Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Stolen by the Alien Prince Chapter 3

Gianna didn't like where this was going. The laughter shared by Kozien's brothers seemed mean rather than full of mirth, like she wasn't getting the joke. Maybe the joke is me.

The taller of the two glared at her from over Kozien's shoulder. She could tell he hadn't missed the way Kozien held her arm or the way she'd reached for his hand. The humor in his eyes had definitely dried up, and he was now looking at her with barely concealed hostility. It was as if making the decision to go without them had drained the laughter right out of the situation. She was a little scared by them and wondered if she could convince Kozien to just leave. Maybe I should just leave.

She wanted to, but she also knew if she simply walked away, she might never find her brother. There was something about Kozien, too. Even though she wasn't sure she liked his attitude, the idea of just walking away from him was intolerable. "You aren't serious?" the taller brother spoke up. "You're going to go out there alone with this human woman?"

The way he said "human" got her hackles up, but she was too scared to make a retort. Kozien let go of her and turned to face his brothers.

"Grux, it's your decision not to come. This is just the kind of thing I want to be doing, so I can't pass it up!"

"But she can't pay!" the other protested.

Kozien glared at him. "It's none of your business, Trigg."

"If it's none of our business, why did you even bring her here?" Grux asked.

Kozien sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder," he muttered.

Grux, the taller one, folded his arms and glared at Kozien. Even though they were really standing over him, she had a feeling they wouldn't have been friendly with him even if he had agreed with them and abandoned the mission. She was kind of proud of him for standing up for himself.

"Maybe I should let the king know what his heir is up to," Grux muttered. Gianna felt a thrill of fear run through her.

King? Gianna gulped.

"Yeah," Trigg agreed, giving Gianna a very unfriendly look and following it up with a glare at Kozien. "I'm sure he'd love to hear you have a pet human, especially since he thinks Jorvlens are beneath you."

Pet?

Kozien's cheeks colored, turning them an intense shade of blue against the pale, dusky violet. She was fascinated by the way his skin changed as he grew angry and wondered if it would look the same when he was blushing.

"Hey!" she said, tugging on his hand. "What are they talking about?"

Kozien turned away from his brothers to look into her eyes. His cheeks were still a deep, intense blue and his shimmering, violet eyes were full of uncertainty.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as if he didn't like the word. "I was not up front with you about this because it didn't seem relevant to the mission."

"Not relevant!" she cried, aware that her own cheeks were getting hot. "How is being a prince not relevant to the situation?"

Kozien shrugged. "Because I'm the right man for the job. I relish adventures like this, and I have the skills you need. My father doesn't matter."

Gianna agreed that this was sound reasoning, but the looks on his brothers' faces told her it did matter, quite a bit.

Are princes allowed to just go gallivanting off into wild places in search of wayward humans?

"Look," Kozien spoke firmly. "I am a prince. It's true. I left because of the conflicts on Lorr. It's just not a place I want to be. I can help you, and that's all that matters here."

Gianna could tell he genuinely did want to help her. He was so open about it she could almost feel it as a palpable force. Her only problem was she had no idea what he wanted in return.

Kozien sighed as if he took her silence as reluctance. He blinked hard and shook his head. "If you must know, I was supposed to marry a Jorvlen princess. After observing the customs, my father decided Jorvlens were beneath us and he wouldn't let his son marry one. This started a horrible war between the two races."

Gianna's eyes widened. She wasn't sure she'd actually wanted this much information. Kozien's brothers were watching with smug expressions as if they were hoping she would just go away after hearing his words.

She wanted to bolt. Her heart pounded, and her mouth was as dry as a desert. She wanted to go and leave this silly prince to his hasty retreat from royal responsibility.

So why can't I leave?

Gianna looked down at their linked hands. He was only holding her fingers lightly, but the touch sent thrills right down her arm. Even though she was shocked to find out he was a prince, at least it explained a few things. Like, how his head got jammed so far up his ass.

She grinned, trying to hold back a laugh. Kozien grinned back, and with the smile, a light came into his eyes. Suddenly he looked ten times more handsome than before, and her body stirred in response.

Well, now I know I'm in trouble. I have so many reasons to stay away from him, and I still want to disappear into dangerous territory with him. You're a fool, Gianna.

Still, she couldn't stop smiling as she looked into his eyes.

Kozien broke the moment by grabbing Gianna's arm and hurrying out of the bar into the passing crowd with her. His brothers cursed and attempted to pursue, but he was good at evading them among the busy streets. He knew they would soon give up and go to contact his father.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Kozien muttered, "but up until this moment, it really didn't matter."

"Where are we going?" she huffed, a little breathlessly. "What's happening?"

"My brothers are more talk than action," Kozien told her. "But I don't want to push it. And I'd rather not draw too much attention to myself because if my father does find out... Well, we'll be done before we've started."

"Okay," she agreed softly. Kozien kept a firm hold on her arm as they rushed through the streets, finally coming to a small, unkempt little shop.

It was a trader's stall, where people who had little money came to bargain and swap items that weren't worth enough to sell. He dragged Gianna to the back and found her some robes to wear that were favored by an alien race of short stature. No one would bother to check under the robes for her true race.

He found himself a big hooded cloak. If he kept his horns covered, he might get by unseen.

"I need to hide from my father." Kozien helped Gianna adjust her robes. "I don't want the responsibility of being next in line on the throne, and I sure as hell don't want to lead my people into war, which is what my father would have me do." Gianna reached up and tied his cloak under his chin. The soft brush of her fingers thrilled him.

"I understand," she whispered very softly.

He wasn't sure she did understand, though. He knew this was not an exciting adventure to her, as it was to him. She was probably frightened and sick with worry over her brother, where Kozien could only see a place free of responsibility and duty. Having this beautiful woman by his side only made it much sweeter, like the trip of a lifetime. There was only one problem with his dream-come-true adventure.

I told my brothers.

It's not so much that he didn't trust his brothers. If he didn't, he wouldn't have gone to speak with them in the first place. But he certainly hadn't been thinking about their father when he went strolling through the streets of Noxxa with a human for all to see. His father had people everywhere, and once the king found out, soldiers would be deployed to Noxxa to search for him.

Gianna was somewhat of a burden to him now because he had to protect her and hide her from the soldiers of Lorr.

He had not even stopped to consider the complications her missing brother would pose to the current situation. It would be very difficult to search for Gabe while protecting her and trying to stay off his father's radar.

Kozien also knew the kid might be in the sort of trouble that drew attention from other violent groups as well as law enforcement. No way could he bluff his way through any negotiation while Lorr royal guards were looking for him.

Most criminals would know that turning him over was worth a lot more than helping him evade his father.

"What do we do now?" Gianna pulled the colored scarf across her face. Kozien traded a few old coins for the clothes and set off into the streets again.

"We'll have a quick run through the city and retrace Gabe's steps. Maybe we can get an idea of exactly where he went."

Gianna nodded. "I asked a few of his friends, but it didn't get me far."

Luckily, the places they had to visit in order to trail Gabe were far enough away from the reputable parts of the city that they weren't likely to be tracked. Kozien knew the royal guard would eventually turn over every stone in the city, but it would take time. He had no doubt in his mind that word was already getting back to his father, and although his brothers weren't ratting him out, they certainly weren't going to cover for him.

After going through a couple of very run-down bars and trade houses, they received a lead that Gabe had been seen on the city's outskirts with a bunch of very dangerous aliens. Kozien groaned as they left the establishment, pausing in the shadows to check out the crowds.

"What's wrong?" Gianna asked.

Kozien sighed. "The good news is, I'm not likely to run into any Lorr guards out there. The bad news is, it's one of the roughest places on the whole damn planet."

"Oh," she said softly. "Like, how rough?"

"Like, if you say, 'your mother' at the wrong time, you get your head cut off."

"Oh, that bad?" she seemed horrified.

Kozien nodded grimly. "I pray your brother is good at delicate situations."

Gianna winced. "Not especially. I just don't understand why he would do this. I know he was into stealing and gambling, but he never played with the serious criminals."

"Credits," Kozien frowned. "It's always credits or valuable goods. He must be looking for a big score."

A knowing look crossed Gianna's face. "Yes," she groaned. "He would be."

She seemed to want to say more on that subject, but Kozien didn't wait to hear it. He took her by the hand and hurried into the crowds, which were only growing thicker as the day turned to late evening.

It looked like they might end up in one of the most dangerous places on Noxxa in the dead of night.

I wanted an adventure.

Kozien took a deep breath and held it. He'd wanted adventure, yes. The problem was this was starting to look like suicide.