by Zara Zenia
Alien Prince’s Mermaid
A Sci-Fi Alien Fairy Tale Romance
Zara Zenia
Illustrated by
Natasha Snow
Edited by
Valorie Clifton
Copyright © 2018 by Zara Zenia
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs
Edited by Valorie Clifton
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the authors’ imagination.
Contents
VIP Reader Club
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Preview of Beauty And The Alien Beast
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
About Zara Zenia
Also by Zara Zenia
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Chapter 1
Darbnix
“I cannot believe that you are still turning a blind eye on the BIAS scanner, even three years later.” I narrowed my eyes on my brother and awaited his inevitable protest in response.
Of course, I was referring to the Biostatistical Information Assessment and Symbiosis scanner, a device that I begrudgingly had been forced to use by my oldest brother, Gardax. We didn’t see eye to eye on the reliability of the device, but since he’d played an elaborate roll in the creativity and production part of its conception, Gardax was less than thrilled whenever I brought up its lack of accountability factors.
Not that my opinion on the subject mattered much to Gardax, but he had been the only one of our seven prince brothers to have had any kind of success in finding a human mate while utilizing it.
In theory, the BIAS scanner was supposed to analyze genetic markers and the biocomposition of an organism. From there, it would try to accomplish and identify compatibility between two specimens, for example, a woman on Earth and a Trilyn prince such as myself and my brothers. Each of my brothers, along with me, owned and operated one of these devices, developed by a group of the most highly trained and skilled scientists and engineers on our planet of Trilynia.
The scientists had worked tirelessly in order to program each of our unique genetic configurations. Once formatted, the scanner was supposed to accurately detect the reproductive compatibility of any specimen surveyed and identify the individual whose markers offer optimal genetic potential for the production of viable progeny.
In other words, the tiny metal device with the sleek and shiny surface was theoretically supposed to find us our perfect genetic match.
Like I said before, I had my doubts. The damn thing looked more sophisticated than it actually functioned, in my opinion.
“Why wouldn’t I attest to its cause?” Gardax gave me a blank stare that still had the lacing underworks of being patronizing attached to his subtle sneer. “I’m still an advocate to using the genetic scanner.”
Gardax drummed his fingertips against the wood grain of the council table. He leaned back in the seat and began rocking back and forth. The chair protested against his size and weight and squeaked with each jerky movement he made. He continued to inspect me with that same fury-inducing grin stretched across his lips.
I fretfully paced the council room in my palace ship that I had landed and docked in Topeka, Kansas, for longer than I had originally cared to stay. When it came to dealing with Gardax, I had to formulate the most intricately precise response, even during an inconspicuous brotherly argument.
He was only a year older than me, but by Trilyn protocol, the eldest prince was the ruler over all the continents, no matter which of us tried to protest.
“Calm down, Darbnix. You’ll find your mate soon enough.” He waved his hand and gestured abstractly out the window.
“It’s been three years, Gardax,” I reminded him. “And none of the rest of us have come any closer to acquiring a matched mate with this stupid thing.”
I waved the BIAS scanner around in my hand, twirling it between my fingers.
“Stop it!” Gardax ordered at once. “You might break it.”
I allowed a cynical scoff to escape from my lips. “Trust me, that would be a wonderful thing.”
Gardax glared at me. “I don’t know why you are so objecting when it comes to using it.” He eyed the device carefully as if it were one of his own children that he had to delicately watch over and protect.
“Because it’s not reliable in the slightest!” I threw my arms up in the air with frustrated exasperation.
Gardax scowled and squared his jaw. He took a deep breath and glanced out the window. Clearly, he was contemplating the best response to hash out to me.
“Remember Darla?” I gently nudged.
“That was fraud, not a flaw in the device,” Gardax countered, sitting up erect in his seat.
I shrugged. It was like comparing apples to . . . well, another kind of apple. The situations had been so similarly interlocked that you couldn’t really differentiate where one problem ended and another began.
“Darla is in jail for her crimes,” Gardax whispered defensively. “So I don’t see your point.”
“Yeah, but it just goes to show,” I continued. “The electronic engineers have the luxury of altering the devices to exploit us. They are the ones who created the devices, so they have the knowledge, intelligence, and capability of attempting to hijack the scanners and use them for their own benefit.”
“That was one isolated incident,” Gardax protested with a dismissive wave of his hand.
I began to notice that since this quarrel had burrowed into borderline heated, he’d refused to make eye contact with me or meet my gaze. Did that show a sign of weakness or that he might cave and let me win this one, at least this one time? It was highly doubtful, but a prince could use optimism to his advantage.
Discussing the subject of Darla was a soft and touchy spot for Gardax. We had thankfully caught her in the act of her fraud of manipulating the scanners to alter whom the princes should marry. This revelation had come dangerously too close for comfort, and Gardax had been teetering on the edge of marrying the wrong woman.
Now, he was happily married to his beautiful and kind wife named Amy. She was hardworking and clever, a perfect match in the end for Gardax.
“You must be jealous that I’ve found a mate and you haven’t.”
“Jealous? You really have the audacity to assume that I’m jealous of you?”
I leaned over the side of the table, disrupting Gardax’s personal space. He continued to study my reaction. “Well,” he stated evenly, “what would you call it?”
I laughed. “Frustration? Skepticism for the device’s practicality?”
Gardax stared at the table. “You just need to give it some more time. It will eventually match you with your perfect mate.”
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“Is that a threat or a promise?” I asked with bitterness. “The scanner just isn’t reliable. The fact that I and the rest of our brothers are still single three years later proves that theory.”
“We need to hold more parties,” Gardax countered. It was a feeble suggestion.
It was no use. This argument was heading nowhere. Gardax wasn’t going to hear me out or listen to reason.
“We don’t need to hold more parties,” I groaned. “We are holding the acceptable amount.”
“Clearly, we are not.” Gardax finally met my gaze.
Our personalities weren’t the only things that clashed. I stared into his yellow eyes, a contrast from my pale blue-green ones. His skin was a lighter bronze color than mine as well, and his hair sat on top of his head, as jet-black as midnight without a moon. Mine was more of a chestnut color, blending into chocolate-brown.
I already knew that Gardax never liked to be reminded of the subject of Darla, and the way he aggressively stared into my eyes proved that our encounter might come to blows if it built up any further.
We were interrupted before the intensity of the moment exploded like lava erupting from our livid minds.
Our brothers Akrawn and Manzar walked into the council room at just the right moment to keep us from clawing at each other’s throat. My brothers were the only ones who had access to this private room, and they used eye scanning recognition technology connected to computerized software to get inside.
“What’s going on in here?” Manzar furrowed his brow and shot us an anxious glance. He was the career military man in the family. His honor and bravery to fight in battle made him trustworthy and respected.
His coppery-colored hair matched his ginger eyes, which peered at us with wary trepidation. His olive skin could be seen through the fighting gear he always loved to wear.
“Nothing.” I skirted across the room, away from Gardax before anything got out of hand.
As brothers and rulers of different continents spread across our planet of Trilynia, egos were bound to get bruised. We all harbored a leader mindset and we crossly jarred against one another on prickly subjects.
“Darbnix is sourly attempting to get me to cave and change my viewpoints on the BIAS scanner,” Gardax said.
Manzar and Akrawn exchanged a worried glance with each other but ultimately didn’t respond.
It wasn’t my intention to upset my eldest brother, but I had my suspicions about the device and it was my natural instinct to bring those questions to light. If I had a problem, it was always best to instigate a solution, in my opinion.
I rubbed my aching temples and blew out a calming breath of air. I didn’t want to debate on the matter anymore. I was exhausted as it was. I needed a fresh perspective and a little quality time to dissect my thoughts away from my brothers.
“I was just leaving,” I mentioned hastily, trying not to grumble with animosity.
I nodded to my brothers and swiftly trotted from the room.
Clearing my head in solitude was the only resolution I could find to the situation I was in. I didn’t want to muddle and cloud my thoughts with worry, but I didn’t know how to effectively convey to Gardax that relying on technology which had prominent flaws was not the answer. It certainly wasn’t the way to solve our romance problems.
I was in favor of using the natural ways of finding a mate. From my perspective, I still pondered and longed for the prospective idea of meeting a woman, courting her, and then falling in love after discovering we had mutual interests. Call me crazy, but even as powerful as I was, I was still inclined to drift toward the good old-fashioned way of meeting a mate.
I trudged through the palace, stopping in the kitchen when I noticed an envelope on the counter. I glanced out the window. Being in Topeka, Kansas, did have its positive features.
The landscape reminded me of the rolling hills and countryside I was so fond of back home on my Trilynia continent of Noor. Noor was the farming and livestock center of the planet, and I was proud of being the ruler of the beautiful nation.
In Noor, there were plains that rolled on for an eternity, always chasing the gorgeous and wonderous horizon. Heavily cultivated and terraced hills adorned the landscape as well, and stream after gorgeous stream glistened.
Although farming was my source of income and trade, I housed a particularly delightful hobby that my got on the nerves of my brothers. In my spare time, I enjoyed breeding and raising watch-lizards.
I prided myself on being a modest, down-to-earth man who appreciated the simpler things in life. I was a no-frills kind of guy, and I certainly didn’t want to be matched with a fussy woman who only desired material things.
Yes, it was true that I was a prince in every sense of the word. I was handsome and rich, and that usually attracted the wrong sort of woman into my life. I hated the conflict that loomed over my head when it came to Gardax, and I hoped that there was some kind of practical and graceful way for us to unite and band together in the end.
My eyes drifted backed down to the envelope sitting on the counter. It was still sealed. My staff had placed it there for me to open and review, politely leaving that part to my own discretion.
I picked up the envelop, noticing that it was from UEG Special Agent David Davon. He was our computer crimes expert. He worked with the planetary governments’ intercontinental law enforcement division.
He was a prodigy-level computer genius who came from a long line of technologically advanced family members. He was slightly nerdy but boisterously friendly. I respected him and his profession.
Davon, as we affectionately called him, fit the persona of a bookish computer science geek. He was tall and wiry. His skin was medium-toned, a rarity to our planet. He had thick black hair that was always a little sloppy and unruly at the top. His crowning feature was a mustache that he proudly wore and refused to ever shave or trim.
“Okay, Davon.” I chuckled to myself under my breath. “Let’s see what kind of outlandish scenarios you are scheming and creating now.”
I had the envelope in my hand, but before I was able to even open the seal, I received a call. Alarmed, I noticed that it was from one of my servants.
“Hello?” I picked up the phone device we used to communicate with each other. My voice rang with cautious curiosity.
“Prince Darbnix.” My servant Julius spoke with sincere and humble apology.
“What is it?” I asked, needing him to get to the point. Patience wasn’t one of my virtues.
“I’m so sorry to bother you,” Julius struggled. “But there is a problem with Slith.”
“Slith?” I yelped. “What is wrong with Slith?”
Slith was my eight-year-old watch-lizard. I viewed him as somewhat of a companion or as what the earthlings would refer to as ‘man’s best friend,’ only they had dogs. Slith was the size of a large dog-type animal, only he was profoundly more intelligent. Watch-lizards were primarily used and owned by the Trilyn folk to protect their properties.
I had kept Slith out of one of my litters. We had been drawn toward each other from day one, and I couldn’t imagine life without him by my side. Watch-lizards were typically brightly colored, but Slith was a beautiful deep purple color, almost jewel-like.
Julius cleared his throat with hesitation before speaking again. “We think he might have eaten something that has caused him to fall ill,” he explained.
“What did he eat?” I asked, even though the answer could have been any number of things.
Watch-lizards were omnivorous. Generally speaking, they would eat fruit, small rodents, edible flowers, other smaller lizards of different species, and items of that nature. Slith was a special character. He also loved to eat bread, cardboard, cushions, and other unnaturally and hard to digest things that didn’t fall under the category of edible.
“We saw some empty boxes in the food supply in the basement,” Julius confessed slightly reluctantly.
My heart plummeted through my feet and to
the floor beneath me. “I’ll be right down.”
I rushed down the stairs of the palace. Slith was lying in a fetal position. His purple body was tucked and curled into itself protectively.
His eyes were droopy. His tail wilted like a dying flower and he whimpered in greeting upon my arrival.
“What happened to you, buddy?” I whispered as I stroked his scaly, leathery skin.
Slith blinked in response and tried to move around, although his efforts were in vain. He shrieked in pain.
I glanced up at Julius. There were cardboard boxes everywhere, ripped to shreds with chew and bite marks through most of them.
“He must have some sort of intestinal blockage,” I whispered with remorse and a twinge of guilt. I should have known better and should have carefully stocked the food resources where Slith wouldn’t be able to reach the items that could cause him harm if he consumed them.
“I need to find an exo-veterinarian,” I panted. I wasn’t sure how sick Slith was, but I didn’t want to wait around and watch his health decline.
I jogged upstairs to my computer room where I researched the area, hunting down someone able to care for exo-livestock, pets and farm animals imported from other planets.
My eyes scanned the wealth of information in front of me. I finally landed on a particularly cute picture of a woman named Dr. Rose Rand. She was twenty-eight years old, two years older than me. She had enticing and mysterious gray eyes that reminded me of the sky at twilight. Her carrot-red hair was pulled into a no-nonsense braid, but it gave an extra boost to her slender facial features.
