Exit Strategy (Tales Of The Citadel #58)(11)

She stayed in until she was relaxed and then stood, draining the tub while the Masuo formed a soft robe around her.

The knock at the door came a moment after she had begun to brush out her hair.

Li was standing in the hall with a long gown over one arm.

“Please, come in.” Yna stepped aside to let Li enter.

“This is what we will be wearing for the first ritual. We will line up in order of skin colour and proceed across the floor of the temple until we reach the end. When we get to the far side, we will line up with the lightest-skinned one being next to the bride. During all of the seal and singing ceremonies, you will hold her wreath and bouquet. It is quite the honour.”

“Who would have done it if I wasn’t there?”

“Kimettel Lafui. She is dangerous but stupid.”

“Can you hold up the gown?”

“Sure. If Nialloa says she can get you a new gown, she can definitely do it.”

The gown was black, and the upper portion was delicate and intricate lace that would cover what was necessary and let the other portions of skin glow through. The scars would definitely show if she wore it. The skirt was flowing silk and very dramatic, starting low on the hips to leave nothing else to the imagination. The tight silk would outline over half of her body.

“Delightful. Well, I think I can manage a good replica if necessary.”

“Is that your talent?”

Yna was startled. “Uh, no. I have Masuo.”

“What?”

She stood with her hands extended from her body, and the robe turned into a close version of the ritual gown.

“Can you do that with anything?”

“Sure.” She had it change to her daily wear then to what she had worn to dinner and finally the robe again.

“That is amazing. How do you take it off?”

Yna laughed. “I don’t. It is bonded to me in a symbiotic relationship. It consumes my body heat and skin cells to survive, as well as tapping into my nervous system to a certain extent. In return, I let it travel and see the universe.”

Li looked appalled. “How smart is it?”

“Not very. It is a plant. It has just enough reflex to put armour on me during an attack.”

“Where do you get something like that?”

“It has to be given to you or grown. I got mine to help me recover from a... surgical procedure.”

“What kind of procedure?”

Yna sighed and pulled the robe away from her neck to expose the lines of the suit design that she had been wearing. “Skin graft.”

“Oh, so that is what the reference to scars was.”

“Yeah. Well, speaking of scars, I had better get to putting lotion on mine. I will see you tomorrow. Thank you for letting me see the gown. If there are any issues, I am now prepared.”

Li smiled. “I think that tomorrow will be fun. We just have to get through a few hours of ceremony, and then, we can party.”

“I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Li.”

“Good night, sister.” Li winked and left, her deep green hair swaying down to her lower back.

Yna closed the door and set her wrist alarm. Dawn came early on alien worlds, and weddings seemed to move the clock forward.



The skimmer trip to the imperial palace the next morning didn’t even come close to waking her. Li kept a flask of caf coming, pouring it into the cup in Yna’s hands every time she took a sip.

The palace was lovely, but Yna was in no mood to appreciate it.

They landed in a secure courtyard and were taken by armed escort into the palace, toward the ceremony grounds.

“I swear, Li. If you get married, don’t invite me.” Yna stifled a yawn.

Li laughed, and the sound echoed in the halls around them. “Do invite me to yours. I can hardly wait to see the look on Ahlgos’s face when he finally locks in for a lifetime.”

Yna laughed at the thought and kept her instincts pure. She didn’t respond, but Li gave her a searing look.

Soon, there was no time to think about anything. The world was a whirr of gowns and makeup with a hairstylist and his army twisting and brushing at their heads.

The gown that Yna was wedged into was of inferior quality and presented to her by the woman she would be following in the procession. Yna took one look at the gaping stitches that attached the skirt to the bodice and prepared her suit to jump in when the moment came.

Li was shunned by most of the eighteen other ladies. She shrugged it off and simply prepared for her walk. She was eighth in the skin-tone arrangement and going to be the sister of the bride. They could be rude to her but not do anything to impact Nialloa’s special day.

Huknos Ikato was Nialloa’s chosen mate, and she was locking herself to him that day. Anyone who interfered with that process would definitely regret it.

Yna listened to the gossip of the women who feared Nialloa’s wrath. She caught on to an interesting tidbit that had completely escaped Yna in her studies—Nialloa was an imperial princess of Remuyan. She wasn’t the only princess, but she definitely had some pull.

The chime rang, and the ladies lined up. Nialloa was in a separate room and would only be seen by the last woman in line. It was in the shuffle to take their places that someone stepped on Yna’s skirt, ripping it free of the bodice.

Yna pretended to fuss quietly as the ladies proceeded down the aisle, one by one. It was only when it was down to Yna and Kimettel that she changed her frantic expression to a calm one, shucked out of the torn gown and had her Masuo make her a copy that was richer and more flattering than the one her counterpart was wearing.