Page 42 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

Dad wasn’t as happy with my outfit, which I had to admit was outlandish by Martian standards. I still looked like the star in a period holonovella, some freebooting space pirate.

“I swear, Ray, your fashion sense gets weirder with time,” he said, grinning. “I expected a change to your wardrobe, but this? When you left, you hated the whole royalty thing. Now you’re coming home dressed as the Pirate Princess of Mars.”

“Dad.” My cheeks heated, and I wanted to melt into the deck.

“Oh well, at least it’s not as bad as when you tried technogarch style when you were seventeen.”

“Dad!”His unrepentant grin only made things worse, and I glared. “Thanks for the reminder of why I went offworld to study.”

Eyes sparkling, Dad ignored that and turned to Kreel. “So you’re the guy who rescued my darling daughter, right? Captain Kreel Amzar?”

“Not quite, Your Highness,” Kreel rumbled, bowing formally. “I helped, but your daughter rescued herself.”

“You just married her along the way.” For all his pleasantness, when Dad puts steel in his voice, it’s impossible not to notice. Kreel did a better job of hiding his reaction than most, though.

“No, I married her because she is the only woman in the entire galaxy I wish to devote my heart and life to, and once I met her, I could not bear to live another moment apart.” His voice was firm, but not unfriendly. Not arguing, just presenting the facts. “Though I will admit, the chance to steal a villain’s wedding service was a bonus, Your Highness.”

Dad chuckled ruefully. “Heston, please call me Heston. The royal title is only temporary, as I hope my daughter told you before you married her?”

“It doesn’t matter either way,” Kreel said, squeezing my hand. “I’m not married to a title, and Rachel willalwaysbe a princess in my heart.”

Dad’s smile widened into a broad grin, and he stepped back. “In that case, you’re welcome aboard the Martian flagship. So, what is it you do for a living, Kreel? Ray didn’t mention it.”

“Oh, I’m a pirate captain.”

The bridge crew had discipline enough to hide their interest in the conversation and continue their work.The intensity with which theydidn’twatch us was palpable.

At Kreel’s words, they all froze. No one touched a control, no one breathed. Even Dad stopped mid-step. I held my breath for a moment.

My father, Heston Day, King of Mars and its Moons, turned, slowly and deliberately, to look up at Captain Kreel Amzar, pirate captain and his new son-in-law. His brow furrowed and eyes narrowed, but Kreel held his gaze steadily.

I wanted to say something, to explain myself and Kreel. To somehow apologize. No words came to mind, though. The frozen moment stretched until, at last, Dad broke it with an exasperated sigh.

“Wonderful. When I worried about the boys you’d bring home, I thought drugs might be a problem, or radical politics, notpiracy. I guess I was thinking too small.” He shook his head, took his seat, and winked at me. “You’re going to have to tell me how this happened, you realize.”

“It’s a long tale,” Kreel said. Dad nodded.

“And we’ve got a long trip back to Mars for you to tell it.”

ThePodkaynetooka couple of weeks to reach Mars and by the time we arrived,Kreel and Dad became fast friends. On the one hand, that was wonderful. On the other, it was awful. Dad delighted in trying to embarrass me, showing Kreel holograms of my technogarch phase that I’d thought were long forgotten. Telling him about my earliest engineering attempts, the ones that failed in the most exciting ways.

I suppose it was worth it to see the two of them bond, but it felt like they were conspiring against me.

The rest of theStarshadow’simpromptu crew started the trip on rocky ground, so I made a point of spending time with them to keep them from becoming too isolated. I needn’t have worried—the story of how they’d helped Kreel rescue me spread through thePodkayne’screw like a fire in a high-oxygen environment. Relations thawed quickly, and soon Kyria was toying with the affections of half a dozen Martians, Arzak spent a lot of time with a cute ensign from navigation, and Shichax exchanged poem after poem with a marine lieutenant.

It must have been something in the air, though Dad insisted Kreel and I were to blame for ‘setting a poor example.’

He was, I told him, having far too much fun with embarrassing us. Kreel, though, simply insisted it was agoodexample and resolved to display our affection for each other more openly.

I tried to object, but what could I say? I’d always welcome more kisses from my alien mate. I loved the way he wanted to show off our affection for each other, even if it embarrassed me when he actually did it. Theasshole enjoyed making me blush far too much. I’d have complained, but then he might have stopped, which was the last thing I wanted.

When we reached Mars, I had the naïve hope we might have more space for ourselves. That dream shattered when I saw the media waiting for us outside our shuttle to the Martian surface. Not just Mars media, but journalists from across the solar system. It turned out thatsomeonehad sent the ‘pirate princess of Mars marries alien swashbuckler’ story out across the solar system as soon as we emerged from hyperspace, and everyone wanted to know more. I stepped out onto the red sands of my homeworld, dressed once more in stolen imperial fashion, with Kreel at my side.

“I’m sorry about this,” I whispered to him as camera drones circled us. “I didn’t realize Dad would, um…” I trailed off, not sure what to say.

“Would make a fuss of his first daughter’s marriage?” Kreel chuckled gently, waving to the cameras. “I’ve known him for ten days and I figured that out.”

“When you put it like that, it’s obvious,” I grumbled, but couldn’t help smiling with it. Hand in hand, we walked forward to face the press. Cameras flashed and a roar of questions battered my ears. I controlled a wince, hoping it wouldn’t show, and clung to my husband’s hand.

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