While Serge waved the camera crew over to zoom in on some of the sample cakes for their footage, I pulled Sasha aside toward a quieter corner of the shop.
“How long are you planning to keep this up?” I asked in a low voice. “Are we really going to have the cake baked, the flower arrangements designed, and the food prepared?”
She kept a fake smile plastered on her face as she spoke. “As long as it takes. But hopefully not past the ‘I do’ part.”
The words should have alarmed me. I should have been thinking about the logistics of calling off a wedding at the last possible moment, about the scandal and the consequences and the fallout that would destroy both our reputations. Instead, the idea of saying “I do” to Sasha made my heart leap in a way that caught me completely off guard.
I’d spent my entire adult life convinced that I never wanted to settle down, never wanted to take a mate or commit to the domestic stability that seemed to trap so many warriors I knew. But the thought of being with Sasha wouldn’t be settling for a different life. It would be a life of adventure and challenge and passionate arguments that ended in even more passionate reconciliations.
The idea of actually going through with all this wedding planning for real didn’t scare me. What scared me was how much I wanted it to be genuine.
Sasha must have interpreted my silence as anxiety about our deception, because she reached out to touch my arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I’ll unravel the entire plot in time for you to escape. You won’t actually be stuck with me.”
I opened my mouth to explain that being stuck with her was sounding like the opposite of a problem, but before I could find the words, a familiar figure appeared in the bakery doorway.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Tivek said, his expression carefully neutral, “but could I steal Deklyn for a moment? There’s something that requires his immediate attention.”
“Sasha, darling!” Serge called from across the shop, apparently oblivious to the undercurrents of tension. “We need you to selectthe cake topper! I have several options that would be perfect for an ethereal star-themed wedding.”
I gave Sasha an apologetic look as Tivek beckoned me from the doorway. She nodded her understanding, but I caught a flash of frustration in her eyes at being left to handle Serge and the cameras alone.
Once we were outside on the cobblestone walkway, away from the TV crew’s microphones, Tivek’s casual expression shifted to something more urgent.
“The Earth delegation has arrived,” he said. “The admiral is greeting them now, and he suggested you join. Get a sense of who we’re dealing with.”
Through the bakery’s front window, I could see Sasha gamely examining various miniature bride and Drexian figurines while Serge gestured enthusiastically, and the cameras captured every moment. She would not be happy that I’d left her to handle this alone. But this might be my best chance to get a read on the people who had betrayed her and to understand what we were really up against.
“Lead the way,” I said, forcing myself to look away from Sasha and prepare myself to meet the humans, one of whom was the reason for Sasha’s abandonment and why I was sent to save her.
Chapter
Thirty-Five
Sasha
Ifinally stepped out of the cake studio onto the cobblestone walkway, the artificial breeze carrying the mingled scents of coffee, pastries, and fresh flowers from the various shops lining the Promenade. I hadn’t been thrilled that Deklyn had left me to finish the cake selection on my own, but I also knew that Tivek wouldn’t have tracked his brother down if it hadn’t been important. Besides, Tivek was on our side.
I’d done my best not to let my true emotions show when the cameras were rolling and recording my every expression for the viewers back on Earth, who thought they were watching a genuine love story unfold. My jaw already quivered from the effort of smiling for so long. How was I going to keep this up much longer?
“That was a tremendous success!” Serge practically bounced on his glossy purple platform boots as he gestured wildly with his arms. “I cannot wait to see the planning compilation the cameracrew puts together to show before the wedding livestream.” He fluffed the fuchsia ascot billowing at his neck. “You think this outfit popped on camera, don’t you?”
I took in his wide-lapel, bright purple suit with bell-bottom pants that flared over his platform boots. The suit was almost a perfect match to his spiky hair, and, from experience, I knew his ascot was the same shade his hair flushed when he was overly excited or irritated. “I think it’s absolutely ethereal.”
Serge preened at my comment, hooking his arm through mine. “You spoil me, Sasha.”
Before I could suggest taking a break or finding Deklyn, Serge was steering me down the walkway with surprising strength, considering he was half my size. “Now, for the next crucial element, darling. We need to select your sister’s attendant dress. Since she’s your only attendant, it needs to be perfect.”
“Actually,” I said, trying to dig in my heels with little success in slowing him down, “I should probably find my darling fiancé first. Make sure he’s not getting into trouble without me.”
“Nonsense!” Serge waved a dismissive hand. “We don’t need him for this part. Men have no appreciation for attendant dresses. Trust me, it’s better to handle these decisions without their input.”
Before I could protest further, he was pushing through the glass doors of the bridal salon. The crystal chandeliers cast prisms of light across the displays of white silk and lace, but now there were also racks of dresses in various colors that presumably belonged to the attendant collection.
“She needs to pick out her maid of honor dress,” Serge announced to the salon at large, gesturing toward me with theatrical flair.
I spotted Ariana in front of a glass shelving display filled with glittering jewelry with Reina at her side. Ariana’s smile was quick and bright when she spotted the cameras following us.
“Well done, Reina.” Serge clapped his hands together. “You got the other pilot here right on time.”
