“Gossip will always find a way.” I knew that to be one hundred percent fact. Truth or lies, nothing traveled faster than a juicy bit of gossip. What would my social media followers think—all five million of them—if they knew I was going off to be married to a space criminal? What did I think? This mate of mine didn’t sound like a big teddy bear Atlan. Or even one of the uptight, rule-following Prillon guards I’d met at the Bachelor Ball or at Chet’s house after. I was matched to a criminal? A bad guy?

No. A spy. Maybe like a double agent? Was he a good guy?

Had to be, right? On a case-by-case basis? He’d helped, earned a bride, so he had to be good.

Shit. What if he wasn’t? Would I care? That bite had made me lose my mind. Would I care what he did when he wasn’t making me sob with out-of-control orgasms?

Damn. Yes. The answer was yes. I would care. “What happens if I don’t like him?”

“You have thirty days to decide. If you find Cormac does not make you happy…”

Cormac. His name was Cormac.

“…report to Styx, the leader of his legion. He knows how to contact someone who can get you out of there.”

“Okay.” At least I had an out. That made me feel better.

“Oh, one more thing. This is a special case. Normally, your mate would be waiting for you with bells and whistles. If you were going anywhere else, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you his name. In this case, the Styx legion’s involvement with the Coalition Fleet is top secret. Revealing their connection to us could endanger multiple lives. No one can know you are an Interstellar Bride.”

“But…how am I supposed to explain being there?”

“Cormac will take care of that, I’m sure. When you arrive, play along. Pretend you know him, that you met him somewhere else. Be vague until you two get your story straight. He will do the same.”

Great. Was she serious? I studied her facial features. Not one hint of a teasing grin. No smile. She was deadly serious.

The warden’s fingers flew over her tablet, and she seemed to be making multiple selections. “I do believe you are ready to go.”

“I—”

A line appeared in the wall next to me, and the chair I was sitting on jolted to the side as it moved into the new space the retreating section of wall created. Beyond the wall was a room bathed in blue light with a small pool in its center.

“Hold still, Abby. You need your NPU.”