Page 31 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)
Chapter
Thirty-One
Sasha
T he inclinator whispered through the station’s interior, carrying Reina and me toward the Promenade level where we were supposed to select wedding flowers.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Deklyn. My mind whirled with thoughts of how he’d held me through my nightmare, the reverent touch of his hands, the vulnerability in his eyes when he’d asked if I was certain, the way his eyes had gone dark when I’d fisted his cock.
How was I supposed to pretend to be engaged to him now, when part of me desperately wanted it to be true?
The lie felt worse knowing that he wasn’t just some convenient ally whose heart I could toss aside when this was over.
I’d never intended to fall for a cocky Drexian warrior, but the game had gotten away from me.
“The guest list is coming together just like we discussed,” Reina said, her voice bright with enthusiasm. “Earth dignitaries, military officers, media personalities. Everyone who’s anyone will be here. Serge is beside himself.”
I made appropriate sounds of agreement while my mind wandered back to the way Deklyn had looked at me when we were lying in bed, like I might disappear if he blinked too hard.
“You know,” Reina continued, studying my face with those large, knowing eyes, “there’s something different about you today. You have a glow.”
The observation sent heat flooding my cheeks. Was it that obvious?
The inclinator came to a stop, and the doors slid open to reveal the Promenade. The intoxicating aroma of coffee drifted from the cafe where I’d introduced Deklyn to cold brew, mixing with the scents of fresh bread and sugar from the bakery.
We made our way toward a shop with large bay windows that brimmed with colorful blooms. Roses in shades from the deepest burgundy to palest pink, spilled from a massive urn along with ivory calla lilies and exotic white orchids. I wondered what flowers I’d choose if this were all real.
Before we could enter the shop, a familiar voice called my name.
“Sasha!”
I turned to see Ariana rushing toward us, her short brown hair bouncing as she practically tackled me in a fierce embrace. The force of it nearly knocked me backward, but I stayed upright as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Are you crazy?” she whispered directly into my ear, her voice so low that only I could hear it.
My blood turned to ice. I pulled back to look at her face, scanning the Promenade to make sure she was alone. No sign of Volten or any of the other Academy crew, which was a small mercy.
Reina, ever perceptive, quickly took charge of the situation. “Let’s step inside where we can have some privacy,” she said smoothly, guiding us both into the flower shop.
The interior was a riot of color and fragrance, with blooms in arrangements on nearly every surface and steel buckets of single blossoms lining one wall. An alien approached us wearing a long apron, his multiple arms waving excitedly.
“The bride needs a moment,” Reina told him. “But why don’t you show me your latest arrivals?”
The florist hesitated but then turned his excitement to Reina, tugging her with him as he started telling her about the shipment of Andorian humming flowers.
Ariana immediately rounded on me, her eyes narrowed.
“What’s really going on?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know you too well to believe that you’d get engaged this fast, especially to Deklyn. You told me he drives you crazy.”
I felt defensive heat rise in my chest. “He doesn’t drive me crazy in a bad way,” I said, which was true enough.
“I know you, Sash,” she said. “And I know when you’re up to something. You’d better tell me the truth before our father arrives and figures out that you’re up to something.”
My blood ran cold. Our father. In all my planning, in all my focus on drawing Earth’s military hierarchy to the Island, I’d somehow pushed the reality of my father’s presence to the back of my mind.
General Marcus Bowman, a career military officer and the man who’d made our childhood a constant competition for his approval.
If I couldn’t fool my sister, how was I supposed to fool a man trained to interrogate enemies and read people for weaknesses?
“Dad’s coming?” I asked weakly, though I already knew the answer.
Of course, he was coming. A high-profile wedding between an Earth pilot and a Drexian warrior would be exactly the political spectacle that would draw his attention.
I knew the fact that I was his daughter was secondary, but would certainly add to the reasons he couldn’t miss it.
“I found out from Admiral Zoran,” Ariana confirmed. “He confirmed, along with about half of Earth Planetary Defense Command. This is going to be the most watched wedding in history.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d gotten exactly what I wanted. All the important military figures would be gathered in one place where I could confront them with the evidence of their betrayal. But I hadn’t fully considered the personal cost of maintaining the deception in front of my father.
“Ariana,” I started, then stopped. How could I explain I was using my wedding as bait in a trap for war criminals? How could I tell her that the sister she’d risked everything to save was now risking everything for revenge?
“I need you to trust me,” I said finally. “I know it seems sudden, I know it makes little sense from the outside, but?—”
“But what?” she interrupted. “But you’ve suddenly fallen madly in love with a man who irritated you a few days ago?
You’ve decided to have the most public wedding possible after never caring about spectacles like weddings?
And you’re asking me to smile and play along with something that feels wrong in every way? ”
Each word was like a small knife, precise and cutting.
She was right. It didn’t make sense, not from her perspective.
The sister she’d rescued wouldn’t have rushed into marriage with someone she barely knew.
The Sasha she remembered would have wanted time to heal, space to recover, and privacy to process her trauma.
She wouldn’t be planning a society wedding.
“Please,” I whispered, reaching for her hands. “Just trust me. I promise I know what I’m doing.”
Ariana studied my face for a long moment, her expression cycling through frustration, worry, and something that might have been fear.
“I hope you do,” she said finally. “Because Dad’s going to be a lot harder to convince than I am. And if you’re lying to me about this, if you’re putting yourself in some kind of danger for reasons I don’t understand...”
She didn’t finish the threat, but she didn’t need to. I could see the determination in her eyes, the same stubborn protectiveness that had driven her to mount a rescue mission.
If she figured out what I was really doing, she’d try to stop me. And I couldn’t let that happen.
Not when I was so close to getting the justice I needed.