Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

RYST

"Hmm. Okay, this will work," Nayth said, and I felt a bunch of plans shift in his mind. Like he had a stack of papers, and he just shuffled everything.

"This dress isn't what you wanted?"

"Oh, I love the dress. We'll leave our pendants out instead of revealing them later. I like this better, actually. More drama! This tiny camera will fit on that brooch on the dress perfectly." In my mind, I saw him arranging dinner table seating for his sister Freya to be across the table from me. He grinned at me. "Perfect! You ready?"

"Ready!"

When we walked into the dining room, Klear, Freya, and Fahnca were all in a line, and Freya's thoughts beamed out at me. "Best behavior," was what she was thinking. Fahnca, Nayth's mom, held her hand to me for a Shurwinn bow, which I did.

Then I looked at Freya and ditched the formal greeting. "You can cut the demure act, Freya. And I like your dress. It's sexy as hell."

Fahnca roared with laughter. Freya's face opened in a "Oh my stars, you are the best" face, and she grabbed me into a hug. "Ryst Nova, you look amazing," she said, taking my arm and stealing me away from Nayth. When we were a few steps away from the family, she leaned down and said in a low voice, "I hope you aren't too attached to my brother's handsome face because I'm going to beat the shit out of him in the dojo tomorrow morning."

Then in a louder tone, "Have you sparred with my brother yet, Ryst? I know you're a fighter by the way you glide in thigh-high boots. My brother is pathetic in two martial arts. Can't beat a girl to save his soul." The image in her mind was Nayth on the dojo floor, groveling and begging for mercy.

"Oh, I actually haven't even been in the dojo yet," I explained, trying not to laugh at the scenes I was picking up from her thoughts.

A devilish grin broke out on her face. "Then let's break it in tomorrow morning." And this time, her mind showed me in a dominatrix outfit joining her in subduing Nayth.

I rocked in side-splitting laughter. "Oh sands, Freya. You are really crazy, aren't you?"

"Oh, I know you're a firecracker too, Ryst. I saw it in that prank video. The moment you grinned at the camera, I saw just how much fire was behind all that curry-loving domesticity. Tell me that Iqui is proficient, at least, in bed. He isn't boring, is he?"

"Lines, Freya, lines."

She gave me a flat look. "Oh fine," I pretended to complain, "You know the To Really Dance book?"

All flatness fled from Freya's face. "Oh fucking seas, Iqui has that book? It's the funniest one!"

"Thankfully, it's illustrated for those of us that don't read Florian."

She hugged me again, rocking with laughter. "Fucking clouds! Oh that's priceless! Oh good. At least Iqui will get out of those stupid kurtas every now and then with you around. Please, Ryst. Once a year, get him to make a public appearance in something other than a stiff suit coat."

"I make no promises. Nayth's clothing is his business."

"No, it's his stodgy tailor's. Come on, there's Borden and Nika. Nika!" she called out, dancing across the room towards a handsome couple.

And then reality fragmented around me. I met Annika's eyes, and I saw blue spirals in my mind like daggers. My breath caught, and I remembered not to fall forward. Nayth was suddenly there, an arm around my waist.

Annika stared at me with penetrating eyes. Then her whole demeanor changed and softened as she hugged Freya. "Gorgeous as always, Freya."

I reached for Annika, and without even thinking of what I was doing, I pulled her arm into a Starlend greeting. On autopilot. Then I realized what I was doing, but it was too late. Annika didn't miss a beat and greeted me in Starlend. Then Borden followed suite. What was I doing? I was being completely weird.

I remembered to breathe, but was blinking my eyes too fast because the minute I'd touched Annika, my mind was ablaze with the burning stars from earlier in the day. I could feel Nayth's emotions asking me if I wanted to leave. He already had ten strategies for making a gracious exit.

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No, I sent him. I'm okay.

I got that certainty feeling back from him. I pushed the big tangle away from my mind and focused on the dinner that lay ahead of us. Nayth was already maneuvering everyone towards the dining table where Borden and Annika made sure Freya had to sit across the table from me. As the staff started bringing dinner out, Klear, Nayth's dad, began, "Ryst, I see—"

Nayth interrupted him. "Borden, thanks so much for coming to dinner on short notice. We need to look at our schedules so you can officiate our secret wedding— a Wedding of Thirteen."

"You'll come to dinner tomorrow night at 6:00," Borden said, but it was barely audible over Freya's shout.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" Freya screamed. Screamed! As in, "there'a a mouse running up the dinner table, everyone run for your lives!" screaming.

"Freya, Ryst and I are very busy planning the wedding of the millennia on Shurwinn with around 2,000 guests, so we need you to handle the Wedding of Thirteen planning. I'm afraid we simply don't have the time—"

Freya had already run around the table and grabbed Nayth around the neck. "Iqui, you stupid, moronic bastard! You damn fool of a brother! Fruit of my father's loins— curses upon you! I love you, you stupid, fucking fool!"

She descended into cussing him out in a language I didn't know, and Nayth grinned at her, hugging her back. And made sure all the cameras that were floating around the room caught every moment.

"As I was saying," Nayth's dad, Klear, said as we all took our seats again. "I see pendants around necks this evening. So, Ryst, you managed to get my son to agree to marry you? Was there flowing water involved?"

"Raging seas, Dad, it's not like they were naked in that forest. This is Nayth we're talking about," Freya complained.

Fahnca just roared with laughter again. I didn't understand what was going on, but Nayth had said to remember the creek had flowing water, so I went with it.

"There was no despoiling of your firstborn in the forest; I was scared of the werewolves. And I didn't throw Nayth in the creek either. He said, 'Yes,' by the way."

There were calls of "Ho! Ho!" from all over the dining room and the kitchen too. So, everyone was joining in the celebration apparently.

"Ah, will someone explain the flowing water thing to me? I don't get it," I asked.

Freya rolled her eyes. "It's the Sturms. They think you need to have flowing water to wash away all your dirty secrets before you get married."

"The female fruit of my loins is a liar, Ryst," Klear said with patience. "Don't listen to Freya. Well, listen to her about your Wedding of Thirteen. you can't get a better wedding planner—"

"Love you too, Pops."

"But the flowing water isn't about dirty secrets. It's about setting sail with the love of your life," Klear finished.

"Oh, that's really beautiful, Klear. Really. Thank you."

"It's an old tradition. The Sturms aren't perfect, but deep down inside we are romantics. We just don't flaunt it like some others in the Galaxy. Subtlety is part of the game. Freya never quite took to that, I'm afraid."

Freya snickered, but her mother, Fahnca, was being awfully quiet. Everyone was enjoying the soups and salads that were on the table and wine glasses were being refilled, so, I dove into my dinner.

"Mother?" Nayth asked.

"I'm so happy for you, Nayth. Thank you for bringing me a beautiful daughter. Will you come to Floria before you leave? You're going to Shurwinn for the wedding? You meant that? A big wedding of the millennia?" his mom inquired.

And suddenly, the big tangle in my mind wouldn't be ignored. Dammit. It was like lightening in my brain. Nayth took my hand and kissed my fingers as though he just wanted to, but I felt him inside, tugging me. It was as though he'd pulled me into his lap and cradled me against his chest.

"Well, Mom, surely everyone is going to come here for the Wedding of Thirteen, right?"

"Everyone? Hardly, Nayth. But that doesn't matter. Your grandparents, right? They can be some of the guests?"

"The only guests Ryst and I are inviting are here at the table tonight. So, fill in the gaps however you'd like and start working on your guest lists for the Shurwinn wedding, okay? It'll be a year from now, but we need to get the guest list ready. Can you keep it to around 200 guests each?"

"Of course, son," Klear nodded. He probably already had his list finished.

"Engagement announcements to the public, Iqui? What are you planning?" Freya asked.

"Well, thirteen days from now, we can do the secret wedding here, and that falls right at the Florian Water Lilly festival. I know we'll be here on Sturm, but what do you think of bringing in a little Floria and timing it with the Water Lilly festival?"

Fahnca nodded, "Yes, the Water Lilly is the Flower of Abiding Love, that's perfect. Perfect! Freya?"

"Gorgeous, mother. It will be gorgeous! She will be gorgeous!" Clapping, Freya kicked into planning mode. "Alright everyone, we have only thirteen days to plan a secret wedding."

But I was barely paying attention because Fahnca was right. When she' d asked if we were going to Floria the tangle had gone haywire in my brain.

"Nayth," I interrupted Freya. "I think I need to see Floria before we go to Shurwinn." I saw Fahnca's face light up. "Isn't that a good place to— travel? Honeymoon? Or what about an engagement trip? What if we announce to the public that it's an engagement trip?"

His eyebrows went up, "That's a perfect engagement present. You want to do it? Go to Floria in a couple of weeks? For our honeymoon, but as an engagement trip to the public? We can make the announcement if Peydran can get things together quickly enough to have a solid date for the big Shurwinn wedding next year. We'll announce our engagement and the wedding of the millennia on Shurwinn, all while secretly getting married here with just family. Then we'll tour Floria for our honeymoon, but pretend it's an engagement trip."

I nodded, "I think we must."

Freya and Fahnca didn't even try to hide their joy. Yes, we'd go to Floria, and I'd get to see Nayth's mother's home world for myself.