Page 137 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
“You did not. Colonel only? I would expect your actions would be worth a general’s rank, at least.”
“Everyone’s unsure about me,” I explain. “They’re afraid of giving me great honors and then later have me turn against them, one way or the other. All this is too much for Earth to deal with rationally. And that’s fine. I’m not going to spend much time here anyway. The promotion is only symbolic, like anhonorary rank. I’m not supposed to do anything for Space Force, except maybe help out when the engineers arrive. If Earth wants them. We’ll see.”
Mareliux takes my hand. “You've done a lot for your world. They can never repay you properly anyway. And while they're not sure about you,Iam.”
“I can't hide anything from my Soulbound. And you can't, either.” I reach up and twirl two of his tendrils together. “I miss the Syntrix. It's so boring having to do this with my hands like a cavewoman.”
Mareliux laughs. “Cavewoman? That's what we thought you were before you came aboard that first time. Mostly Bellatriz, though.”
“What?”the sword splutters. “That was all you!”
“I don't remember who it was. But you are clearly not a cavewoman, Umbra.” He strokes my hair with the back of his hand.
“Is she asdocileas you wanted?”the sword AI inquires. “That was a big requirement for you.”
“Perhaps notquiteas docile as I expected,” Mareliux says. “But I have to say I prefer you like this, Umbra. Though, now I think about it, some added docility might be good once in a while- no, no. Don't look at me like that. I take it back.” He laughs and kisses me. “You're perfect the way you are.”
“I’m happy you say that,” I tell him. “Because-” I stop myself. This is something I’d love to experience in a place with Syntrix. On the other hand, that wave of emotion might well knock me out.
He fixes me with his red eyes. “Because what?”
“Because,” I begin, suddenly not trusting my voice, “there will soon be two of me. Well, not ofme. But of us. No, that doesn’t make sense.”
Mareliux stares at me emptily, trying to understand. “Umm…”
“What I mean is,” I start again, “that when Quaestor Preniat was worried about whether or not you and I could conceive, he had no reason to be. The doctor says so, anyway.”
There’s a glimmer of understanding in his face. “You mean…” He puts a hand on my lower stomach, so lightly I can barely feel it. “You mean that…” He doesn’t dare believe it, I think.
“I mean that,” I confirm. “I’m pregnant. The doctor says it looks fine so far. But it’s a hybrid pregnancy, so she can’t guarantee anything.”
It’s the first time I see his eyes go shiny. He embraces me carefully, as if he’s scared of breaking me. “My love. This is the most wonderful news I’ve ever had.”
I sniffle as I hug him back. “I thought you’d like it. It’s wonderful.”
“We’ll stay here,” Mareliux decides. “At Earth. Where they know about Earth women and their pregnancies. Just for safety’s sake.”
“Oh no, let’s not,” I protest. “All we need is a medical AI and a scanning device. When the birth gets closer, maybe we can come back here. Just in case. But I’d love to experience the pregnancy with Syntrix, on a real planet with trees and grass and clouds. You know?”
“Anything you say, my love.” He disengages and just grins blissfully. Then his tendrils unfold in an explosion of power and his deep victory yell echoes from the dome.
“I was right,” I mutter. “If there was Syntrix here,thatwould have killed me.”
We celebrate with a nice meal, then go to the control room of theGladiux.
Mareliux breaks the news, and they all congratulate us warmly.
“Wonderful news,” Careta’x says, standing by a console. We don’t want him always being right next to us, and he accepts that the Gladius is mostly safe. Even so, he searches through all of the ship twice a day, just looking for Vyrpy he can throw out into space. “And that makes Princess Umbra’s safety even more important. When do we break orbit, sir?”
“In an hour or so. We promised to stay in this solar system for another few hours, so we won’t go far. I want to visit the gunship guards here, the ones that are keeping Earth safe from the mysterious, saucer-shaped spaceships.”
“They are the Plood, sir,” Caret’ax says darkly. “Mark my words. I’ve seen them myself.”
“Where?” I ask, interested. “Where did you see them?”
The caveman sends me a look that could set fire to a piece of glass. “In some places I’ve been, Your Highness.” His voice is flat.
I get what he means:don’t ask more about that.
