“Kenji,” Ella says quietly. The word is a warning.
“What?” He crosses his arms. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: gross. I think I need to go bleach my eyes.”
I help Ella to her feet, drawing an arm around her waist. “What do you want?” I say to Kenji, entirely unable to rein in my anger.
“Nothing from you, buddy, thanks. I’m here because I need Juliette.”
“Why?” Ella and I ask at the same time.
Kenji blows out a breath, looking away once before looking back at Ella. Cryptically, he says, “I just need you to come with me, okay?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen a fraction. “Okay.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Do you need help?”
Ella shakes her head. I feel her apprehension, but she pastes on a smile. “No, it’s nothing—just boring stuff out on unregulated turf. We actually managed to track down one of the pre-Reestablishment city planners in this area, and he’s coming by to discuss our ideas.”
“Oh,” I say.
Ella is hiding something.
I can feel it—can feel that she’s not being entirely truthful. The realization provokes a sinking feeling in my gut that scares me.
“You won’t miss me, right?” Her smile is strained. “I know you always have a ton of stuff to do.”
“Yes.” I look away. “There’s always a great deal to accomplish.”
A pause. “So—I’ll see you tonight?”
“Tonight?” I glance at Ella, then the sun.
There are still hours left before nightfall, which means she intends to be gone for all of them. My mind is overrun with doubt. First our wedding, now this. I don’t understand why Ella isn’t being honest with me. I want to say something to her, to ask her a direct question, but not here, not in front of Kenji—
Ella’s emotions take a sudden turn.
I look up to find her staring at me now with concern, with a palpable fear—for me.
“Or I can stay here,” she says more quietly. “I don’t have to go anywhere.”
“Uh, yes, princess, you do—”
“Be quiet, Kenji.”
“We need you out there,” he insists, throwing his arms wide. “You have to be there—we can’t just deci—”
“Aaron,” Ella says, placing a hand on my chest. “Are you going to be okay?”
I stiffen, then step back.
The question inspires in me a reaction I do not admire. I bristle at the sympathy in her voice, at the thought that she might think me incapable of surviving a few hours on my own.
Understanding hits me with the force of a sledgehammer:
Ella thinks I am broken.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, unable to meet her eyes. “I have, as you said, a great deal to do.”
“Oh,” she says carefully. “Okay.”
I can still feel her studying me, and though I don’t know what she sees in my face, my expression appears to have convinced her that I won’t turn to dust in her absence. An approximation of the truth.
A tense silence stretches out between us.
“All right, great,” Ella finally says, all false brightness. “So, I’ll see you tonight? Or sooner— I mean, depending on how quickly I can—”
Kenji makes a sound; something like a choked laugh. “Yeah, if I were you, I’d clear my schedule.”
“Love,” I say quietly. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Absolutely,” she says, straining to smile wider. She squeezes my hand, kissing me briefly before pulling away. “I promise. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Ella is still lying. It hits me like a blow.
“Hey, sorry about the wedding, man,” Kenji says, making a face. “Who knew the downside of overthrowing a corrupt government was that we’d have absolutely no free time?”
I swallow, hard, ignoring the fresh vise around my chest. “I see everyone already knows about that.”
“Yeah, I mean, it was J’s idea to postpone. There’s just so much to do, and trying to have the wedding at night was going to be really complicated, and she thought it would be better to jus—”
“Kenji,” she says sharply. She shoots him a look I can’t entirely decipher, but her anger surprises me.
“My bad, princess.” Kenji holds up both hands. “My bad. I didn’t realize it was controversial to let the groom know what was happening with his own wedding, but I guess I just don’t know how weddings work, do I?” He says that last part with an edge, irritation souring his expression.