Page 33 of The Alien's Runaway Bride

“God, that’s terrifyingly accurate,” Venus wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes.

Raelee took a deep breath, trying to control her giggles. She looked at each of her sisters in turn. “I’m going to Tharvis.”

A moment of stunned silence followed her declaration.

“You’re... what?” Mila sputtered.

“I thought you were dead set against this whole arranged marriage thing,” Zora added, confusion etched on her face.

Raelee held up a hand. “I’m not going as a bride. I’m going as an ambassador.”

Understanding dawned on Venus’s face. “You’re going tonegotiate.”

“Exactly,” Raelee confirmed. “I can’t run from this forever. But I’m not about to let anyone dictate my future either. If I go to Tharvis, I can try to work out a solution that doesn’t involve bargaining myself like some interplanetary bargaining chip.”

Her sisters exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them.

“Well,” Mila said finally, a slow smile spreading across her face, “if you think we’re letting you go alone, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Raelee blinked. “What?”

“Oh please,” Venus scoffed. “You really think we’d miss out on the chance to visit an alien planet? Besides, someone’s got to keep you out of trouble.”

“And,” Zora added softly, “maybe if we all go, we can renegotiate our own... situations.”

Raelee felt a surge of affection for her sisters. “You would do that? But what about your lives here? Your work?”

Mila shrugged. “My research can wait. This is way more important.”

“The firm will survive without me for a while,” Venus said. “And I’m sure they’d love to have the first human designer with knowledge of alien architecture.”

Zora smiled, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “I’ve always wanted to study extraterrestrial plant life. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Raelee looked at her sisters, overwhelmed by their support. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll let us come with you,” Mila urged. “We’re stronger together, Rae. Always have been.”

Raelee nodded, blinking back tears. “Okay. Team Arison takes on Tharvis.”

“Plus,” Venus added with a mischievous grin, “if we’re all there, we can come up with some creative ways to avoid our own alien marriages.”

Mila snorted. “Or the ancient tradition of the Upside-Down Wedding, where the entire ceremony has to be performed while hanging from the ceiling.”

“Ooh, I’ve got one,” Zora chimed in, barely containing her laughter. “We tell them that according to Earth law, before marriage, the bride must successfully teach quantum physics to a goldfish.”

Raelee found herself giggling despite the seriousness of the situation. “You all are ridiculous. I love it. Though I’m not sure how the Tharvisians would feel about us trying to marry their princes to aquatic life forms.”

“Hey, for all we know, they might be into that sort of thing,” Venus quipped. “Interspecies romance could be all the rage on Tharvis.”

As the laughter died down, Raelee looked at her sisters, overwhelmed by their support. “You all would really do this? Come with me to Tharvis?”

Mila shrugged, her expression softening. “Of course, we would, dummy. We’re in this together. Always have been, always will be.”

“Besides,” Venus added, “someone’s got to keep you from running off with the first hot alien you see. Or hot maybe-military alien guy, as the case may be.”

“Hey!” Raelee protested, but she was smiling. “Vex is human, thank you very much.”

“Sure, sure,” Zora teased. “That’s what they all say. Next thing you know, you’re eloping to Mars.”

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