Chapter 15

Talia

Talia stood at the mention of her name. The host raised her arm to guide the spotlight, which would follow Talia as she made her way to join them onstage.

As she stepped into the aisle, a loud disruption echoed from the other side of the ballroom's doors. Heads turned toward the sound, but the clatter ceased so she resumed her journey, lifting her skirts so that she could safely climb the steps and cross the stage toward where Chancellor Abernath and the officiant waited for her. As she took her place beside them, something Montclair had said earlier in the gardens struck her.

"Standard practice is to wait ten years before presuming death."

New Horizon's council pushed for official presumption of death early because they saw that the sand in the hourglass was running low.

The ambassador said he didn't have time to read through the dossier when he was pummeling her with questions. If he didn't have time to read the dossier, then he wouldn't have had time to conduct independent research into the details she hadn't listed in her profile, either.

Like how Ryker's death was only presumed, lacking a body for confirmation.

There was no way the ambassador could've known that.

Unless . . .

She wanted to scream.

In those split seconds before she was to vow her remaining years to Chancellor Abernath as his wife, Talia's imagination ran wild. Could there be another explanation? What if this is some kind of test?

No, it's just cold feet. Think about Dawn.

"Ysander Abernath of the planet Xiridian IV, do you accept Talia Steele as your wife?"

"I do," he responded. His pupils were reduced to pinpoints in the spotlight, making his blue eyes appear creepily inhuman. They scanned her body, landing on the rise and fall of her chest.

"Will you vow to protect her daughter as your own, and to accept her people into your population without harm or discrimination?"

"I will," he licked his lips.

"Talia Steele of the generation ship New Horizon, do you accept Ysander Abernath as your husband?"

Her throat went dry.

Dawn.

"I do," she whispered.

"Will you vow to obey his leadership as you join your population with his people, keeping the betterment of Xiridian IV at the heart of this union?"

She swallowed. "I will"

The officiant took a step back into the shadows. The next part was for the bride to remove the groom's mask, so with cold, shaking fingers, Talia reached for Abernath's golden boar mask. He angled his head toward her and the tusks brushed against her hands. He grabbed her wrists, guiding them behind his head where the mask was secured by two leather cords tied together.

After fumbling with the knot for a moment, she finally loosened it and took the mask into her hands. Abernath looked at her, his skin pink and irritated from where the mask had pressed against his face all night. His cheekbones were high and proud. Deep-set crow's feet appeared around his eyes as he smiled down at her.

Next, it was his turn to unpin Talia's veil from where it was affixed in her hair, then they were expected to kiss. It was real now. Abernath placed a hand around her waist and gently pulled her toward himself. Her body shook but followed his direction forward. She steeled herself for when he leaned in, but her chin angled itself away from the path of his kiss.

Then, as his other hand cupped her cheek, no doubt to guide her face so that his mouth could meet hers, the main doors to the ballroom flew open. A disheveled man followed by three guards stumbled inside. Surprised gasps came from everywhere. A few of the women shrieked.

One of the guards lunged for the rogue, but he evaded then kicked the guard hard in the face before scrambling to his feet. He ran toward the stage, revealing a scar across his face.

It was Montclair.

"Stop!" he screamed, reaching and arm toward her.

No.

Her legs became weak and her stomach dropped. Talia slowly sunk down into her skirts, melting onto the ground as it felt like it'd disappear beneath her at any moment.

It was Ryker.

Abernath tried to help Talia up by her elbow, but she pushed him away and rushed from the stage to meet Ryker where he running down the aisle toward her. They collided into each other's arms and fell together to their knees. Talia cupped his face in her hands. She thought she'd never see it again. It was different now, tanned from sunlight and marked by a scar, but it was Ryker's. It was Ryker's dark and warm brown eyes looking back at her. His strong nose, full eyebrows, and wide smile.

Thorne Montclair was Ryker Steele. She felt it the whole time. She knew it, but she ignored it and chose Abernath instead.

Ryker leaned into her touch, closing his eyes and covering her hands with his own.

"I'm sorry," he began to cry, "Talia, I'm so sorry."

"No," her voice broke. "No, darling. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She pressed her forehead to his and sobbed. "You came back to me."

The crowd's excited murmuring surrounded them. Talia wouldn't allow for the chaos or clamoring to pull her from this moment, though. She let it all fade away and trusted in the safety of Ryker's arms. As long as she was wrapped in them, nothing bad could happen ever again.

Behind her, Princess Aloyese and Ambassador Lovelett took turns chiding the guards and shooing away anyone who got too close.

"Give them a moment, stand back!"

"You, there, find your supervisor. This is ridiculous."

"Who told you that this man was an imposter?"

They pulled back from their embrace to look at each other. It was Ryker's turn to cup Talia's face with his hand, using a thumb to wipe dry her tears. Her eyes drifted across his face, following the path of his scar. She gently traced it with her finger, stopping to linger over his lips, then Talia leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his.

When their kiss broke, Talia couldn't help but laugh with disbelief. "Well, Ambassador, if you still have a planet in need of citizens, I still have a colony ship looking for a place to go."

Ryker laughed at that and brushed a curl behind her ear. His fingertips lingered in her hair for a moment before trailing them down her neck and across her collarbone. Slowly, his smile faded.

"Talia—"

"Shhh." She placed her finger over his lip.

"No." He took her hand in his. "Talia, please listen. I came here with every intention to let you know that it was me. The time was never right, though, and when Jules told me that you have a baby now . . ."

Her brow furrowed and the corners of her lips dipped into a frown.

"My head was clouded," he continued. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Ryker, the baby, you should know?—"

All of a sudden, he was pulled away from her by Abernath. Ryker scrambled to find his footing to face the man, but Abernath's eyes were glued on Talia instead.

"I accepted your contract. We exchanged our vows. The masquerade has rules!"

His shout rose above the crowd's disarray, demanding a hush to fall over the ballroom. Red faced and drenched in sweat, he stalked toward her. Talia stood and backed away, tripping over her dress. Abernath reached for her arm, roughly shoving aside Princess Aloyese, who'd placed herself between them.

Before he could grasp Talia, he crumpled to the ground with a shriek and a heavy thud. Shouts erupted across the crowd as Ryker stood with his blaster aimed at Abernath's writhing body.

One of the guards approached Ryker warily. Her husband handed over both of his weapons then raised his hands to signal that he was done. A couple of staff members rushed to check Abernath's vitals.

"He'll be fine," Ryker explained as he cautiously made his way back to Talia. "It was only set to the third bar." He turned to face her, his dark eyes sad and still despite all the excitement.

Talia wrapped her arms around his waist and as she did, she felt his body jostle as handcuffs were placed around his wrists. She looked up, terrified.

"It's alright," he said calmly, taking her in one last time before the guards dragged him away.

She believed him. As long as Ryker was alive, everything would work itself out.

"Wait!" She rushed forward. When the guards stopped, she placed a hand on Ryker's chest and let them know, "I'm coming, too."

Talia followed as the guards continued their escort down to the brig. She ran her fingers over the valuable choker around her neck, knowing exactly what she'd use to bribe them into unlocking those cuffs so that they could depart from the Heaven's Pearl.

Even though Talia couldn't in good conscience recommend the event to others, in the end, this decennial's Orion's Masquerade had succeeded.