Page 100 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
I mentally remind myself that Vera is owned by Space Force, not by me. When the chips are down, she will side with what she thinks Space Force wants. But she hasn’t been in contact with Earth for weeks, and I think she’s wrong. The main risk is that I’m murdered, and then Earth receives nothing. Space Force would see it the same way, I’m sure. And with me dead, nobody will be looking for Ashlynn.
“Well, they look big tome.”
I don’t tell her my main problem with sitting here and waiting for some guy who may not return: it makes me feel powerless. And I vowed that I never would feel that way again.
The door opens, and a guard fills the doorframe. “The Duchess of Spure is here to see you, Highness!”
Darient still has ribbons tied around her tendrils, this time in sparkling blue and green.
“It’s catching on!” she says with enthusiasm as she gingerly lowers herself to sit on my couch, which to her must feel like she’s sitting on doll furniture. “At your reception, there were two duchesses with this style. Fine, one of them was me, but we have to start small.”
I grin and hand her a glass filled with some kind of Khavgren liquor that smells nice. “That’s how fashion begins. First one, then two. And before you know it, everyone.”
We casually chat for a while before I decide to breach the subject.
“I want to go home to Earth,” I state. “Mareliux wants me to stay here until he returns. But I think the risk of being murdered is too great. And the risk of anything going wrong. He may not return at all. That’s how wars work.”
Darient’s jaw drops, and her tendrils curl up and flatten themselves to her head. “You want to leave?Now?But… you’remarried!You’re an Imperial princess! Even if he doesn’t return, you will be a member of the Imperial family!”
I had decided to tell her about the whole deal. But her reaction makes me suddenly change my mind. I don’t know herthatwell. And she has no reason to be loyal tome. She’s Mareliux’s cousin, and she’s obviously not going to act against him.
Shit.Inviting her here was a mistake.
“We agreed that we’d go to Earth at some point,” I make up on the spot. “Together, of course. To see my family and show Earth the prince of the Khavgren Empire. It will be wonderful. But now I’m thinking that I can go there now, on my own, and then Mareliux can follow. Right now, I’m just sitting here and doing nothing. And so many want to kill me. If I go into space and head for Earth, I’ll be even safer than here. Mareliux can follow me when he’s done with his war. I think Earth needs time to prepare. They have never seen aliens, you know.”
“Oh, but that’s not going to be a problem,” Darient says. “Mareliux doesn’t care much for protocol and grand receptions and pomp and circumstance. He’ll be perfectly happy whicheverway your world welcomes him. And youaresafe, Umbra. Completely. I’ve never seen so many Calanians as there are in this building right now! And outside! They’re milling around all over the place. Nobody can get within a thousand paces of this place. No, you’re perfectly safe.”
Damn. How can I get rid of her?
I nod slowly. “That makes me feel better. You’re really sure?”
“Yes, of course!” Darient laughs, relieved. “Even the Emperor himself has fewer guards around him than you do. You’re the most precious thing in the palace.”
I grab her hand and squeeze. “If you think so, then that’s all I need.”
We eat dinner and have a drink. Then we get up to admire the view of Chicago and other sights that I flick through. I tell her about Earth, and she pretends to be interested, like any polite person would.
“Darient,” I begin when she’s about to leave. “There’s one thing I would like to find out. Have you heard of aliens that use strange spaceships that look like this?” I take a round plate and move it around like a flying saucer. “Except much bigger. The size of a building. White or gray.”
Her tentacles curl up as she takes the plate and looks at it. “What a strange design for a spaceship!”
“It’s weird, isn’t it? But they do exist. I am trying to find out which aliens use those. I have asked a lot of people about it, but I only have one clue and I don’t think it helps. Something called ’the Plood’?” I’m reluctant about telling her about Ashlynn. Itfeels too private, and knowing the story might give the wrong people power over me.
Darient tosses the plate onto the couch like a frisbee. “It flies like that? I have never heard of it, but I will ask around.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
She finally leaves.
“She was a waste of time,” I mutter as the door closes behind her. “And I don’t think I can reach Sigise without going through the Calanians. They might wonder why I need to talk to her.”
“You should leave Colonel Grast out of this for now,”Vera says. “She needs to stay at a distance unless her extraction plan is activated. Nobody must suspect her real mission.”
I wander around in the apartment. It is very nice, and in many ways it’s tempting to stay.
“How do I activate that plan?”
“I don’t think you can.”Vera’s reply comes quickly.
