Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Stolen by the Alien Prince Chapter 21

The guards dragged Gianna into the palace with their hands clenching her arms behind her back and the tips of their sharp spears pressed into her side.

She couldn't help but wince in pain, her feet dragged and caught on the floor as they shoved her through two large sets of doors. The throne room was massive-high cathedral ceilings that stretched overhead while white marble coated the entire floor. A long red carpet ran straight through the middle of the room, stopping right at the foot of a few stairs. She looked up at them, seeing someone who looked just like Kozien sitting in a giant gold-plated chair.

The king scowled at both her and her brother, waving his hand to the guards behind them. They were shoved roughly forward, spears poking into their backs while they made their way to the foot of the throne. Gianna's entire body shook. She had no idea what was happening, but she could guess where things were headed and it wasn't good.

When they stopped before the stairs, another one of the guards passed by them to climb the stairs up to Kozien's father. The guard leaned down, cupping a hand over his mouth and whispering in the king's ear. Gianna watched as his eyes widened.

"Bring him here!"

She heard shuffling from behind them, following the sound of a grunt that she knew came from Kozien. She'd heard it enough times in her ear to know it by heart at this point.

When Gianna turned to look over her shoulder, she couldn't help but wince. Guards surrounded Kozien on all sides, boxing him into a tight circle with their spears drawn.

Each guard had a hard expression on his face, and Gianna knew once the king gave the word, they'd be pointing those same spears directly at Kozien.

How could his own father treat him like a vagrant? Even though Kozien had run off and avoided his birthright, it didn't seem right that his own father was now taking it to this kind of extreme.

Gianna knew her humanistic values typically didn't apply to other species within the galaxy. However, she couldn't help but find it ironic that for every barbaric idea she'd been told over the years regarding the Lorr warriors and the people on this particular planet, Kozien had steadily proved them all wrong by how sweetly he treated her.

Waking up in his arms and feeling him sigh against her skin had been enough to completely wipe those types of prejudices away in the first place. Not to mention how he'd risked his life trying to help her save her brother-a man he'd never even met. She just couldn't understand any of Kozien's family or the way they treated him at all. Where the hell were his brothers in all of this mess?

"My son." The king's voice rumbled out of his chest. "What a pleasure to see you."

"I wish I could say the same, Father."

Gianna winced again. As much as she loved Kozien's mouth, she had a feeling it got him into worse trouble the more he opened it-especially with his family around.

She turned to the king, watching his reaction to his own son's words.

The king gripped the arms of his throne, creaking the gold-plated wood loudly enough to be audible from where she was at the foot of the stairs leading up to his altar. He bared his teeth at his offspring, long fangs poking out to press into his puffy lips. "You dare say such things to me? When I have your precious treasures laid before me? You were always so foolish, Kozien. It's a wonder how you've made it so far in this life."

The long pause from the prince made Gianna's heart pound harder. She wished she could watch them both at the same time, king and prince facing off head-to-head in an ultimate family showdown.

This was the kind of mess she'd only read about in comic books when she and her brother were still teens living on the streets. The two of them would trade stories back and forth to pass the time until they could go panhandling again. Which, somehow now, had become her real life-both of them, for that matter.

"I see you have nothing to say then," the king spoke once more at his son's continued silence. "Very well, we shall get on with their execution."

Gianna screwed her eyes shut. This couldn't be the end. Could it? Not like this...

"I'm afraid that won't do, Father. You see, the female Terran is my mate."

Gianna snapped her eyes open.

So that's how far he's going.

"What?" The king mimicked her thoughts. "Have you gone mad, boy?"

"No." Kozien's tone remained firm and unyielding. "I no longer care for the throne. You may give it to whoever else you see fit, but I won't be sitting in your place inside of this palace once you pass on."

The king fisted his hand and slammed it against his arm rest, splintering the gold-reinforced wood. A few flecks of it flew off and landed on the plush carpet at his feet. "You truly have gone mad."

"If you see it that way, sure. But you will not be harming my mate, nor her kin."

"I see where your loyalties truly lie."

The king shook his head, his eyes glinting dangerously when he darted them over both Gianna and Gabe. His face twisted into a deep scowl before he focused his attention back to his guards. "If that is the case, you shall die in their place." Behind her, she could hear the guards shift, the sounds of metal-on-metal reverberated loudly off the walls.

"No!" Gianna's voice burst out of her before she had a chance to cover her mouth.

"Be quiet, Terran beast," the king scolded.

She rose to her feet, completely ignoring him, and spun on her heel to run at the guards surrounding Kozien. She pushed through them, ducking under their spears to stand in front of Kozien with her arms spread out. Her breath punched out of her chest, making it hard to focus on anything else but the adrenaline pouring through her veins. "You can't kill him!"

"Get out of the way, Terran!"

She shook her head.

"What are you doing?" Kozien whispered to her.

His hand found her arm to yank her farther away from the guards surrounding them. Her back pressed into his chest, warm and inviting like always.

She didn't care if she looked insane. She couldn't let the king kill his own son over something as petty as refusing the throne. He had other sons anyway. One of them could take the title and let Kozien go without a fight. The king let out a sharp laugh. "What is this? Has your pet gone mad, Kozien? She'd decided to beg for my favor and stand between you and the guards."

She hated how amused he sounded, like she was some kind of animal doing a funny little trick for entertainment and not an actual person fighting for the one she loved. How cruel and callous was this family?

She'd only gotten hints of it from Kozien's brothers, but now seeing how insane his father was, it was starting to paint a clearer picture minute by minute.

"I'm not letting you hurt him," she said firmly.

"No?" The king regarded her with an eerie smile. "And why is that?"

"Because I love him."

Kozien's chest warmed at Gianna's confession.

She loved him?

His father-Vrondo-let out another laugh. "Love? How primitive. You really have found quite the pet. Haven't you, Kozien?"

He didn't know how to answer that, so instead, he remained silent. Perhaps if he simply ignored his father long enough, he would get bored and let them go without any more fuss.

"And what do you say about her confession, Kozien?"

He wrapped his arm around Gianna, holding her to his chest while he squeezed her gently. He didn't know if this was a nonverbal way of reassuring her that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her or if she simply sagged into him out of habit. But regardless, he tilted his chin high and said, "I love her as well. She is my mate and I accept her as such."

"Guards," his father ordered. "Set down your spears so I may see my son clearly."

Kozien kept his arm locked around Gianna, not trusting for a second that his father's intentions were anything but nefarious. One could only put so much faith into someone, and Kozien wasn't willing to put in any he knew he wouldn't get back in return. His father shook his head gravely at him, steeling him with a look that Kozien could only surmise as disgust.

"You have brought great shame to this family. To choose a Terran over your birthright is, without a doubt, the most unbelievable thing I have ever encountered. It is my right as king to decree you disowned and shamed from this planet."

Kozien stiffened. He knew the punishment would be harsh, even went so far as to predict this exact outcome hundreds of times whenever the memory of his father screaming at him came to mind. But somehow, it still hit him hard. His father's words stung more than he thought they would now that they'd been said out loud to him and weren't some fantasy he'd cooked up while getting himself into trouble back on Noxxa.

Shaking himself from the thoughts, Kozien lifted his head high to regard his father. "I don't care how many times you disown me or how much you hate me. I will choose my mate each and every time, and I will not change my mind."

"And neither shall I, Kozien." His father shifted back into his seat, his back ramrod straight. "You are all dismissed. Now, get off my planet and never return."

Without any other acknowledgment, Kozien pulled Gianna away from the guards and guided her down the long expansive hall. He looked back, making sure Gabe had gotten up and trailed them closely.

An advisor met them at the door, her eyes downcast and not looking at either of them while she motioned for them to follow her. Kozien could feel all eyes on them as they left the king's hall.

He couldn't shake the feeling that his father had watched him the entire way out, glaring straight through as if he could somehow light him on fire just by staring. It made Kozien tuck Gianna tight into his side, only finally being able to breathe again once they rounded the corner and were away from the throne room. He'd hoped that his reunion with his father would've never come to fruition. Though, now that it had, he suspected this had been the better outcome after all.

The king's advisor led them to the dock, barely saying a word to any of them before dismissing herself and leaving them to board their ship and take off on their own.

Kozien looked around, noticing that they were the only ones out here, and couldn't help but feel it was completely intentional.

"Are we really free to leave?" Gabe asked, his voice suspicious as his eyes darted around.

"Yes." Kozien opened the door for them. "Now, quickly before they change their minds."