She scolded herself. She couldn’t trap Keirth and force him to let her come along with him. She’d only make him resent her in the end. Still, it was infuriating, lying next to him, knowing she felt something for him, and knowing that he was planning on getting rid of her as soon as he could.
“So, we’ll leave tomorrow?” she said.
“You’re awake,” said Keirth.
“I can’t sleep.”
“I was afraid you’d left for bed because I’d done something that made you angry. I seem to do that a lot,” he said.
“No,” she said. “I suppose I was realizing that once we had a ship, you were going to send me back to the sector. And I don’t want to go.”
“I did make you angry,” said Keirth. “I knew it.”
“Not you, exactly. The situation,” she said.
“I can’t take you with me back to Kush,” said Keirth. “I can’t let you help me find Risciter. It’s too dangerous. It wouldn’t be right.”
She sighed heavily. Was there no way he’d change his mind?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t like thinking about you getting hurt. I really don’t like it.”
“I haven’t been hurt so far,” she said.
“Drugged, tied up, nearly raped, almost eaten by gellococcus... Yeah, it’s been a very safe little expedition.”
“Well, what do you care anyway? You can’t take me back there. You just can’t.”
“We’ll talk about this in the morning,” he said.
“Are you going to change your mind in the morning?”
“I doubt it.”
“Then what’s the point?”
There was a muffled sort of banging noise. She was pretty sure that Keirth had just punched a cushion. His head appeared over the cushion barrier, staring down at her. “Before we came here, I had no idea that you were so...” He looked away, searching for words. “So beautiful and poised. More than ever, I can’t let Risciter get his hands on you. So I will make sure you’re safe. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. Do you understand?”
He thought she was beautiful? Really?
There was a knock at the door.
Ariana sat up. Who could be knocking? Why would they knock?
“It’s Freetha,” said a voice from outside the door. “Let me in. It’s important.”
Both Ariana and Keirth got out of bed. Keirth lit a lamp. Ariana hurled the cushions onto the floor. She couldn’t let Freetha see they were sleeping with a barrier between them. Ariana ran to the door and opened it. “Freetha?”
Freetha looked anxiously up and down the hallway, checking to see if anyone was watching before scurrying inside the room. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”
Keirth was sitting on the edge of the bed. He’d removed his shirt to sleep, apparently. His chest was bare. Ariana gaped at him. He was so...strong. His shoulders were wide, and his muscles seemed to bulge conspicuously. She swallowed and tore her eyes away from him.
“What’s wrong, Freetha?” she asked.
Freetha looked from Keirth to Ariana and back again. “You two are married, aren’t you?”
Keirth looked at the floor.
“Of course,” said Ariana. What was this about?
“But you haven’t been married for a year,” said Freetha. She looked sad.
“What are you talking about?” said Ariana.
Freetha took a net tablet out of one of her pockets. She switched it on and handed it to Ariana. “My Father saw it. We don’t spend much time here concerning ourselves with what goes on in the sector or even on the colony planets, but we do try to stay informed. So, when my Father checked the nets, he saw this. And he said he knew that someone like Keirth couldn’t actually be married to someone like you.”
Ariana sat down on the bed next to Keirth, staring at the tablet. It was a news item. The headline read, “Daughter of Duke Captured and Terrorized.” There was a huge picture of her. She scanned the article and then handed it to Keirth, her heart racing. Risciter was alive. She’d thought she killed him, but he was alive. She was both relieved and horrified at the same time.
“I don’t believe it,” said Freetha. “Keirth isn’t the kind of person they describe there. He doesn’t have you here against your will. He isn’t—”
“‘Viciously raped’?!” Keirth read from the article. He stood up. “How dare Risciter accuse me of that?”
“They’ve got his story now,” said Ariana. “They won’t believe mine.”
“He didn’t really kidnap you, did he?” said Freetha. “You two eloped, right? You were so in love, and they wouldn’t let you get married that you took matters into your own hands.”