Page 28 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

17

RACHEL

There I was again, back in a gilded cage, though this one was less gilded and more obviously a cage. The Guildfather refused to take any risks of me escaping before Frax arrived.

I paced the short length of the cell. Six steps took me from the metal bulkhead to the bars of the door, where a silent, unmoving guard watched me. I spun on my heel and looked once more for anything that might help me escape.

There wasn’t much to choose from. The bed was comfortable, but solid. The sheets were some kind of silk, luxurious and strong. Could I strangle the guard with it? Unlikely, and I’d need to get him in the cell first, so that was useless.

I tried smiling at the guard, a large, crimson-skinned brute. He had to be trusted to be alone with me, so this was almost bound to fail, but I had to try something.

“Hi,” I said, bright and chirpy as I could manage. “I’m Rachel. Thanks for looking after me.”

For a moment I wondered if he was ignoring me, then he slowly turned his head to meet my gaze. When no further answer came, I kept going.

“I know you’re one of Lord Frax’s most loyal guards, and since I’m marrying him, I hoped you might do me a favor? See, my dad doesn’t know where I am or even if I’m alive, and I’d be so grateful if you’d send him a message for me.”

The guard rumbled something unintelligible, but at least it was a response. Angry? Frustrated? Or maybe that’s how the man always sounded? It didn’t matter.

“It doesn’t have to say much, and I can pay. Look, here.” I extended an arm through the bars, opening my hand to show him a palmful of jewelry. His eyes widened at the treasure, and I smiled. Finally, a reaction I was sure about.

“Look, here’s the message, there’s no secrets in it.” In my other hand, I offered a scrap of paper. The guard looked at it carefully:

To:Heston Day, Mars

Dad, I’m safe and alive on TalbrekStation. Love, Rachel.

“See,nothing to worry about. Just get that to a fast courier, okay? Whatever you don’t pay them, you can keep.”

The moment stretched painfully as the guard stared down at my hands. It broke when we heard, crisp footsteps approaching outside, and the guard wordlessly grabbed the jewels and note from me. I swallowed, hoping he intended to honor the deal. He could just keep the money, but if he expected me to be his lord’s wife, that might keep him honest. A long shot, but what choice did I have?

The door slid open, and in walked Ellara Vri, flanked by another pair of guards. I hurriedly pulled my hands back inside the cell.

“Your Highness, welcome. Oh, you’ve given us a pretty chase.” Somehow, she sounded smug and nervous at the same time. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t give me any more trouble, hey? Do you know how difficult it is to move the ceremony over here at short notice?”

“Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” I replied. To my surprise, she laughed, a hollow, humorless sound.

“Oh, but my employer insisted. And I agree, the sooner this is done, the better. If he had you brought back to Caliban, why, that’s time for something to go wrong. As soon as Lord Frax docks, you’ll be married and then this is all over.”

“Over? Frax will start a fucking war with my home,and I’ll be stuck at his side until his other wives kill me.”

Ellara shook her head with another laugh, a little too high pitched to be entirely unforced. “Sorry, Rachel, I meant it’s over forme. Once the two of you exchange vows, I get paid. Then it’s off to the far side of the galaxy for me.”

I rolled my eyes at that. Of course she was thinking purely about herself. I didn’t even blame her, given her employer’s temper.

Okay, that was a lie. I blamed her for taking the job. For her part in forcing me into a marriage with an evil warlord. That anger served no purpose, though, and I crushed it ruthlessly. Ellara was here, willing to talk with me, so I tried to come up with helpful things to ask. I’d never get an apology, but information would be more useful.

“When’s the ceremony?” I asked. “It can’t be easy, moving all the guests over here.”

Ellara’s eyes lit up as I encouraged her to talk about her obsession. “Most of them won’t make it. They’ll have to make do with the holovid, like everyone else, but all theimportantpeople will be here. The Verdenfel League, the Guild of Criminals, Luhara. Oh, it’s going to be such a beautiful service, and you’ll make such a beautiful bride! Here, I’ve brought your dress. Let’s make sure it’s perfect.”

Great.But she was talking, which meant I might learn something, so I took the package she offered me through a slot in the bars. Inside, neatly folded, lay anidentical copy of the dress I’d worn to Frax’s first attempt at marrying me. I looked at it blankly for a few seconds. “You got a spare dress?”

Ellara laughed. This time, it sounded more genuine, if not much more pleasant. “Oh no, Your Highness. I havethreespare dresses. You can’t be too careful about these things.”

“A month ago I’d have said that’s overkill, but now? I see your point,” I admitted. “And it’s a beautiful dress.”

I’d much rather wear the pirate queen outfit but saying that wouldn’t help me stay on Ellara’s good side. Objectively speaking, the dresswasbeautiful. The luxurious white, almost weightless fabric had a soft and sensuous feel to it that no dress made on Earth or Mars could match. Parts of it were weightless, little antigravity pearls lifting the train to float behind the wearer.

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