Would the risk of freedom even be worth it?
Even though I want to hide from all these strange lingering feelings, I feel like I have to face them—I have to face the duke. If I stand any chance at all for having a life in space, I can’t keep hiding.
After throwing on my white dress, I open the door, hoping that the kind duke from last night is the one still here today. I tuck the makeshift horn necklace under its high neck.
When I swing the door fully open, I catch sight of Raf’ere admiring himself in the mirror as Jens’i fusses over some gaudy shoulder epaulets.
And when I say gaudy, as an Italian American I mean it with my whole chest. They have gold bases and are absolutely encrusted with some of the biggest emeralds I’ve ever seen. The gems are rough cut and stand at attention. They nearly poke Raf’ere’s strange pointed ears as they sit on his shoulders. When the duke turns his head to inspect the suit, he catches me in the background.
“Marta,” he says in a formal tone. Jens’i stands with a quick nod to me before leaning over again to smooth the duke’s suit.
So not the vulnerable duke of last night, then. We’re back to Duke Fuckface’s old ways.
“Hey,” I say nonchalantly.
As I appraise the rest of his ensemble, I notice things beyond the ridiculousness of the epaulettes. The suit jacket is the same dark green as most of his clothing. I wonder absentmindedly if it’s his favorite color?
Cruising over to the array of plates on the coffee table, I try my hardest to avoid eye contact with his ocean window. The best part of my day here is when the butler comes in and draws the curtains shut and I can relax just a bit.
Well, that and the food. I pop a blue piece of fruit between my lips and savor its sweet taste.
“So, are you planning to be gone all day again?” I ask, with my mouth full, playing at indifference.
“I have a meeting this morning with my infrastructure chancellor, but I should be back before dinner,” he says, and I think I hear what must be the final smoothing of his hands over the suit.
“Raf’ere?” I question, still with my back to him and the massive windows of water.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think maybe you could show me some other parts of the estate?” Maybe I can find an escape route if I know where I’m going—could there even be a spot shallow enough I could just float to the surface? Maybe an island?
“Well, it’s customary to look someone in the eyes when making a request.” His voice sounds slightly annoyed.
“Well, I would, but you know there’s a terrifying ocean on display,” I tell him simply, keeping my back turned, and munching on another strange yet delicious fruit.
He doesn’t respond, but I can hear the whoosh of the curtains as I assume Jens’i closes them. When I turn, the curtains are closed, but it’s the duke standing next to them. The duke has hidden my source of anxiety behind thick, dark green drapes. I must look surprised, because Raf’ere gives me a questioning look.
“If you wanted them closed, all you had to do was ask,” he says as if it was obvious.
“Well, seeing as I keep asking to go home, I assumed no was your favorite word,leccanculo.” I sneer and whisper the last insult under my breath.
The duke winces as I assume his translator chip shows him images of an ass licker. His hearing is better than I give him credit for.
“Closing the curtains is something within my control, letting you go is far too unsafe—I wish humans were a more reasonable species,” Raf’ere says the last part to Jens’i alone. Who, to his credit, says nothing and shows no approval for the duke’s remark. “But to answer your second question, yes. I had planned to take you to the estate chapel, so tonight is as good a night as any to do so.”
I nearly fall out of my chair with the force at which I roll my eyes when he puts on another accessory. Honestly, this alien gives my great-aunt Teresa a run for her money on tackiest in the room. And she thinks it’s alright to mix animal prints because “they’re neutrals.”
I bite my tongue, and I hate to admit it, but I’m anxious to see more of this new world after days of being stuck in this room. It’s just my luck that I travel to space and the only thing I’ve seen is the inside of a closet.
“What’s the chapel like? Is it far?” I feel like a kid ready to go on her first field trip.
With her alien kidnapper.
But I’m still excited.
“We’ll talk details when I return. I’m already late.” There’s a beat where we both look at each other, like he’s expecting me to saysee you later, babe, or something.
But he clears his throat when I don’t say a word and leaves the room quickly, his little alien iPhone in hand. Jens’i follows him but turns to me right before he clicks the door shut.
