Page 99 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
“I saidmild,”Vera chides me. “Not a gunshot. Fine. Judging from the echoes I picked up, the surrounding room is much bigger than this apartment. It sounds empty. If you must leave here, I recommend going out through the back wall, between those two fake windows.”
I grab some kitchen tools that could come straight from a drawer on Earth and size up the wall. “I’ll just ram this knife in there.”
“Careful,”Vera urges me. “That’s a sharp knife.”
But it’s not sharp enough. It goes a half inch in before it stops, even when I put my full weight on it and hammer it with a bigfrying pan. I try other walls, and I try to pry the fake windows off, but nothing works.
“You could try the door,”Vera chirps. “That would get you out of this room. But there will be guards not far away. You intend to escape, yes?”
I put my palm on the fake window and push. “It’s the obvious thing to do. One spaceship for Earth, and I remove all the uncertainty about Mareliux coming back and him becoming emperor and me not getting killed.” There’s no give in that window, so I try another.
“A bird in the hand is better than ten in the bush, as I think the saying goes,”Vera says. “Is that what you’re thinking?”
I hack the knife into the image of Chicago. But the screen is sturdy, and the tip of the knife only leaves a small mark. “I hadn’t thought of that, but that’s what it boils down to. Everything Mareliux dangles in front of me keeps getting pushed into the future. And it becomes less and less certain if any of it will actually happen.”
“I think you can take that chance.”
I glance down at the AI. “You think I should stay and gamble on Mareliux returning and honoring his promise, and nothing else going wrong?”
“It is not a gamble. It is a calculated risk with a huge prize when it turns out well. Not least for you personally.”
I don’t like that she uses the word ’when’ instead of ’if’, which is clearly the right one. AIs do not make mistakes like that. It was on purpose. She is trying to persuade me. “I don’t care aboutfame or wealth. Staying here, I’m risking my life. Let us proceed from that.”
“If you say so. Will you be using Colonel Grast and her team?”
I go into the pink bedroom and try the knife on those walls, too. “I don’t know. I think she may be too loyal to Mareliux. I think Darient may be a better bet. She’s independent enough. A duchess must have resources.”
There’s a knock on the door. When I open, there are two Calanians in their impressive uniforms with the tall helmets with openings for their tendrils.
“Greetings, Princess Umbra, Soul of the Empire, Wife to Prince Mareliux!” one of them says so loudly the walls tremble. “We are here to hear what you require and to bring you anything. Any items, any food, any drinks. We shall provide them!”
Soul of the Empire? That’s new.“All right. Some food would be nice…” I tell them what I want, including sending them on a search for something that might resemble white wine. I have tried not to drink much, but now I may have to set up some kind of cover for the escape I’m planning.
I also tell them that I want to invite Darient for dinner.
They return in a remarkably short time, bringing everything I asked for. There’s even a messenger from Darient, saying she would love to see me. The great collection of Khavgren wines they bring me is almost overwhelming, and it takes up one of the two beautiful coffee tables in the apartment.
“If there is anything, simply knock on the door from your side, Highness,” the chief Calanian says. “Two of our men are alwaysstationed on the second landing down. They will hear. Cleaning robots will enter twice a day and assist with your housekeeping.”
“Thank you. Where is Caret’ax?”
“Warrior Caret’ax went to theGladiuxwith His Imperial Highness,” the chief guard says loudly. “It is common for him to protect our prince in battles, Your Imperial Highness!”
“Oh. I thought he would stay here. All right.” I close the door and sit on the wide couch, enjoying that it fits my size much better than Khavgren furniture. Finally I get a break. With Caret’ax out of the way, escape becomes easier.
Damn. I keep forgetting that he abducted me and then practically forced me into this weird situation. I shouldn’t be surprised if he locks me up here without a second thought.
“I can’t deny it’s a good setup,” I mutter. “Everything I need provided on request. A nice view, although fake. Perfect comfort. No chores. He really did the best he could with this.”
“I have to remind you again,” Very says, “that if you stay, and if everything turns out the way the prince says, then Earth stands to gain a great deal from it. A golden age, a new reality, a real space age. A way to defend against those abducting UFOs. It will be all because of you. You’ll likely be the most famous person there has ever been. And your association with the Emperor of the Khavgren Empire will make you more important to Earth than our language can express without using words that are usually only associated with religious figures.”
I shudder at the thought. “I want Earth to be strong and safe. But those other things? I’d rather live like a hermit on the Moon thanbe an Important Person. All I wanted was to fly in space. And to find Ashlynn.”
“Both of which are infinitely more likely to happen if you wait here until Mareliux returns.”
“Ifhe returns,” I counter. “Do you hear that ‘if’, Vera? It’s a pretty important part of the equation.”
“All gains require some risks. The gains here are so immense that the risk looks tiny by comparison.”
