Starcrossed (16 page)

I opened my mouth to restate my position, but Rigel beat me to it. “Sir, I’d say M has made her wishes clear. No matter how stubbornly you refuse to believe it, she and I are bonded and you can’t just . . . undo that for political reasons.”

At the word “bonded,” both Allister and Sean scowled at Rigel.

“You’d better not mean you’ve—” Sean began, but again his uncle waved him to silence.

Advancing menacingly on Rigel, Allister snarled, “Young man, if you have done anything to compromise the Princess, I assure you there are penalties in place—”

Now it was my turn to interrupt. “Oh, stop it. Rigel hasn’t done anything to ‘compromise’ me. You guys sound like something out of a Victorian novel. Sheesh! We were bonded from the first time we touched. Hands!” I clarified quickly. “And there’s plenty of evidence that we really are bonded—most of which you’ve already heard.”
 

I looked to Shim for confirmation and he nodded.

“They’re right, Allister, for all your unwillingness to see it,” he said. “There were a dozen or more witnesses to what these two did to Faxon’s Ossian Sphere several weeks ago when Morven attacked. Nothing short of a true
graell
bond could have accomplished that, I assure you.”

But Allister snorted dismissively. “No Royals among your witnesses, of course, only people with a vested interest in raising the profile of the Progressive
fines
. I maintain that the Sphere was fundamentally unstable and that Morven’s mishandling caused it to explode. Not that I’m ungrateful for the role all of you played in defending our Princess against him, of course.”

Rigel was trembling with anger now, then I clearly heard:
Let’s demonstrate
.
 

Startled, I glanced at him. Did he really mean we should zap Allister, right here in his parents’ living room?
 

He gave me a tiny nod, his expression grimmer than I’d ever seen it. The idea of deliberately attacking another person, even one as obnoxious as Allister, made me recoil, but I was as desperate as Rigel to finally
prove
our bond—to Allister and to Sean. Steeling my resolve, I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on Rigel’s hand. Maybe, if we were careful—

“Rigel.” It was Dr. Stuart, her voice soft but firm. “Don’t.”
 

“Your mother is right,” Shim said. “Violence is never the proper answer. Any kind of violence. Let go of M’s hand and come over here, please.”
 

How had they known? I felt Rigel’s frustration, but also a bit of relief that echoed my own. He was still angry, though, and afraid, just like I was. After a long, rebellious moment, during which everyone in the room stared at us with varying degrees of disapproval, Rigel finally, reluctantly, released my hand and took a few steps away from me.
 

We exchanged a long look, silently reaffirming our love, then I turned to face Allister again.

“It won’t make any difference if you try to keep us apart,” I told him. “I’m not going to let you force me into some perverted arranged marriage. We’re in the United States, in the twenty-first century, and I’m only fifteen. Things like that are illegal here.”

Allister tried to arrange his face into some semblance of a fatherly smile—failing utterly, as far as I was concerned.
 

“Of course no one is going to
force
you into any such thing, Princess,” he said, his tone as reasonable as he could make it. “I simply want you and my nephew to become better acquainted. It may be that when the time comes—years from now—you will find the idea anything but repugnant. Teenage relationships are notoriously short-lived, after all. I’m confident this one will run its course naturally, removing what you now, in your inexperienced youth, see as an insurmountable obstacle.”

 
Sean now looked more embarrassed than pissed, but when Allister nudged him, he stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Like he said, M, the
last
thing I want is to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do. I just . . . want us to be friends. To stay friends. That will be okay, won’t it?”

He looked sincere, even cute. My glance involuntarily strayed to Rigel, who looked like his grandfather’s hand on his shoulder was the only thing keeping him from launching himself at Sean. He was obviously
not
on board with even friends, but I didn’t see how I could refuse such an innocuous-sounding request.

“Friends is fine,” I finally said. “But
just
friends. I’m telling you right up front that it’s never going to be anything more.”

A little to my surprise, Sean didn’t seem upset by that. “It’s all I’m asking,” he said.
 

I suspected there was an unspoken “for now” in there, but if he was determined to cling to false hope, I couldn’t stop him. All I could do was remind him where my true love and loyalty lay, every chance I got.

Suddenly, Mrs. O’Gara came to life. “I’m so glad we finally have this settled! Allister, I should have known you’d make a right hash of things, with your high-handed attitude and your ultimatums. None of this will become truly important for years and years, you know, so there was no need whatsoever to upset the children tonight.”
 

She gave me a motherly smile that was meant to be comforting, but I couldn’t help looking past her to the Stuarts. They didn’t look nearly as complacent as the O’Garas did, though they seemed less upset than before. Dr. Stuart caught my eye and smiled reassuringly, but I thought it looked a little forced.

“And now, I suppose we’d better get Emileia home, hadn’t we?” Mrs. O’Gara continued. “Goodness, it’s after eleven o’clock! I hope your aunt won’t be too upset with us, dear.”

After tonight’s revelations, that should have been the least of my worries, but I winced out of habit, knowing how mad she’d be—and not at the O’Garas.
 

“Yeah, I guess I really should get home,” I mumbled, feeling like a wimp for agreeing.
 

“Thank you for coming tonight, M,” Mr. Stuart said then, the first words he’d spoken since Allister dropped his bombshell. “I’m sorry things became so . . . awkward.” He sounded like he was barely controlling some strong emotion.

“Thanks for inviting me.” I encompassed Rigel and his parents with as pleasant a smile as I could summon under the circumstances, not wanting them to worry about me. “It was a great party. I’ll . . . see you all soon.”

Rigel took a step toward me at the same time I took a step toward him, but his grandfather didn’t let go of his shoulder—and Mrs. O’Gara put a hand on mine.

“We’d better hurry, dear.” I was pretty sure I wasn’t imagining the anxiety in her voice. I was also pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with Aunt Theresa getting pissed.

Rigel and I weren’t even going to be allowed a good-night kiss? My gaze locked with his.
See you tomorrow?
I thought at him as clearly as I could.
 

He gave me an almost imperceptible nod, but I also heard the word,
Somehow
. Like he didn’t think it would be that easy. I hoped he was wrong.

No one spoke as we walked out to the O’Garas’ van. Molly still seemed afraid to look at me, and I was careful to keep my distance from Sean. But when we got in, I somehow ended up sandwiched between the two of them in the back seat. I resolutely ignored the tingle from Sean, about three times stronger than the one from Molly.

As Mr. O’Gara started the engine, Sean cleared his throat. “M, I’m really sorry. I begged Uncle Allister not to say anything about this. I knew it would freak you out.”

Before I could decide how to reply, Mrs. O’Gara twisted around in her seat to face me. “Yes, dear, I need to apologize for my brother. Allister handled this extremely poorly and we’re all sorry about that. No one wanted you upset, I promise you.”

I glanced at Molly, still silent and still not looking at me, then at Sean, then back to Mrs. O’Gara. “But you knew? All of you knew, this whole time?” I knew I sounded accusatory, but I couldn’t help it. I
felt
accusatory!

Mrs. O’Gara nodded. “We’ve known since you were born, dear. Of course, like everyone else, we thought you’d been killed along with your parents when you were small.”

“Molly?” I asked. She gave me one quick, distressed glance before looking away again, but it answered my question—and it hurt, because I’d really, truly thought we were becoming friends. I’d told her most of
my
secrets, after all.
 

I turned to Sean. “And you?”

He at least had the courage to meet my eye, though he was clearly uncomfortable. “Yeah. I grew up knowing that if you’d lived, we’d eventually, um . . . But you have to believe I never meant to spring it on you like this!”
 

I couldn’t think of anything else to say. The very idea that they’d all been . . .
conspiring
, while acting oh-so innocent every time I’d been to their house over the past two weeks, made me feel both betrayed and foolish. Not that I could possibly have known.
 

Had Rigel suspected? He’d always seemed more jealous of Sean than I’d thought reasonable at the time. And Sean’s animosity toward Rigel was now completely explained. He must have come to Jewel practically thinking of me as his property! That thought made me even angrier, but I seethed in silence.

“Here we are,” Mr. O’Gara announced a few minutes later, pulling into my driveway. “Lili, would you like to go to the door with M to explain why she’s so late?”

Sean climbed out of the back seat so I could follow, then hesitated.
 

“No, dear, you stay in the car,” his mother told him. He obeyed without question. Not the first time he’d surprised me tonight.

I opened the front door a moment later, hoping against hope that Aunt Theresa had already gone to bed, but I wasn’t that lucky. She stormed out of the kitchen almost the second I stepped over the threshold.

“Young lady, do you have any idea—” she began, then spotted Mrs. O’Gara and immediately became less strident, though she still looked angry. “Oh, hello, Lili. I didn’t realize—”

“Theresa, I came in to apologize for bringing Marsha home so terribly late. You know how young people can be when they’re having fun, totally losing track of the time. We suggested she come home with us, as we were all leaving and we live so close by.”

“Thank you, Lili. I should have known not to depend on Dave Morrison. He lets his daughter wrap him around her finger. Missy, you are lucky we have conscientious neighbors who don’t allow
their
children to stay out till all hours.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I mumbled, since there was no way I could explain exactly how much this
wasn’t
my fault.
 

And instead of making up some excuse that would let me off the hook, Mrs. O’Gara just patted me on the shoulder and said, “Speaking of which, I’d better get my two home before they fall asleep. Will we see you at church tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Aunt Theresa was all smiles now. “And thank you again, Lili. Good night.”

With a nod and a last, motherly smile at me, Mrs. O’Gara left.

The second the door was closed, Aunt Theresa rounded on me, her smile disappearing as though it had never existed as she prepared to lower the boom.

Rigel
(RY-jel):
Orion’s left foot

Wow. Happy birthday to me.
 

The second the door shuts behind M and the O’Garas, I shake Grandfather’s hand off my shoulder.
 

“Is this how it’s going to be now? I can’t even say goodnight to M? Will you homeschool me, too, so I can’t see her at all?”

“Of course not, Rigel,” my father says. “Nothing needs to change that drastically. Does it?” He directs the question at Allister, which pisses me off even more.

“We can’t have the boy interfering with affairs of state. This pairing will go a long way toward reassuring those who question the suitability of a Sovereign raised on Earth.”

“
Pairing?
” I explode. “So much for
just friends
.”

“Precisely what do you have in mind, Allister?” my mother asks before I can continue. She doesn’t look happy either. “M—and Sean—are far too young for pairing, as you yourself admitted. Even if they were so inclined.”

Allister puts on his usual, superior look. “Not to worry, Ariel. I simply meant what I stated earlier—that the Princess and my nephew will spend time together, as they would have on Mars had Faxon never existed. As our Sovereigns’ heirs and their Consorts have always done. Why does this come as such a surprise to everyone?”

I swing around to face my parents and grandfather. “Did you know? That M would be expected to—”

Mom cuts me off again. “We didn’t know until tonight, Rigel. Not about Sean. Sovereigns have always been expected to make certain alliances of course, and we did worry that could pose a problem eventually. But Allister never mentioned that his
own nephew
was the one intended for her. Rather a glaring oversight, I can’t help thinking.” She narrows her eyes at Allister. I’m glad I’m not the only one pissed at him.

“I didn’t want to alarm the Princess or prejudice her against her destined Consort by an injudicious word, and I felt certain that anything I shared with any of you would quickly reach her ears. I wanted to explain the importance of the pairing to her before that could happen.”

“You seem to have failed in that goal rather spectacularly, Allister,” my grandfather says, the lines in his face deepening with disapproval. “Perhaps had you ever raised children of your own, you might have handled this better.”

Allister just waves a hand in the air. “No doubt the O’Garas will soothe any ruffled feelings. I saw more to lose than to gain by waiting. Already, this boy has wormed his way into her affections to an alarming degree.”

“Wormed—!” I turn to glare at my grandfather. “I shouldn’t have let you stop me.”
 

“Of course we had to stop you, Rigel,” my mother says. “Once you calm down, you’ll realize why. You may even thank us eventually.”