Page 13 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Why couldn't she be like Sofia?

Sofia's mother was a hybrid Kra-ell and her father was a human, which was a rare combination. In fact, she was the only human whose mother was a hybrid Kra-ell, and as it turned out, the longevity came from the mother's side.

Well, in Marina's case both her parents were human, so she had nothing of the kind.

Besides, Peter might never forgive her and dump her even before the end of the cruise.

Oh, dear Mother above. It was almost over. They were almost over.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked. "You seem tense."

Marina forced a smile, hoping it didn't look as brittle as it felt. "I'm fine. You know how uncomfortable I am mingling with your kind."

He frowned. "I thought you'd gotten over that. You survived one wedding and even got to enjoy yourself. Why the sudden nerves?"

She scrambled for an answer. What she'd told him hadn't been entirely untrue. She still felt like an imposter, playing dress-up in a world she didn't belong in. But that wasn't the reason she was so tense.

"It's the chief Guardian's wedding. Are you sure he won't mind having an uninvited guest at his party?"

Peter lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss. "You are an invited guest. You are my plus one."

Marina stopped. "What do you mean? What's plus one?"

He chuckled. "I keep forgetting that you know so little of the outside world. When people receive an invitation to an event, they need to respond and inform the host whether they are coming or not and how many people are in their party. When it's just the guest and their partner, they respond with plus one."

Marina looked confused by his explanation, but she nodded. "I think I get it. But you couldn't have responded with a plus one because you didn't know about me."

"I was speaking metaphorically." Peter led her to the main promenade bar and swiveled a stool for her so it was easier for her to slide on top of it.

Vasyli, who was the barman on duty tonight, gave her and Larissa a bright smile. "You both look so beautiful," he said in Russian.

"Thank you," Larissa said in English. "Can I have a glass of vodka with orange juice, please?"

Marina had had her memorize that one sentence, and she'd said it perfectly.

Vasyli's eyes widened. "When did you learn to speak English?"

Larissa's cheeks got red. "Only a little bit."

He turned to Marina. "What can I get for you?"

"The same."

He looked at Peter. "And for you, sir?"

"Nothing for me or my friend. We have to leave shortly." He lifted his wrist to look at his watch. "The ceremony will start in ten minutes." He leaned in to kiss Marina's forehead. "I'll come get you as soon as the doors open."

She nodded.

Humans were not allowed in the dining room during the ceremony, and Marina tried to imagine what secret stuff was happening behind the dining room's closed doors. Were the immortals conducting some sacred ritual that no one was allowed to see?

She would have preferred to wait for Peter in the kitchen like she had done the first time he had taken her to a wedding. Being elbow-deep in dirty dishes and preparing canapés would have kept her occupied and distracted from the gnawing anxiety in her gut.

It was better than sipping on her cocktail and trying not to fidget while the weight of her impending confession pressed like an anvil on her chest.

"You're making a mess of that napkin," Larissa remarked, nodding at the shredded paper beneath Marina's restless fingers. "What's going on with you?"

Marina took a fortifying sip of her drink, but the burn of the alcohol did little to calm her nerves. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm a gutless worm who is terrified of telling Peter the truth." She sighed. "I don't even know why. It's not like what I did was so terrible. Women do those things all the time. Men too."

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