Tempest paced back and forth in the house again.

This time it wasn’t to stave off the boredom, but it was to calm her nervous energy. She wasn’t sure if Dron had neglected telling her about the festival on purpose or simply because he didn’t know. She was going to make sure that they were there. It was part of their deal. What better way to show the people of this town that they were a perfect couple.

A night out was precisely what the both of them needed.

The sun had already dipped over the horizon, and Mexyn had made her excuses to get back to her home. She didn’t admit to having fun, but there was a lightness to Mexyn after just talking with Tempest. It was clear she didn’t do things like that on an everyday occasion.

If Tempest had her way, she’d invite Mexyn over frequently. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

While she waited for Dron to get back home, Tempest had already showered and changed into what she thought was an impressive outfit. It was a pale red color. Gems encrusted along the edges of the neckline and the edges of the sleeves. There was a long slit that she hadn’t seen on many of the gowns the other alien women wore.

It was something Tempest of old would have considered too flashy. But that was what she was going after. She wanted all eyes on her and Dron. That is if she could convince Dron to accompany her to the festival. She’d already told Mexyn to expect her.

Finally, she heard Dron walking up to the front. Tempest stopped in her tracks and waited for Dron to enter.

The door pushed open. Tempest was still amazed that he was able to do that so easily when it seemed like every time Tempest tried she was pushing against a brick wall.

Dron took a step in and let out a gasp as his eyes raked up her body. Tempest took note of his reaction. He didn’t seem upset. In fact, he seemed ravenous.

He shook his head as if he were trying to clear out any of his thoughts.

"You look very overdressed for a night in? Is there something special happening that I don’t know about?" Dron questioned as he pulled off his topcoat and tried to walk by Tempest.

"Actually, there is something special happening. Did you not know about the festival happening tonight?" Tempest questioned.

Dron turned to look at her. "Festival? What are you going on about?"

"There’s a newlywed festival. Mexyn was telling me about it."

Dron scowled, "That’s not...I’ve never really... I don’t think that’s a good idea."

Tempest moved in a little closer. It felt like a magnet pulling her toward him. As if the very air he was breathing in and out was drawing her near. She wanted to touch him. Wanted to have him touch her.

"I think it’s an excellent idea. You wanted everyone to see us, right? Well, everyone who is anyone will be there tonight. This would be the perfect event for us to debut. Don’t you think?" She tried to make it seem like it was his idea. Dron just needed a little push.

"If you think this will be a good idea, I’ll get ready." Dron grumbled. Tempest stood to the side and let Dron walk out of the room.

She went back to her pacing. It took Dron all of fifteen minutes to get ready. Tempest was slightly annoyed that he went from sweaty and dirty to a picture of perfection in a dark long jacket and light-brown pants and boots. He looked as if he were a rogue hunter. Very sexy.

"Let’s get this over with." Dron walked to the front door and opened it for both of them. Tempest walked out and looked around. She didn’t know how far it was to the town, but she wasn’t looking forward to the walk.

"How long do you think it will take to get to the festival?" Tempest asked.

Dron turned to look at her over his shoulder; he was typing something on his device. "Only a few moments."

"Really?" Tempest looked off to the distance, trying to see if she could see the square from where they were. She’d thought that it was a much larger settlement from how Mexyn was talking about it. "I thought there would be a lot of people. I don’t see anyone."

She frowned a bit, wondering what exactly Dron was playing at. When she focused on him again, he was moving backward as if to get away from her.

"What’s wrong?" Dron took another step back, leaving a few hundred feet of space between him and Tempest. He was trying to get out of this. Tempest wasn’t having it. "You were the one who came up with this plan. I’m not going to have you saying I’m the one who didn’t fulfill my promise. In order for us to show the world that we’re good together, we’re going to need to go out in public."

Dron nodded. "I know." He put his hand up to stop Tempest from taking a step forward.

Tempest huffed out a breath and was about to completely disregard his instructions when she felt a sudden uptick of wind swirling around her. She looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. She let out a squeal when she looked up to see one of the floating carpets she’d been on during the procession coming to land right between where she and Dron stood.

"Holy crap! You could’ve warned me!" Tempest screamed at him.

"You were too busy telling me what was good for me to be able to warn you." Dron tilted his head.

Tempest seethed. How is it that sometimes Dron could seem like the perfect gentleman and other times Tempest just wanted to bash his skull in?

Tempest backed away and let the floating device land before she watched Dron take a step onto the platform. Tempest followed suit. She took a seat on the opposite side of Dron. The platform was smaller than the one she was on during the procession but still a bit bigger than the carriage that took her and Dron from the marriage ceremony.

"How is this possible?" Tempest questioned breaking the silence between them.

"What are you speaking of?"

"The platform. Are you directing it? Is it AI?"

"Ah, no. Not AI. The entire land is laced with magnetic strips. Like a grid. This platform could take us anywhere we need to go. It’s much safer than the animal-drawn carriages but delivers less showmanship."

"I see." Tempest looked around. It really was a great way to get around. She could see all the surrounding landscape. The platform moved at a brisk pace but not fast enough that she feared she’d fall. "Do you ever just take one of these to sightsee?"

Dron looked confused by her question at first. "I can’t say that I have. Is that something you wish to do?"

"Maybe? I mean, it has to be better than trying to walk through the forest. How high can the platform go?"

Dron nodded once before he focused on his wristband. He typed in a few things, and before Tempest knew what was going on, the platform lifted into the sky.

"Holy crap!" Tempest squealed and jumped over to where Dron was. She clung to him.

He grunted but caught on to her. A second later he moved over so she could sit on the chair next to him.

She looked around, seeing all the beautiful foliage around them. "This is incredible." Tempest awed.

Dron hummed softly before he pointed to the ground, directing Tempest’s attention. There was a group of animals running around. It was more of those elephant-ostrich mixed animals. It looked like there were a group of adult ones with four or five baby ones. The babies were running around, and the older ones squawked and trilled at them as if the parents were trying to get them under control.

Tempest laughed and grabbed hold of Dron’s arm, pointing at them. "Oh my goodness, they’re so cute. What are they called?"

"Those are called Kezus. They are very trainable but can get quite large." Dron didn’t flinch or move away from Tempest’s touch. In fact, it seemed as if he were leaning in to her.

Tempest blinked a few times before giving Dron the brightest smile she could muster, "Kezus. They are magnificent."

"I guess they are." Dron shrugged. Tempest kept her eyes on him. He looked down as if he were ashamed, but when he looked back up at her, she could see the outline of a smirk on his face.

"This is all very romantic, Dron. Was that the plan? Are you trying to butter me up?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Butter you up? Why would I want to put a condiment on you? Is that something they do where you’re from?"

Tempest threw her head back and cackled. "Oh goodness no. Well, actually..." she hedged; she’d read many books where the main character had different edible items slathered on them only to be licked up by the love interest. Tempest whimpered slightly, thinking of Dron licking anything off her body.

"Are you well? Should we go back down? Is the height getting to you?" Dron asked instantly, concerned.

"No, I’m fine. Truly. This is all wonderful. If I didn’t know we were only pretending, I’d reward you with a kiss for your efforts." Tempest leaned in. She was talking a lot; it’s what she did when she was nervous.

These nerves had nothing to do with the fact that they were so high up or the fact that she was pretty much stuck on a floating carpet with an alien. She was nervous because she wanted Dron to take control of the situation. She wanted him to kiss her. She was practically throwing herself at him.

Instead of moving forward like Tempest thought he would, his eyebrows furrowed, and he backed up.

"Kiss you? What is that? My translator is not explaining it properly. At least I’m not sure it is. The action seems to be quite concerning."

Tempest blinked and released the breath she was holding. She sat up straight, "What is it translating to?"

"It says kissing is the process of pressing each other’s faces together and swapping bodily fluids." Dron shivered as if the idea were revolting.

Tempest huffed, "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I could understand how it would seem nasty. The process of kissing is much more pleasant than that."

"If you say so. I’d rather not experiment with that, if you don’t mind." Dron shook his head.

Tempest didn’t want to admit it, but she was disappointed that she wouldn’t get the chance to kiss Dron.

"I guess I won’t have to worry about that while we are showing off for the townsfolk, huh."

"No you won’t." Dron looked over the side and pointed at the growing town in the distance. It really only took a short while to get to the square.

Tempest gasped as she saw all the decorations. She was sure they’d passed by this area during the procession. How had they managed to get all this together in such a short time? It was truly amazing.

"We’re going to descend now. Prepare yourself." Dron warned her just before the platform started to lower. The sudden change made her ears pop. She must have been going faster than she realized.

She still had her hand on Dron’s arm, and she could feel the tension radiating off him. He didn’t want to be there. It was clear that this wasn’t something he was used to. Sure, he was the one who suggested that they put on a show for the people, but Tempest didn’t think that he’d truly thought it through.

She would have to be the one to lead him. She could protect him the way he protected her from the kragnok.

Tempest patted Dron when the platform came to a stop. "You ready?" She asked as she stood and waited for him to do the same.

He nodded once, but his eyes were darting around from side to side as if he were waiting for the danger to come from every corner.

Dron stood close to Tempest, and together they stepped down from the platform.

She thought she was ready. After all, being an actress was engrained in her.

She was wrong. Nothing could have prepared Tempest for what they were about to walk into.