When he didn’t speak right away, I cleared my throat, giving him a gentle coaxing, but it would be the last time I indulged him with something other than a knife to his throat if he didn’t get to spilling his conscience soon.

  Inez glanced my way. “First, let me apologize. I never meant . . . I did not realize you or your sister would be harmed.” He trailed off in a regretful tone.

  He glanced furtively at me, and my ears pricked and my heart raced, waiting for him to continue. He was being too vague. He needed to hurry up and hash out whatever it was that he came here to confess.

  “When I came with Prince Gardax to Earth, it was a second chance for me. The virus on our planet, it was violent and swift, sweeping through whole cities in a night, before anyone even knew it had reached them. It started in the heart of Trilynia—Erebis—carried there, we believe, by some space refuse or aboard one of the ships that regularly dock there for intergalactic trade. The source matters little, though.”

  He paused, taking a deep breath as if steadying himself before he would be able to have the mental and physical courage to go on.

  “From there, it swept outward, reaching every continent in a matter of weeks, despite our best efforts to contain it. It mutated constantly, with the method of transmission changing slightly with every incarnation, making it difficult to defend against and impossible to predict. For those with weak immunities, the very old, the very young, and those . . . those like my wife, who was pregnant with our first child, it sometimes proved lethal.”

  I watched as he closed his eyes, stemming the emotion that warred to break free. I felt for his loss, could see the struggle he endured to block the pain. His eyes were sad and reclusive for a moment before he finally took a deep breath an
d continued.

  Blinking rapidly, he sighed and went on. “But for most, its effects were not so severe. Dizziness, headache, loss of energy, mild neuropathy, slight muscle atrophy in some. Initially, it was treated as more of a nuisance by our authorities. That is, until its full effects became clear. The Trilyn race was almost entirely rendered infertile before anyone noticed.” He took a breath to glance up at me and Bodi, gauging our reactions. I still didn’t know what this had to do with my sister and how he could help me, but I exhibited as much patience as I could.

  “When I came here to assist the princes, it was to get away from what I had lost. Distance didn’t solve everything, however, and I did anything I could to insulate myself from the pain. I’m not proud to admit that included developing a friendship with Darla.”

  “You’re friends?” I asked, incredulous. How could anyone be friends with that wretch? I wondered before recalling I had once fallen for her act. She was a snake in the grass, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Manipulation was her trade.

  He cringed. “So to speak. She offered me comfort of a kind.” When I didn’t comprehend his initial meaning, he clarified, “We began a physical relationship. One which I now regret, because it came at a cost. At first, the promise was that I would take her with me when I returned, but eventually, that stopped being enough.” He sagged his shoulders and hung his head in regretful disgrace.

  “She manipulated me into assisting her and I . . . I shamed myself by going along, too afraid of the consequences of turning back, of losing the only thing I had left, my work. You see, I developed the gene sequencing technology that identifies and computes compatibility for the scanners that the princes have used.”

  What was I hearing? What was he saying? I knew, and I didn’t know. My mind reeled while my body stood in perfect stillness. It was like putting together two puzzle pieces that you couldn’t see. You could only feel how well they fit, how snugly they fell into place, though you didn’t know why just yet. There was understanding and confusion swirling through my head. Was this guy the genius behind the scanners? Did he really help Darla in manipulating their functions?

  “When Darla learned that the prince had found a match in the kitchens, she forced me to create a scrambler. It’s a device that interferes with the scanner’s system to result in a false positive reading.” He gulped and grimaced as if he were afraid to meet my gaze, but he bravely did so anyway.

  The wind seemed to rush out of my lungs. “What are you saying? Are you telling me . . . Darla . . . she’s not . . .” it was too much, the well of hope that rose in me. “Darla isn’t Gardax’s mate?” My voice was shrill with hopeful excitement.

  “No.” He shook his head. “But he wouldn’t have realized that for a while. The scanners were created because while humans are immune to the virus that attacked the Trilyn, and though we are genetically similar enough to allow reproduction, there is enough variation to make it difficult, if not impossible, to conceive without optimal compatibility.”

  My mind raced with possibility and apprehension. Did I dare to hope? Who would be left besides me to scan from the kitchens that night?

  “Why now? Why have you changed your mind and why do you need my help?” I asked. I took a step forward, but I didn’t mean to lunge at him. He cowered defensively and shielded himself with his arms.

  “Because I reminded him of his duties to our people,” a deep voice boomed from the doorway.

  We all turned to see someone new, a tall man with smooth dark skin and pale eyes the color of seafoam, so piercing that I knew in an instant he must be related to Gardax. I held my breath and paused, waiting to see what this man would do upon entering the room.

  “And who’s this guy?” Bodi asked, gaining some confidence despite the very muscular new presence. He stood proudly next to me as if he were just waiting for a brawl to ensue so that he could have the opportunity to use the screwdriver in his fist.

  The newcomer had to duck to make it through the doorway. “I am Prince Darbnix of Noor, Gardax’s brother. I sensed that something was not right with Gardax’s match and I went in search of answers. And you” —he looked to me— “are the only hope we have of stopping the mess this traitor has made.” His lips curled into a stoic smile as if he were coming with the intention of making a truce before we’d even formally met.

  I looked back to Inez, who nodded and looked downcast. “The prince is right. I used to be a good man, someone who acted with honor. I lost sight of that and I became this, a cowardly shell of my former self. Anything good in me died with my wife. Without her, I am broken. I had neither the courage nor the conviction to face what I had done until the prince confronted me.” He gestured awkwardly at Darbnix standing behind him.

  Darbnix surveyed me thoughtfully and spoke with the measured calm of someone used to being listened to. “Ms. Allen, it is a great deal to ask for your assistance when you have been so harmed simply by your proximity to my family, but I have tried to reason with my brother and he has numbed himself to his sacrifice. He goes forward with this only because he believes he is ensuring the survival of our people, and yet he still searches for you. I cannot stir in him the emotions I have seen when you were mentioned, and I fear it is the only way to reach him now.”

  My stomach fluttered at Darbnix’s explanation even as I marveled at the tiny face that appeared in his pocket. A fluorescent pink reptilian face blinked at me as beseechingly as Prince Darbnix. I felt honored that he cared enough to seek me out and help me in this time of uncertainty.

  They all looked to me with hope, waiting for me to agree to assist them, but could I? I wasn’t so sure. I shifted my weight uncomfortably. I was in the hot seat.

  “I’m not sure I can. I sent a message already to Gardax, laying out what Darla had done to me, and he’s apparently prepared to overlook that.”

  Darbnix spoke first. “Gardax is in misery, of that I am certain. I cannot read my brother’s mind to tell you what he knows or does not, but I know behavior and I can tell you he is tormented. Every time he looks at Darla, I see him flinch and recoil, even if it’s only slightly. He’s too proud to admit that something might be amiss with the scanners.”

  I chewed on my lip as I debated. Could I open myself up to that again? To the possibility, only to be crushed and left broken again? What if I wasn’t the real match either? I didn’t know how I could recover from that emotional trauma.

  “Trilynia will not be the only one to suffer if Gardax marries Darla. Her lust for power is boundless and she will tolerate no threats to that. I have every reason to believe that once she has gotten what she wants, she will kill your sister, and possibly, you as well . . . perhaps even me,” Inez said. His voice sounded desperate and weak.

  “Damn, that’s some heavy stuff.” Bodi sighed from across the room. I glanced back at him and he was nodding as if he were proud to be engaged in the conversation with the rest of us.

  Inez looked to me, sorrow and regret etched in his features. “Will you help us?” I could feel the weight of the world in his stare, as if I were his only chance at redeeming his past mistakes.

  I sighed, closed my eyes, and despite the uncertainty and fear at war within me, I answered, “I will.” I didn’t even recognize my voice as I impulsively belted out the assertion. “I will help,” I proclaimed a second time to make it more believable in my mind.

  Darbnix came forward then, and I saw the pack at his back. “Good, then we have no time to lose. The wedding proceedings will be underway shortly.” He was formal and serious. His features were plagued with the gravity of the situation.

  “Today?” I asked in shock. “He is marrying her today?” I couldn’t believe it. The wind was suddenly knocked out of me again and I had a sour taste in my mouth. My stomach churned with acid and sickness.

  Darbnix nodded, lowering the pack and opening it. “Darla demanded it and Gardax is too heartbroken to see what’s really going on.”

  I nodded, hurt for Gardax, hurt for myse
lf, hurt even for Inez. There were a ton of kinks to iron out, but would we be able to make it in time?

  “What is this?” I asked, confused as Darbnix began to pull out brightly colored fabrics. I took a step forward to be able to better inspect the garments with simple curiosity.

  “Darla has put restrictions on who can and can’t come to the party, the first flex of her control, no doubt,” Darbnix answered. “You will have to accompany me as a guest. It’s the only way to ensure you will be allowed on the ship without question. And looking as you do, lovely though you are, I fear you will be recognized and Darla alerted. This,” he said, unfolding a gorgeously shimmering gown, “is your disguise.” He gave me a sentimental smile. I could see the kindness and warmth in his eyes, just like I felt with Gardax. These were good men, and they deserved better than what they were getting.

  A tremulous smile crossed my lips as I reached out and touched the buttery soft fabric. It was white, and it wasn’t. When it moved, it caught the light and shimmered, fracturing into a rainbow of colors that danced like light on water. It was simply stunning, and I couldn’t believe I would have the luxury of being able to wear it.

  “It’s beautiful,” I breathed, captivated by how ravishing it was.

  “It’s Trilynian.” Darbnix smiled as if he were humbled and appreciated the compliment of my reaction. “Now let’s go,” he urged, pulling out a pair of intricately beaded slippers and pins.

  I grabbed the dress, and the men left the room, giving me privacy. I placed the dress over my head and spun around, even though I didn’t have a mirror. I breathed a sigh. This was a blissful dream to be draped in such fine attire.

  Hurriedly, I discarded my clothes, long tunic, thin leggings, ratty socks and boots, and a well-worn jacket, the unofficial uniform of a refugee. I tried to remember the last time I’d even worn clothes that weren’t dirty and tattered.