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“How do I get myself into these situations?” Lexi muttered. She pulled at the high-neckline of the dress her uncle’s assistant had stuffed her into. The ornate gown pinched at her shoulders, drowning her in embroidered crystals and a white shimmering overlay. The damn thing even had a cape. Every step ended with the possibility of her tripping and falling flat on her face.

Her uncle’s hand dug into her arm. “You will not ruin this for me.”

Lexi clenched her fists at her side. When Earth first started receiving messages from deep space, Lexi hadn’t believed it. She had naively bet her best friend, Olivia, if the aliens turned out to be real, she’d marry one. Now, three months later, that was exactly what she was doing. Not that Olivia was making good on the bet, but Lexi still felt like an idiot for saying it. 

“Smile and don’t speak unless spoken to,” Uncle Grayson said as they reached a massive set of carved doors. She forced her smile to stay bright when she looked into her uncle’s cold eyes. 

Grayson Seymour, CEO of Gravitas Technologies, billionaire, and all-around asshole, had made first contact with Earth’s new visitors. When their ships had landed, he had personally greeted them, cameras at the ready to document every moment. Her uncle wanted a place in the history books and he’d gotten it. Not only for that first meeting, but for what came next, too.

Like the rest of the world, Lexi had sat glued to her TV as her uncle boarded the ship. The existence of aliens had been too surreal, let alone her relationship to the man holding Earth’s future in his hands. When his name had lit up her cell phone, Lexi couldn’t imagine why calling her would be anywhere on his to-do list. She could count on one hand how many times she’d seen him. He was one of the richest people in America, but Lexi had gone to public school and lived in a picket-fenced bungalow. Lexi never interested Uncle Grayson, especially after her dad had died of cancer when she was sixteen.

But while the Herkleians were eons ahead of Earth technologically, they still held on to more traditional values. It was customary for marriages to seal agreements, joining the two groups into one family. Uncle Grayson had never married and had no children. To have his historical alliance, he needed Lexi. But she hadn’t said yes for him. After her dad’s death, the hospital had sent her family a bill it’d take a lifetime to pay off. Olivia thought her crazy to marry an alien for money. Her mom had told her nearly the same thing, but Lexi couldn’t watch her family struggle when she had the power to change it.

“Open the doors.” At her uncle’s command, the staff snapped to attention. Lexi repressed a flinch. Asshole. The betrothal ceremony tonight was at Gravitas Technologies’ sleek headquarters in Cali. Lexi had scoffed when she’d seen the tacky, gilded envelopes he’d chosen for the event, but the location hadn’t surprised her. It was exactly the excuse her uncle needed to boost his company’s stock prices.

The doors creaked open and Lexi sucked in a deep breath. She imagined her mom, the relief on her face when the banks stopped calling, their debts paid. Uncle Grayson’s grip on her arm tightened, cutting off the circulation at her elbow, but Lexi held onto her grin. Lights flared into her eyes from the garish chandeliers and the flash of cameras. The people who swarmed the stairs weren’t aliens—at least, Lexi didn’t think so—but press from top media companies. Her uncle wanted the event televised across the galaxy. The crystals on her gown caught the light and turned it into a blinding sparkle. She probably looked like a lamp. Lexi tried not to break down into hysterical laughter.

“Mr. Seymour, over here!”

“Miss Alexandra, you look beautiful!” 

“Mr. Seymour, what will this alliance mean for your company?”

Her uncle raised a hand. “Thank you, thank you. No questions at this time.”

Bodyguards in black gently shoved their way through the press pool, Lexi and her uncle followed in their wake. Her face hurt from all the smiling and she’d only entered the atrium moments ago. Lexi tried to peer over a bodyguard’s shoulder. Maybe she could flag down a server for some wine.

Then she saw them.

Her jaw dropped. If her uncle didn’t still have his hand on her arm, she’d have tripped over her own skirts. She had seen the Herkleians on TV, but the screen didn’t do them any justice. They were humanoid in shape, with two legs and two arms, but the similarities ended there. Instead of skin, they had azure blue scales, iridescent and curved like the hide of a fairytale dragon. Sharp black horns protruded from their heads, some under an inch but others towering antlers. Their horns made their already-tall figures even taller. Even the females stood at over six feet. The males loomed over her uncle’s human guests. 

The females all wore elaborate ball gowns, fabric weaved into the shapes of bright flower petals and vines, but the males had simpler outfits—tight, sculpted pants and nothing else. In the place of shirts, the males wore a swatch of fabric over their shoulder, the muscles of their chests exposed. They looked like the bodybuilders Lexi tried to avoid the few times she convinced herself to go to the gym. Her mouth watered. Maybe being married to an alien wouldn’t be horrible if they looked like that. 

Within a crowd of standing Herkleians, an older-looking male and female sat on gilded thrones. The male’s hair was a purple so dark it almost looked black, swaying down to his waist like a swath of silk, whereas the female had vibrant red curls piled upon her head and weaved around her horns. The King and Queen of Herkleios, surrounded by their family. The royals stood out from the other guests, all of them in white and gold, but the king and queen shined like beacons. Gold detail that mimicked scales and glittering feathers adorned the white silk-like fabric of their robes. Upon their scaled foreheads sat crowns that speared upward into bursting halos.

Uncle Grayson stopped before the thrones and bowed as if he were a true gentleman. “King Xenobaccus, Queen Chryseis, may I present my niece, Alexandra Seymour.”

Lexi attempted her best curtsy and managed not to fall on her face. From this close, she noticed the Herkleians had slitted irises. The king’s were a bright purple, the queen’s a dark orange. Her uncle nudged her in the side, a sharp elbow. Lexi snapped her jaw shut. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties.”

The queen only glared, but the king bared sharp fangs in what Lexi hoped was their version of a smile. “Well met, Lady Alexandra.”

When he spoke, the translator at her ears buzzed. The Herkleians had provided external devices for all the guests, but Lexi would receive an injection once she left Earth for Herkleios. She swallowed. Once she left Earth. Her uncle had said she could return in a year when the courtship ended, but once she married, Lexi would be expected to stay with her husband. This was her last night on Earth.

“Your uncle has told us much about you,” the king continued.

Like what? Uncle Grayson didn’t know this first thing about Lexi. “Hopefully good things, Your Majesty.”

“Of course, of course.” The king pushed to a stand, his hand settling on the pommel of a cane decorated with a ruby-looking gem the size of her fist. In the place of fingernails, he had sharp, black claws decorated with jeweled rings. She barely stopped her jaw from dropping again. “Let me introduce my family. Or should I say, our family. A few are already enjoying the party, but you’ll meet them all soon enough.”

Lexi replied with a fake chuckle.

The king started gesturing at the Herkleians around him. Except, Lexi realized, not all were Herkleians. Most had the azure scales, black horns, and colorful hair of King Xenobaccus, but it was easy to spot who else married into the family. There was a female with green feathers instead of hair and sand-colored skin, while another male was entirely grey, almost like a living statue. Earth’s new visitors were part of an alliance of twelve planets, with the Herkleians being the undisputed leaders. Soon, Earth would be the thirteenth planet to join them.

The king introduced her to each member of his entourage. Hatria. Myrtos. Vasilax. A dozen other names she quickly forgot. She smiled and muttered a polite ‘hello’ to each of them.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Lady Alexandra, your uncle and I need to talk in private.” King Xenobaccus put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Lexi flinched. His scales were a few degrees warmer than human skin, but oddly smooth. “Please, enjoy the party.”

If only Uncle Grayson was as nice as the Herkleian king. Lexi looked over at her uncle, the only person she knew in the room, but he’d already turned from her, his focus entirely on King Xenobaccus. They strolled towards a group of humans in black suits—dignitaries and ambassadors from around the world. Her betrothal was nothing compared to the treaties and trade agreements being signed tonight.

Gentle music started, an airy sound almost like harps and lyres. Lexi wandered in the music’s direction. Both human and alien guests looked on from a distance, no one daring to approach her. Maybe she’d have stared, too, if their situations were reversed, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet anyone’s eyes. 

Smells like she’d never encountered before drifted past her nose. Her uncle hosted the party, but the Herkleians had insisted on supplying the catering. She had no idea what to expect, but Lexi hadn’t been able to stomach food since breakfast this morning. She approached the buffet. Bright but unfamiliar fruits and tiny pastry-lookalikes laid artfully on cylindrical trays, but the focus of the table was a giant, blue, hairless rabbit, spitted like a roast pig. Nothing looked familiar. Lexi had no idea what anything was, let alone how it tasted.

“You’re unfamiliar with the cuisine,” a deep voice said from behind her. “I can help you fill your plate.”

Lexi spun and met piercing ice-blue eyes. They belonged to a Herkleian male in the white and gold of royalty, his shoulder sash dotted with military medals. The intensity of his gaze caught her entirely off-guard. When her eyes met his, a warm flutter of desire sparked low in her stomach. Lexi took a deep breath to steady herself. Was it normal to feel attraction towards an alien at first sight? While not the largest in the room, he was nearly seven feet tall of lean muscles she couldn’t help but notice. Her eyes traced his broad shoulders, his menacing horns, his washboard abs. A high-tech sword-like weapon hung from his gold belt, drawing her eyes lower to the bulge of his pants. A massive bulge. She flushed and quickly re-focused on his slitted blue eyes. 

Lexi didn’t have a chance to reply before he grabbed a solid gold plate from the table and began filling it with questionable-looking food. “Um, thanks?”

“You’re quite small. Do they feed you enough here?”

Lexi went red. No one ever called her small. She could stress-eat an entire pizza on her own and did so occasionally. Lexi glanced at the rest of his family. The females were all quite curvy. Something she had initially missed with her intense focus on the males’ hard abs. “Not to be rude, but who are you?”

  “Anax.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed his warm lips to her flesh. “Crown Prince of Herkleios.”

 “Oh.” Her skin tingled where Anax touched. She sucked in a breath and tried not to faint. Her brain went to mush just standing this close to him. She tugged her hand from his. “Well, I appreciate the offer, but I’m sure I can figure it out myself.”

“I’m happy to assist.”

Lexi crossed her arms. “I’m fully capable of feeding myself.”
He growled, a rumbling sound that sounded almost like laughter. “You certainly are a strong-willed female.”

Lexi narrowed her eyes. Hot alien or not, no one talked to her like that. “I’m not some baby. I don’t need my daddy to tell me what to eat”. 

He bared his fangs, a wolfish look. “So I’m your daddy now?” 

Lexi’s cheeks flared with heat. She had not meant to say that. Lexi prayed daddy didn’t have the same alternative meaning on Herkleios that it did on Earth, but given the glint in Anax’s eyes, he understood exactly what he said. The heat in her cheeks traveled down to her chest.

Lexi ripped her gaze away from his and focused on the buffet. This was her own betrothal. She couldn’t be flirting with random Herkleian royals. She circled the buffet to put distance between them and poked at a purple pear-like fruit. The surface was fuzzy like a kiwi. She recoiled. Lexi folded her hands in front of her, trying to appear ladylike. 

Across the table, Anax glided from one end of the buffet to another. He reached across the table to spear a chunk of the meat, his abs rippling with the movement. She snapped her jaw shut and returned her attention to anything besides him. 

“Here.” He settled beside her, an arms’ length away, and held the plate for her inspection. “The best of Herkleian cuisine.”

When she didn’t reach forward, he handed her a two-pronged fork. Lexi speared the pear-like thing. It oozed green juice onto the plate. Lexi’s stomach swirled, but a citrus-sweet scent reached her nose. She hesitantly raised the fork to her mouth and took a bite. Her mouth burst with flavor, like a candied orange but better. “Wow, that’s amazing.”

“It’s a tini. Found only in the southern regions near Agafyi. My father loves to hunt in the area and has brought home much of the cuisine.”

She stabbed another kiwi-tini. “I love it.”

“I’m glad.” His eyes traced her lips, watching her chew, but she didn’t care, not at the flavor exploding across her tongue. “What’s your name?”

She blinked at him. He had introduced himself, but she had never told him her name. “Lexi.”

A commotion in the press pool grabbed Lexi’s attention. A younger Herkleian male stood in the open doorway. Unlike the other alien royals, his robes were the purest of white and instead of a bare chest, a matching tunic was in place under his shoulder swatch. He couldn’t be older than eighteen. Like human boys, he hadn’t yet hit his growth spurt, but the Herkleian version of short made him nearly six feet. His shoulders slouched under the pressure of the yelling press, but across the room, Queen Chryseis’s gaze pierced into the male. He straightened like a fire was lit under ass.

“One of your brothers?” Lexi asked Anax.

The Crown Prince didn’t answer. Lexi turned. Anax stared at the other Herkleian, something on his face. She couldn’t read the expression. She glanced back at the younger prince, a nauseous swirling in her gut. He pushed his way through the press pool with the help of her uncle’s bodyguards and stopped beside the queen, who took his hand. Together, as one, they turned to Lexi. The queen nudged the boy closer.

“Lady Alexandra.” King Xenobaccus broke from his conversation with her uncle and crossed the room to stand at the Crown Prince’s side. At her full name from the king’s lips, Anax stiffened. “Allow me to present my youngest son, Prince Phintias.”

Dread coiled in her stomach. “It’s nice to meet you?”

“Ah. Your uncle did not tell you.” King Xenobaccus bared those sharp fangs. “Worry not, Lady Alexandra. Today, you’re simply betrothed. You’ll be married once my son finishes his education. Not for many cycles of this sun. I hope this…”

The world started spinning. This was a mistake. The alien that stood in front of Lexi was just a boy. A freaking teenage boy. But the king didn’t stop talking. This was her betrothed.

Uncle Grayson had married her off to an alien child.

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