“If I had the time to court her properly, I would tell her who and what I am, but I can’t spend weeks convincing her that I’m worth…” I trailed off, clearing my throat. “It’s a timing issue. Nothing more. She’s myAneah.Ibarwouldn’t choose her if she wasn’t right for me.”
Zacal sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell Bruukto it’s Evik. You’ll be expected to make appearances with her. The sooner we can convince the public she is yourIbarchosen mate, the less chance the Cendaquans will take offense.”
“I’ll arrange it,” I said.
“We will host a celebration of your match,” Della said. “Send me her arrival details. I’ll start planning it right away.”
“Thank you, Della.” I’d rather let Nerus punch me in the face than suffer through the parties and galas I’d be expected to attend with Cora, but Zacal was right. She had to be introduced to society. Part of me wanted to hide her away and never announce our relationship. Our connection would protect her from many, but make her a target for others. But I’d handle that too.
“I’ll bring a list of the soldiers I’d like to put in charge of her security in a few days,” I said to Zacal.
“Make sure you also bring me the names of the soldiers you’ll be preparing to take their places as well,” he said sourly. “And Yiri? If I find out you’re lying and she is not yourAneah, I will escort her back to earth myself.”
He meant he’d kill her, but he wouldn’t say it in front of Della. I shouldn’t have been bothered by it. ShewasmyAneah, but hearing a threat against my mate unleashed a dark and primal rage in me.
“Walk me out,” I said, standing and rounding the table to give Della a farewell kiss. She told me to come back soon and eyed us with suspicion as we left. As soon as we were out of earshot, I turned to my uncle, stepping into his sacred space. Down the hall, his security team hurried to intervene until Zacal put out a hand to stop them.
“Something you would like to say, Yiri?” Zacal asked coolly.
“She is myIbarchosen mate,” I said with the lethal calm usually reserved for males I’ve come to kill. “But if in your advanced age you have lost some of your faculties and imagine some reason to doubt it, touch her at your own risk. If you think I won’t eviscerate any threat to my mate, then you don’t know me at all.”
“Where is your family loyalty? I raised you like my own son.”
I bared my teeth, a breath away from gutting him with the blade on my thigh. “She is family now. Mineandyours. But if you want to know who I’ll put first, threaten her again.”
He grunted, shoving me away. Glaring as he straightened his shirt, he said, “At least you’re behaving like anIbarutmate. That will go a long way to convince Bruukto Shek.”
CHAPTER 13
CORA
“What about the couch?”Andrew asked, studying my rose velvet pride and joy with covetous eyes. I felt a stab of anxious jealousy at the thought of giving it away. I saved for a long time to afford it, and Mr. Darcy and I had taken great pains not to damage it. Maybe I should just stay here. On Earth. With a couch.Jesus, that’s pathetic.
“He said I could have things shipped,” I said. “I wonder if he meant furniture?”
“Wow,” Andrew said. “You’re really leaning into the pampered princess life if you’re considering having your couch shipped through space. What if it doesn’t go with his Martian decor?”
“He’s not a martian, and I can make that couch go with anything,” I said. “But I don’t know. I’ll ask him if it’s too much.”
“Are you planning to take all the furniture, then?” he asked, caressing the table in my breakfast nook.
“You can have the table,” I said. “And any other furniture you want. I’m just attached to the couch. If he says I can’t bring it, you can have that, too.”
My apartment was a wreck. I’d already been through my clothes, books, and makeup, casting a ton of stuff into piles toget rid of. My bed was piled high with things I was trying to convince myself I didn’t need, mostly books and clothes, and a chair in the corner of my bedroom had a much smaller pile of things I absolutely couldn’t part with. Mr. Darcy, knowing he was one of those things, had made himself at home among a few of my favorite books, and an e-reader I was hoping I’d have a way to charge, my favorite clothes (especially loungewear because I doubted my earth fashion would be good streetwear on Venastea), and some makeup essentials. I’d placed an order to stock up on a few skincare products I was worried about living without. Did they have acne dots in outer space? What about chocolate? Because I also had a short list of snacks I wanted to take. And I needed to make sure I had a few months’ worth of food for Mr. Darcy just in case he couldn’t be put in stasis or like… woke up halfway there or something. Could that happen?
Before I could begin the third mental spiral of the night, my phone beganbloop bloop blooping.
“Is that your man?” Andrew asked, scooping up my phone before I could and answering the call. “Let’s see who you’re jetting across the universe to marry.”
“Where is Cora?” came Yiri’s gruff voice.
“What did he say?” Andrew asked. “Do you understand him?”
“When I read the subtitles,” I said, pointing to the translation. “Hi. Sorry about him. He’s nosy.”
Yiri was scowling, but that was nothing new. “Andrew?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah,” I said. “You’re not going to… look him up or anything, are you?”
