Page 23 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Deklyn

I was heading back toward our fantasy suite, eager to talk to Sasha about how my meeting with Captain Kalex had gone, when a blur of purple hair and flailing limbs intercepted me in the corridor.

“Deklyn!” Serge exclaimed, spinning me around with surprising strength for someone his size. “Perfect timing! I have the most marvelous news!”

Before I could protest, he was steering me toward an open inclinator, his hands gesticulating wildly as he chattered with unstoppable enthusiasm.

“The interest I’m building up for your wedding is absolutely astronomical,” he said, practically vibrating with excitement as the inclinator doors shut and the compartment moved.

“I’ve already spoken to Mandy on the Boat—she handles a lot of the tribute bride program there, you know—and she’s absolutely thrilled about the coverage potential. ”

The inclinator whisked us through the station’s interior, and I caught glimpses of other levels through the transparent sections.

“She’s reached out to her contacts in Los Angeles,” Serge continued, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“Between you and me, she has lots of contacts in Hollywood who are trying to make up to her after being rather dismissive before she became a famous tribute bride. Amazing how success changes people’s attitudes, isn’t it? ”

I made a noncommittal sound, not sure I wanted to know the details of whatever drama had played out in Earth’s entertainment industry.

“The point is,” Serge said, his voice rising with excitement again, “Mandy is having an Earth TV crew come to the Island to livestream the wedding and broadcast it around the world! Can you imagine? Billions will see your love story!”

The thought of billions of people watching our fake wedding made my stomach churn, but I forced myself to remember that this was exactly what Sasha wanted. Maximum visibility meant maximum pressure on the Earth officials she was trying to draw out.

“That’s incredible work, Serge,” I managed.

He beamed at the praise, his purple hair seeming to spike even higher with pride. “Oh, this is just the beginning! Wait until you see what I have planned for the actual ceremony!”

The inclinator came to a stop, and we stepped out onto what Serge had called the Promenade.

The space looked like an upscale shopping district from Earth, complete with tree-lined walkways, elegant storefronts, and charming cobblestone paths that belonged in a fairy tale rather than a space station.

Savory scents filled the air and made my mouth water. I recognized the aroma of freshly baked bread along with a rich, complex scent I didn’t recognize.

“That’s coffee you’re smelling,” Serge said, noticing my confusion. “The humans insisted on getting the real thing for the coffee shop after the reveal, even though it’s not nearly as filled with protein as our Drexian substitute. Humans and their peculiar dietary preferences.”

I looked around the Promenade, taking in the mixture of pretty human females and eager Drexian warriors who strolled the pathways together.

Some couples looked completely comfortable with each other, while others still seemed to be navigating the complexities of inter-species romance.

It was an interesting social experiment, this whole tribute bride program.

For a moment, I let my mind wander. What would it be like if Sasha and I were actually planning to marry?

What would it feel like to wake up beside her every morning, to build a real life together instead of maintaining an elaborate charade?

The thought of her dark hair spread across a pillow, of lazy mornings spent talking over breakfast, of having the right to touch her whenever I wanted.

“Deklyn!”

I was so lost in my fantasy that I thought I was imagining her voice. But then I turned and saw Sasha approaching with Reina, both women smiling brightly.

“There you are!” Serge clapped his hands together when he spotted Reina. “Perfect! We need to discuss our respective to-do lists. I have venues to coordinate, and you have guest accommodations to arrange, and we simply must synchronize our efforts!”

As he pulled Reina aside, gesturing enthusiastically at a tablet he produced from a mysterious pocket in his fuchsia suit, Sasha tugged on my sleeve.

“Come on,” she said, steering me toward the nearest shop. “We need to talk.”

The shop she pulled me inside was the nexus of the pungent aroma Serge had called coffee.

Wooden chairs surrounded small round tables, large upholstered chairs circled a crackling fireplace, and the walls were decorated with what looked like vintage Earth posters.

The squealing and hissing of large steel machines interrupted the soft music playing in the background.

“I talked to Ariana,” she said once she’d steered me to a table by the window. “I think she believed me, but she’s suspicious. She knows me too well to believe that I suddenly fell head over heels for you.”

“Flattering,” I said dryly.

“She’s coming though,” Sasha continued, ignoring my sarcasm. “At least, I assume she it. I invited her and Volten, plus everyone else from the Academy who worked on the rescue mission. Admiral Zoran and his wife too.”

A young alien female with bright pink hair and lavender skin approached our table. “What can I get you two lovebirds?”

Of course, she assumed we were an engaged couple. Why wouldn’t we be, since that was the purpose of the station?

“Two cold brew iced coffees,” Sasha said without consulting me. “And maybe a couple of slices of coffee cake.”

“That is a lot of coffee,” I muttered, wondering what a coffee-flavored cake would taste like.

She grinned at me. “It’s only called coffee cake because you eat it with coffee. It’s actually very sweet and cinnamony.”

I didn’t know what that meant either, but I remembered I also had news to share. “I spoke to Captain Kalex. And I should probably contact my brother personally rather than leaving him to find out through official channels.”

“The station captain?” Sasha asked, leaning forward with interest.

“He’s very supportive of our wedding plans,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Apparently, he thinks the publicity will be good for Drexian-Earth relations. And Serge’s told me that he’s arranged for a TV crew from Earth to livestream our wedding.”

Her eyes lit up with satisfaction. “So far, the plan is working perfectly.”

The barista returned with two tall glasses filled with dark liquid and ice, along with a plate of cake topped with brown spice. I took a cautious sip of the coffee and immediately regretted it.

The beverage was bitter, harsh, and completely unlike anything I’d ever tasted. My face must have reflected my shock because Sasha burst into laughter.

“Your expression!” she gasped. “It’s like you just drank poison!”

“Humans actually enjoy this?” I asked, staring at the glass with suspicion.

“Love it,” she said, taking a long drink of her own coffee with obvious pleasure. “If you’re going to be my fake husband, you’ll need to learn to appreciate morning coffee. It’s a crucial part of the human experience.”

The casual way she said “fake husband” stung more than it should have, but I thought that I could probably learn to like a lot of things about life with her. Even if the strange bitter drink might not be one of them.

“I’ll work on it,” I said, taking another experimental sip and trying not to wince.

“You’ll like the cake more,” she promised, nudging the plate toward me.

I tore off a bite of the crumbly cake and popped it into my mouth, instantly pleased by the explosion of sweetness on my tongue. “Coffee cake is a vast improvement over coffee.”

She laughed, taking her own bite of cake and releasing a small moan of pleasure. “You’re not totally wrong.”

For a moment, the pretense fell away. There was something genuinely affectionate in her expression, something that made me wonder if maybe the line between fake and real was blurrier than either of us wanted to admit.

But then the moment passed, and she was back to business, discussing logistics and timelines and all the practical details of pulling off the deception of a lifetime.

I listened and nodded and tried to focus on the mission. But part of me was still thinking about lazy mornings and coffee and what it would be like to make her laugh like that every day.

Even if the coffee would probably kill me.