“That’s why it only has one window.”
He kisses me on the cheek. “Smart wife.”
“Nobody is eavesdropping here, right?”
“I think we can be sure about that.”
I lightly take hold of one of his tendrils. “That grenade that came down the chimney.”
He gives me an amused look. “Yes?”
“Was that you? I mean, did you arrange it?”
I have the rare pleasure of seeing Mareliux stunned. “How… how could you know?”
“It felt wrong through the Syntrix.Youfelt wrong. It didn’t feel like it would kill us. It felt more like an innocent prank. And you weren’t that scared, I think. There was no gas in that thing, right? Just a small explosive that wouldn’t have harmed anyone.”
He shakes his head in astonishment. “I think we can start to guess why Earth has a Syntrix barrier around it. Someone realized that you people are too dangerous to give access to it.”
“Why did you do it? Were you bored?” I lean in to get a whiff of his scent, which I now think is as addictive as a drug.
“Someone is trying to kill us. I want them to stop. And I thought, if they think someone else is also trying to kill me, except in smarter ways, then maybe they will take a break and wait for the other party to do it. And it couldn’t hurt to demoralize them by having you save my life again. Thanks, by the way. You must have thought there was at least the chance of it being real.”
I straighten one tendril out between two fingers. “I did my best to get it away. That feeling of a prank came the next second. Wait, what about the other attempts? The missile?”
“That wasn’t me. Nor the treacherous lackey in the transport. But we have to think about what to do next.”
I grab a new tendril and stroke it, enjoying how a pink band rolls along it just behind my finger. “Do you think it’s working? The ruse?”
“I think it is. It looks very real. And…” He puts his hand lightly on the side of my head, stroking the edge of my ear.
“And it kind ofisreal,” I finish his sentence.
He sighs. “This was the one thing I never thought would happen. That I would really start to have feelings for you. And that those feelings would just get stronger. I’ve tried to keep my distance, Umbra. I’ve tried to stay away from you. But I haven’t been able to resist. When I’m with you, everything else vanishes. The Empire, the wars, the attempts to murder us… it becomes unimportant. It’s very dangerous for a prince to feel that way. Not to mention a future emperor. But here we are.”
“Maybe it’s not dangerous at all,” I suggest. “Maybe the time you spend with me is good. Maybe you need the rest.” I’m not sure what I want with this. I can’t stay on Khav. The future of the Earth may depend on my choices. On the other hand, I don’t want to be without Mareliux. I want to be around him and his easy confidence and his obvious caring.
What if I can have both? A secure Earth being brought into the space age for real,andMareliux staying in my life?
“You asked if I would stay,” I remind him. “Did you mean that? It’s fine if you didn’t. When we’re being really passionate, we sometimes say things that we don’t mean. I just need to know.”
“I meant it,” he growls. “Stay. Stay with me. Not on Khav. But with me.”
“And Earth?”
He strokes my hair. “Earth will be safe. You’ve done your part. Everyone believes our ruse.”
Warmth spreads through me. This could work out better than I had dared hope.
I reach up and stroke his cheek. “That makes me happy.”
He bends down and kisses me. “Me too.”
His hand slides down my side until he’s cupping a breast outside my alien style dress.
“Should we be going somewhere else?” I ask carefully. “This was Princess Carelia’s nursery.”
He cups my butt and squeezes. “It was strictly only her nursery for a year or so, until she was no longer an infant. Then it simply became her room. I’m sure she would approve of what we’re doing. We are, after all, escaping murder attempts. She would understand.”
