Page 29 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

The only problem with it was who I’d be wearing it for. Frax leering down into my cleavage that the sweetheart neckline showed off so much of? Ick, no, no thank you. But if I imagined Kreel beside me instead…heat rushed to my cheeks. Ellara’s giggle brought me back to myself and I realized I was chewing on my lower lip as I daydreamed.

“See, it’s not so bad,” the wedding planner said, mistaking the object of my emotions. “You get to have pretty things, and Lord Frax will keep you in style. I know this isn’t the life you planned for yourself, but if you take a moment and consider the options, you’ll see things could be a lot worse.”

I think she meant her smile to be encouraging, and maybe she even believed what she said. Ellara didn’t seem cruel, just self-centered. Not that it made any difference to me when the result was the same.

No plan occurredto me as I waited. Hours must have passed, but it was hard to tell—the light was constant, and my cell had no clock. It was long enough for the guard to change, so there was a faint chance of my father getting word. The chances of him getting it soon enough to help me, though? Nearly impossible.

When the cell door slid open, I was ready, waiting in my dress. There was no point in fighting that—I knew Frax would have me dragged to the altar naked if I didn’t dress to his standards, and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

So I kept my head high as I swept out of the cell, flanked by Frax’s guards and with Ellara at my side. She looked radiant in her own outfit, so happy she could have been mistaken for the bride.

“Want to swap roles?” I asked quietly, and she let out an affronted gasp. No other reply was forthcoming, so I pressed on.

“Seriously, Ellara, you’re a much better fit for this than I am.”

“Lord Frax would hardlyagree, and besides, I value my freedom too highly.” If she saw the irony of her words, she showed no sign.

With that, we arrived, and I stopped in the doorway to stare. In the few hours since my captors marched me through the building, Ellara had transformed the cavernous main hall from neglected ruin into a beautiful wedding venue. Vast sweeps of crimson cloth draping the walls and the ceiling high above, covering the rusted metal and peeling paintwork I’d seen on my way in. Warm light shone through the fabric to illuminate the floor below like gentle sunlight. Light pooled around an altar decked with flowers and holding an elegant scroll. Holograms hovered in the air throughout the room, bringing artwork from across the galaxy here, and adding a small background crowd to the scene.

The few guests who’d physically arrived sat arrayed in small groups, watching each other warily. Though they’d all dressed for a celebration, the different factions bristled at each other with barely hidden violence. On Caliban, there’d been too many gangs for anyone to risk picking a fight. Now, though…Great. I have to worry about the guests starting something, too.

Off to one side sat a larger cluster of seats occupied by holograms. Those would be the guests who had reached this system, but not made it to the station itself. Front and center of that group sat Lady Astara Frax, glowering at me. Apparently, my attempt to avoid marrying her husband had only made her angrier.

And there, standing by the altar, was Frax himself.Cold eyes watched me approach, a cruel smile spreading across his lips, showing off sharp rows of teeth like a shark’s.

There was no hint of kindness or affection there. Not an iota of empathy. This wedding was nothing more than a tool for him, a way to legitimize his conquest of Mars.

There must be something I can do. Ican’tjust let this happen.But there was no way out that I could see, aside from making a futile attack on someone in the hopes they’d kill me.

As stupid, desperate, and futile as it was, I turned the idea over in my mind. If I went through with the wedding, I was dead anyway—Astara would make sure of that. Why give her the satisfaction?

A wedding march played, beautiful music filling the room from nowhere and everywhere. I stood still, mind racing and turning over possibilities, until Ellara took my arm in a firm grip. With an insistent tug, she pulled me down the aisle. I might have been able to resist, but what was the point? I followed her lead, looking around at the guests as I walked. Which guest would be the best target? Most likely to react lethally? The Guildfather, I decided—his matched pair of bodyguards looked like hair-trigger killers, and the Guildfather himself had the nervous energy of a bureaucrat among killers.

This is not suicide, I told myself. Desperate, yes, but not suicide. If I was fast and insanely lucky, I mightcause enough chaos to let me escape. Probably not, but by dying, I’d still save Mars. I had to take the chance.

In the few seconds before my path brought me into range, I wished I could see Kreel one last time. That I hadn’t wasted so much time fighting him and had spent more in his arms. We’d had a few days of bliss together, and I tried to hold on to that memory.With any luck, he’s light-years away and safe. If he has two brain cells in that beautiful thick skull of his, he got the drive repaired and left Talbrek far behind.

18

KREEL

If I had any brains at all, I’d be five systems away and accelerating.It’s what Rachel wants me to do. It’s the safe thing to do. And it’s the smart thing to do.

I grinned and took a deep breath.Never did claim to be safe or smart, though. Rachel will forgive me, assuming we both survive.

A miniature holodisplay let me monitor the ceremony and get a feel for what security was like. There would be more guards off-screen, of course, but the guests and Frax himself? Them I could pin down. Music played, and there was even an announcer narrating the spectacle.

“What are we waiting for?” Arzak asked, a gruff but quiet voice in my ear. “We want to get that fucker, right? Let’s go get him.”

I turned back to look at the motley crew of pirates I’d gathered. Six of them, working for whatever theycould loot, the promise of payment later, and the chance to be part of a heroic rescue—I didn’t expect much from them, but at least I had some allies at my side. Romantic fools who wanted to save the pirate queen, all of them. All ofus—I was the most foolish person present.

“I’m waiting for the signal,” I told him. “And you’re waiting for me.”

Arzak growled, flexing his massive arms. Artificial muscles, almost certainly. They were comically out of proportion to the rest of him, but there was nothing funny about his strength. “What fucking signal? You never said anything about a signal.”

“We’ll know it when we see it,” I assured him. “Captain has a plan.”

I hope she does. But she’s going to do something.That Rachel would accept this wedding calmly, take it in her stride, was laughable.

---