Page 35 of The Marriage Bargain

I sputtered a laugh. Awkward, Delle.

“Not really, but life takes funny twists and turns, doesn’t it?”

“It does indeed. I never foresaw myself marrying a human female.”

“And yet, here we are.”

“Indeed. Here we are.”

In a chivalrous gesture from another age—and I’m not sure where he’d learned it—he offered me his arm. Like an idiot, I stared blankly before blinking and hurrying to place my hand in the crook of his elbow.

Why are you so awkward? Stop being awkward!

Honestly, though, it wasn’t like I was used to men offering me their arms and being all courteous and chivalrous. Our world was more of a dog-eat-dog type of world. You survived and you got by. You didn’t see a big emphasis on good manners. All that aside, the Overlord held the door for me, walked me in, and led me down quiet corridors toward the office of the Official who was supposed to marry us. The whole way, every footstep beat out, You can do this. You can do this.

Reassuring. Promising. Reinforcing. Demanding.

You can do this. You can do this.

“How did your sister and Zyn take the news?”

Caide’s question broke into my crazy-train of thoughts, shattering the cycle. I started. “What?”

“I said, how did they take the news? Were they accepting?”

I wrinkled my nose. “All things considered, I guess they took it okay and were accepting. I honestly think Zyn was a little proud of himself, like he’d played matchmaker or something. Tarra was shocked, but she…she understood.”

And that was the best I could say. Neither my sister or brother-in-law liked my predicament, or the action I was being compelled to take, but, as Tarra had said musingly, “That’s really rather kind of Overlord Caide to do this for you.”

Until she said that, I hadn’t viewed our marriage bargain in that light. Sure, I was helping him out too, but him? He could have chosen anyone. He hadn’t. He’d chosen me, to help me. There was a certain kindness in that, I was forced to admit.

Tarra’s simple observation had given me much to ponder.

The walk to the Official’s office took forever. It wasn’t long enough. We went up an elevator, turned a corner, and suddenly we were there. Caide held the door for me, ushering me inside. The space didn’t look much different than Caide’s had, to be honest. There was a large desk. Gentle lighting. A screenpad. Another standing screen and a keyboard. A couple of bookshelves—the Official’s were stuffed with books, while Caide’s had held blueprints and plans and rolled up scrolls. Neat cabinets with a few personal mementos, including a single photo of the Official with a gorgeous Asterion woman. His wife?

The Asterion Official had similar coloring to that of Caide, but was shorter and bulkier. He sat behind a gleaming black desk that held a few papers, the screenpad in front of him glowing a soft green. He glanced up as we entered and closed the door after us. A strange expression was in his golden eyes, a little darker and duller than Caide’s, which instantly put me on guard.

Unease ratcheted up in my stomach, gripping my guts.

“Overlord Caide,” he said. His voice was calm but I could hear an underlying note of tension. “Word from the guard shack. I see scrolling lists of everyone who enters and exits the compound. Flight Commander Abidah just passed the gates.”

You have got to be kidding me.

The air left my lungs in a rush. Coincidence?

I shifted a nervous glance up at my alien husband-to-be. I saw his jaw tighten.

“Perhaps he has legitimate business.”

“Or he might be arriving to stop this.” The Official waved a hand at us, the papers.

“Let him try. He has no authorization to stop it. The breeder’s list isn’t published until tomorrow. Until it is published, it is not official. Which means, until then, she is free to choose who she wants.”

“Wait, what?” I glanced nervously between the two Asterion males.

The Official looked at me askance. “Are you choosing to wed Overlord Caide of your own volition, of your own free will? This has nothing to do with Flight Commander Abidah?”

Truthfully, it hadn’t had much to do with him, personally. Despite our first creepy encounter, I hadn’t known his name was on the damn breeder’s list. Before tonight, I hadn’t known that he, specifically, was interested in claiming me. So I wasn’t lying when I said, “Yes, I’m choosing to marry Overlord Caide of my own free will. And, no, this doesn’t have anything to do with Flight Commander Abidah.”

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