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I’ve got to give her something, or she’ll interrogate me all night.

And if she fails to get anything out of me, even three royal princes won’t slow her down at dinner.

“I really haven’t seen much of them. I’ve stayed to my own ship, in their landing bay. Keep this between us, but this is an alliance to benefit Pentaris. We gain access to their tech, they get passage through our territory.”

“So, are Aurelians going to be on Virelia?”

“Likely, yes. They can’t establish bases, but they’re free to come and go. I’m sure triads will touch down to trade.”

June stops chopping to wink at me. “Or to buy gossamer for their pleasure dresses.”

“June, you’re too free a spirit to go for a triad of Aurelians.”

She wipes her hands on a cloth, and her look is concerned. “Oh? So the triad is controlling?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You sort of did. Look, Adriana, I know I joke a lot. But I’ve been worried sick since the announcement. Are they treating you well?”

“They are. They have a code of honor.”

She keeps chopping, putting the veggies in neat piles. “That first kiss. Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it a little.”

“Okay. Maybe a little bit.”

“I knew it! The way he pulled himself up from the cliff and strode up to you after risking everything… Oh, that was beautiful. It’s all my friends have been talking about since. And he’s so tall. ”

“Don’t remind me. Tonight is going to be a nightmare. Where are they even going to sit? I wasn’t expecting to sit down to a family dinner with them and my dad.” I bite my lip. “I’m almost glad Oakly isn’t going to be there. That sounds horrible, I miss him, but you know his temper.”

“Oh, Oakly is going to be here. He never backs down from a fight. He’ll take a walk, cool down, chew some of that disgusting tobacco leaf, and storm back in.

He’ll want to look the three of them in the eye, show they don’t scare him.

” She finishes chopping up the veggies, cleaning the knife in the sink and plops down in Mom’s chair, which she always steals when she’s not around.

Downing her cup of tea, she gives me a long look. “Hey, cheer up Adriana. No matter how awkward dinner is, we’re a bunch of angels compared to your new in-laws.”

I visibly wince. “Let’s not go there. Please.

” The last thing I want to be thinking of right now is the Emperor triad, and Doman’s nightmare mother, Queen Jasmine.

That woman creeps me out. She looks my age, but she’s lived centuries, and if she was ever a human, the Bond has changed her.

Anyone willing to keep a pregnant woman captive lost their right to be called a member of my species in my book.

“So, you’ll be living in the royal palace on Colossus, right? Imagine that. You’re going to be a princess. A queen, even! Oh, wait. No,” she says, remembering that Queen Jasmine and her triad will live hundreds, if not thousands, more years.

“I haven’t even thought of it. To be honest, I thought they’d back out of the deal at the first ritual.”

June smiles, remembering the moment she’s obviously enamored with. “That was so romantic. Leaping over forty feet of fire for a kiss… ah,” she swoons. “You’ll hate me for it, but when he pulled himself up, I cheered. It was like something out of one of the old poems.”

In a flash, her face goes from entranced by the memory to concerned. “Those old poems never ended happily, though, did they?” She hugs her legs to her chest. “Aurelians don’t really fall in love with a woman unless she’s their Fated Mate.”

The secret is burning up inside me.

I haven’t told a soul.

The thing I love most about June is her loyalty.

She never spills a secret, not even when she found my stash of Starbliss.

I was holding it for one of my partier friends, and she pretended she didn’t even see it, even though it would be a scandal if the daughter of two wardens was caught with the drug.

“June. I’m going to tell you something. But it’s just between us, okay?”

“Between us and the tree,” she says, mimicking our childhood pact, when we’d place our hands against the living tree that our home wraps around and tell each other everything.

“This is serious.”

She gets up and places her hand against the tree. The last time we did this was over a decade ago, but I take my place beside her, pressing my hand against the trunk.

“You remember the Bond thrum story that made the news?”

She nods. “Absolutely. Jadah, from the next village over. She was the only woman on Virelia to feel it, and she took the first ship over to Colossus. She’s got a kid now, poor woman; it must have weighed a ton.” She wants to say more, but she’s waiting for me to spill whatever is on my mind.

“I felt it.”

She pulls her hand from the trunk like it caught fire. “What are you saying?” Her voice drops to an awed whisper.

“I had to keep it a secret, or my whole political career would be dead in the water. But when the Bond thrummed , I felt them, I saw them.”

“Oh Gods. Are you Bonded to them?”

“Not yet.”

Her eyes are like saucers. “That was a huge thing to drop on me before dinner.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She wraps me up in a warm hug. “Does anyone else know?”

“Not a soul.”

“You’re so lucky,” she says, and the way she’s staring at me hurts. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but she’s not looking at me as just her sister anymore. Even when I wore the Prime Minister’s uniform, it was like she didn’t see it. Now, something’s changed I can’t get back.

“What do you mean, I’m lucky?”

“I better sit down,” she says, plopping down heavily on the couch. “I mean, you’re going to live forever. That’s a stretch. But like, a thousand years. I’m going to get all wrinkly while you’re young and beautiful, forever,” she says, trailing off breathlessly.

“I’m not sure that’s the life I want, no matter how long it is,” I answer. I’ve been grappling with the implications of the Bond since I first felt them. I can’t push it down anymore. I can’t avoid it, no matter how my mind screams.

Her eyes widen, angry. “Adriana, don’t you dare say that. No way. You do it, as soon as possible. What if they get killed at war or something? You could lose it all.”

“It’s a deal with the devil. I don’t want to live a thousand years as someone else. I’ve seen how it warps your mind. Look at Queen Jasmine.”

“You’re nothing like her.”

“What if I am? What if Jasmine before the Bond wouldn’t even recognize what she became?”

“I’ve got an idea. I’ll get in touch with Jadah. She’s a friend of a friend, and she can give you a first-hand view of the Bond.”

I immediately shake my head, alarmed. Confiding in my younger sister felt like a release, but it also risked exposing dangerous information.

I’m used to keeping state secrets. She’d never reveal my secret consciously, but she could accidentally slip up.

“June, don’t change your behavior in any way.

The Aurelian Intelligence Service is cunning.

I can’t say for certain if they monitor their citizens’ communications, but they’d catch wind if someone from Virelia starts probing about the Bond. ”

“Why would that matter?”

“Their marriage is sacrificial. The triads in their armies are forbidden to chase their Mates until the war is won. If it came out that I’m their Fated Mate, it would undermine them.”

“Okay, okay. Relax. I’m just trying to help.”

“I know, June. Maybe I shouldn’t have put this on you. It wasn’t fair.”

“I’m glad you told me. I know the stakes.”

I look to the door. The happiness and peace of my home was broken when my brother stormed out, and tonight’s dinner has the potential to erupt.