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“To family, as it is, as it was, and as it will be,” she says, her eyes finding the ancestor tree as she raises her glass to those who came before us.

The curved table wraps around the enormous trunk in the center of our home, and I lean forward, clinking my glass with the only ones I can reach, my triad, before everyone takes a sip then tucks into the food with my dad’s blessing.

It tastes like home. I can almost forget the ridiculousness of the most awkward family dinner in history as I savor the meat, perfectly cooked, with June’s special touch of spices. June’s watching the Aurelians expectantly, waiting for their judgment of the cooking.

“This is incredible,” says Doman.

“Really? Don’t you all have the best cooks in the world in your palace on Colossus?” says June.

“Not quite. We’re missing your mom,” he says, and to my shock, my mom blushes a little at the praise.

“June helped, of course,” says my mom, and Doman raises his glass.

“To the cooks, and to your hospitality.”

We all drink another sip, though Oakly’s is more of a gulp. He pours himself more, then casts his ire at the triad’s half-full glasses. “Barely touched your wine. Sorry if it’s not up to your royal standards.”

Doman flicks his eyes over to him. He’s been patient, but even he has his limits. The Aurelian prince is over two feet taller than my brother, who’s always been a physical specimen. He’s not used to being utterly dwarfed, and it grates on him, the presence of the aliens a constant insult.

“It’s excellent. Would you give me the name of the vineyard?”

Oakly reaches forward to the bottle, turning it so the label faces away from Doman. “It’s Virelian. It should be drunk here.”

“Oakly…” starts my mom, aghast, embarrassed.

I could have told her what was going to happen when she invited the three of the triad.

The only thing I wasn’t expecting was how restrained the princes would be.

Titus is the most tense, but he glances over at me and sees my pleading look and takes a deep breath in to relax himself.

“Our best wine would be cooking wine in their palace,” says Oakly, sourly, but in a quieter voice.

There’s a cold, awkward silence, broken only by the sound of chewing. Titus reaches forward, getting another helping of meat and vegetables.

“So, first impressions of Virelia?” says my dad, trying to break the awkward silence.

“A beautiful planet. With a beautiful ecosystem.”

Oakly’s hand clenches into a fist. “One invasive species could destroy it all,” he snarls, his voice slightly slurred.

“Is this how Virelians treat their guests?” Titus leans in.

He’s had enough. He stares straight at my brother, his slate-gray eyes staring through his soul.

His black, unruly curls flank his marble face, and he is cold and focused, like when I walked into their throne room after they got the terrible news from the battlegrounds.

“That’s my sister you’re going to wed. My family. You might not know what that means, since you two were born into a vat. You’re not from nature. And you don’t fucking belong here.”

“Oakly!” my mom says, as my brother stands to his full height. He’s at eye level with the sitting Aurelians.

“Oakly, I can take care of myself.”

He slams his fist against the table. “You three, you land on my planet, my home, and you just think you can…” He’s wild eyed, looking around the table to find an ally and seeing none.

Doman’s bright blue eyes flash to me, then my brother. “We will abstain from the wedding ritual tomorrow, if that is Adriana’s wish.”

There’s a heavy silence, everyone ensnared, waiting for his next words.

“By the agreement she made, Pentaris will keep every benefit of the union, and we will forfeit everything. We are more than halfway through your system. The fastest way out will be where we are going, and we won’t return, if that is her wish. ”

The silence is intense. Oakly’s brows furrow. “What trick is this? Somewhere in the pages of negotiations you’ve got a poison pill?”

“I give my word of honor. You may hate me. But you know that it is bound in stone.”

Oakly laughs, shaking his head in wonder, and takes another drink, this time celebratory. “Bloody hell. That sounds great to me. You can start by getting the hell out of my home.”

“They’re not going anywhere.” I stand, staring my brother down, as all eyes turn to me. My heart is pounding faster than facing down the five planets when I need to sway their votes on an unpopular motion.

“What are you talking about? You’re free. He’s made a massive blunder.”

“They didn’t force me into the marriage proposal. My own planets did that. My own people.”

Oakly’s eyes widen. “Adriana, this is what’s best for Pentaris. You’ll be a hero, the Prime Minister who won against the Aurelian Empire.”

I sit down, smoothing my dress. “What is best for Pentaris is for Obsidian to be eradicated. As fast as possible. He is a rabid dog who needs to be put down. Our union is the best way to ensure this.” I reach out and place my hand into Titus’. He squeezes softly.

Oakly is stunned. “Don’t sacrifice yourself for this.”

I shake my head. “This is no sacrifice. This is my choice.”

Oakly finally gets it. It hits him like a bolt of lightning - that even when I was given a clear out, I’ve plunged headlong in, without hesitation. I surprised myself by how quickly I dismissed the thought of kicking the alien species out of Pentaris.

He has to hold on to his chair for support. He looks over at the three Aurelians, a bemused expression replacing his hostility as his world is turned on its head. “Well. Bloody hell. Alright boy, finish up. If you want to marry my sister, you’re going to have to pass the test.”

Titus squeezes my hand and laughs, low and rumbly. “More tree climbing?” All the tension is gone from his voice.

Oakly grins. “Aye. More tree climbing. But this time, after we drink something a little stronger. We’ll see how good you are when you’re seeing double.

You’re coming with me to the ranger hall, and we’ll see how you do drinking against Virelians.

” He turns to my mom. “Mom, I know you have some clear root. Can you brew us up a tea?”

My mom throws her hands up, but I can see that she’s relieved by Oakly’s shift in attitude. “We’ve been over this. You want to get wasted with your ranger friends, the hangover is the price.”

“You want us four to show up to Adriana’s sacred planting stinking of grog and with headaches? Oy, Doman, can your magic med-bays kill a hangover?”

Doman smiles. “They can. The ship’s bays are currently being used by Virelians during our stay—but I’ve got a private one in our residences.”

My mom sighs, but though on the surface there’s annoyance, her lips curl up in a smile. “No, no. I’ll make the clear root tea. But this is the last time, Oakly, I swear.” She makes her way to the kitchen, putting on the water to boil.

“Clear root tea?” asks Gallien.

“It’s magic,” answers Oakly. “No matter how much you drink, you wake up clearheaded and full of energy.”

Titus reaches forward, grabbing his wine glass, and downs it in a gulp. The glass looks tiny in his giant hand, and he sets it down. “Well then. This is going to bring me back to my Academy days, when Lukas hid a distillery in the basement.”

Doman winces. “Which got caught within a month…”

“What happened then?” asks June, rapt at attention. She’s eager for any crumb of info about life on Colossus.

Titus laughs. “One of the students… what was his name again?”

“Talon,” says Gallien.

“Yeah, Talon. Couldn’t hold his alcohol. He showed up to training still drunk. The entire class had to run laps until we collapsed, in the hot sun. You try doing a forty-kilometer run hungover. We could have used some of that clear root.”

“Oh, the drill instructor was sadistic. We went to get water, dragging ourselves in the sand, and he spiked it with the moonshine. I didn’t drink for twenty years after that.” Gallien sighs and lifts his glass, swirling the red liquid. “Let me guess, tonight’s going to be brutal.”

“You can bet on that,” says Oakly, watching the Aurelians carefully.

He’s got one goal tonight—figure out why I didn’t back out of the marriage when I had a clean way out.

My mom comes around with teacups filled with tea that looks almost like water, except for a light silver glow, and the four of them cheers and down them in a gulp.

“Be careful tonight,” I say to Doman, which feels rather silly, because he’s a man who has thrown himself into battle. I know he can handle a group of drunk rangers challenging them to shots.

“Of course,” he says, leaning down and giving me a gentle kiss on the cheeks, chaste in front of my family. Then the four of them leave, Oakly’s loud voice fading away as they depart.

I sit down, shaking my head. June catches my eye. “That is not how I expected dinner to go down,” she says.

“I was expecting a blow-up,” I answer, pushing my empty plate away. “I wasn’t expecting Oakly to invite them to the ranger hall.”

My mom smiles. “I had a feeling he would come around.”

“How did you know?”

“Because you wanted us at the ceremony tomorrow. If you really hated the Aurelians, you would have gotten it over with.”

“Ever thought about being a diplomat?”

“I’ve got my hands full with the forests. We need good people here.”

“You want some help cleaning up?” asks June.

“No, no. You two have fun,” she says, and June grabs a bottle of wine and two glasses, grinning at me to come upstairs. I follow her up the stairs to her room next to mine.