Page 54 of The Marriage Bargain

Caide wasn’t any happier than I was to see the Flight Commander. If anything, he took it harder. I had a moment of shock, followed by fear, followed by anxiety, quieted by the firm certainty that, no matter what happened, Caide would take care of me. He didn’t have to say it for me to know it.

On the other hand, Caide slowly straightened in the transport seat, his spine stiffening, his muscles becoming rigid. He perceived the Flight Commander as a threat—a threat to me, I think—because he turned, putting his torso between the Gorgothelian male and myself.

“What is he doing here?” he questioned his father, his voice low and threatening.

“The Flight Commander summoned me,” his father replied coolly.

“Why?”

His father hesitated. “That is what we’ve come to discuss.”

“I have nothing to discuss with the Flight Commander,” Caide practically growled. “Nor with you, Father.”

“Oh, I think you should listen to what we have to say.”

I couldn’t see Caide’s expression, since his back was to me, but from the firm set of his shoulders I guessed he was probably glaring daggers at the other two Overlords.

“Caide,” I said quietly.

“Stay out of this, Delle,” he snapped.

I knew he wanted to protect me, so I didn’t take offense, but I also knew sitting out here in the transport with the other males freezing in the yard wasn’t getting us anywhere.

“Caide, we may as well have it out with them so they’ll go and leave us alone,” I suggested gently. “I don’t think they’re going to leave until we talk to them.”

I put an emphasis on we, reminding our visitors that Caide and I were married—if in name only, at this point. We were a team. They didn’t get to come in here and trample on either of us.

Maybe it reminded Caide, too. I hoped he felt my support. Slowly, very slowly, he relaxed, sinking back into the seat.

“Very well,” he agreed, although he didn’t sound like he meant it. “We will talk. But not in my home. I won’t have my wife’s and my sanctuary tainted by your presence.”

Ouch. Burn again.

He really wasn’t pulling any punches with his father.

Clearly, his father didn’t miss it.

“As you say, my son. It is your home. …such as it is,” he added with a sneer, casting a disdainful glance at Caide’s modest quarters.

Again, I felt irritated for Caide’s sake. It was a wonder he’d turned out to be the man he was with a father like that.

“Perhaps it is not made of cold palace walls, but it is mine and I’ve earned it,” Caide responded tightly.

“If you consider that a distinction in life…”

“I consider earning my way anywhere superior to being born into a life of privilege and then misusing what I’ve been given.”

His father didn’t take the bait this time. “We can argue all night or we can discuss what I traveled galaxies to discuss. Where shall we go, if you will not permit us into your home?”

“Follow me,” Ciade said, and pressed the button to seal the window hatch.

His father barely had the chance to step out of the way before Caide was jerking a lever, spinning the transport in place. He took off without waiting for the other Overlords, the transport humming as it carried us through the dark, snowy night, lit by the orange lights fixed to Citadel houses and walls.

Caide pulled out his phone with his free hand, his thumb flying across the screen for a few moments, then jammed it back into his pocket. I was curious as to what he was doing, but decided not to interrogate him about it. Instead,

“What do you think he’s here to say?” I asked quietly, after several uncomfortable seconds had ticked by.

Caide’s jawline was so hard I knew he must be clenching his teeth. “Our marriage,” he finally muttered. “What else? Clearly, he thinks he has found a way to nullify it, or wishes to have me do so. Abidah is here, so they must be scheming together. Abidah wants you. My father wants me to come home. They must have a plan to overrule our marriage.”

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