"Ugh, does Emily have to go?" Zara asked, pouting at Narchis.

Narchis rolled his eyes. "Yes, she does. She is the asset, after all."

"I'd like to think of myself as more than that, but, yes, I do have to go." Emily disengaged from the younger woman with a pat on her arm.

"Fine, but come find me as soon as you’re done."

"I will."

Emily watched Zara head upstairs with a smile planted firmly on her face. It looked like Zara was in desperate need of female company, but it was probably more than that. Her mate came off as a little jealous, which meant that the opportunity to truly bond with the other dragons was slim.

Turning to Cimmeris, Emily sighed. "Let's get this over with. Where's the office?"

"You don't have to be scared," he said, moving to her side. "Colonel Soros isn't that bad."

"I'd like to back you up on that one, but you haven't seen her in action," Narchis said, moving across the living room.

"And where might you have seen her in action?" Penum asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Narchis stood still and turned a sober gaze to Penum. "At the battle of Fochuna, as our platoon leader."

Emily drew a sharp breath. That was the battle that had ensured the defeat of Gleon and opened the door for real diplomacy to happen. Although Gleon had lost over half their army, Brevia was close behind in numbers, and the fact that she had just met one of the soldiers who ensured her family's safety and her country’s victory moved her.

"Thank you for your service," Emily said, placing a hand on Narchis' arm.

He smiled tightly. "Don't thank me. Thank Colonel Soros. So many platoon leaders lost their heads out there. She never did. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't be here."

"She must be something else."

"That she is," Narchis said, walking to the office.

Emily followed, with Cimmeris on her heels. She knew that Cimmeris had joined the army at the age of fourteen but knew nothing about his life since then. Had he fought at Fochuna? What had he seen? Did he suffer from nightmares, as so many soldiers did?

When Cimmeris first left, those first few weeks were full of fitful sleep for Emily. Images of him laid out on a battlefield somewhere plagued her, and, after several instances of breaking down in tears at random times of the day, her mother had finally sent her to an oracle, who assured her that Cimmeris would live.

Emily had never believed in the power of oracles. Most of them were hacks, but something about the woman's calm aura spoke to her and now, looking at Cimmeris, she didn't care if the prophecy had been true or not. He was safe and finally by her side once more.

Cimmeris placed a hand gently on Emily's shoulder. "I didn't fight at Fochuna. And I've never come that close to death."

Emily nodded and released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Cimmeris hadn't read her mind. She, a mage, would have felt it, because she kept her mental shields up at all times. That meant that something about their connection from sixteen years ago remained, and the thought sent a strange, warm buzzing feeling through her stomach.

Narchis pushed open a black door and motioned for Emily and Cimmeris to enter. Once there, they stood to face a large screen, and Narchis called Colonel Soros. A beautiful redhead trained her dark green eyes on Emily, and Emily couldn't help but think that her beauty would serve her better as a model.

Come on, Em. That's a misogynistic thought if I ever heard one, she thought.

"Hello, Diplomat Dhekan. Or should I call you Heitor Dhekan?"

"Uh, Emily is just fine."

"Wait," Narchis said, looking at her with his eyebrows raised. "You're a ruling noble?"

The surprise in Narchis' tone was precisely why she never used her family name in her work, preferring her middle name Aalin for the purpose. Nobles had privilege, but ruling nobles, even more so. Unfortunately, several of them chose to abuse their power by pillaging the lands they ruled for personal gain.

Emily and her family had never done that, which was why their land in the East was one of the most prosperous in all of Brevia. Emily's father liked to think that their fair practices caused the gods to smile down on them and made their ground the most fertile and beautiful in all of Brevia.

"I've not taken on the role of Heitor."

"Not yet," Cimmeris said, looking down. They'd had the discussion several times while growing up. Emily had always argued that she had no interest in seeing to the affairs of her province. Cimmeris had always said that he knew Emily would never turn her back on her family.

Emily shook her head. He had been right, but only partially. Democracy was beginning to take its rightful place in Brevia, but getting rid of the royal family and the nobility just wasn't possible.

For one, a lot of the nobility and royal line were different genetically, possessing greater powers, some known, and some unknown, that would make removing them a significant task. Secondly, the old ways still held sway in a universe where monarchy still ruled many planets. Sending a minister in the place of a prince might be seen as an insult.

As far as Emily was concerned, the tricky balance that Brevia had started to maintain was the best solution for them currently. The nobility and royalty still held the most considerable sway, but governors and ministers saw to lower-level civilian concerns at the ruling nobility's discretion. The only problem was that quite a few of the democratic leaders were becoming just as corrupt as some of the nobility. It looked like money and power corrupted everyone.

"Emily it is," Colonel Soros said, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen upon the room. "Now, why don't you start by telling me exactly how you came to be in Gleonite hands?

Emily felt a blush begin to grace her cheeks, but she held her head up high and spoke clearly, a skill she'd learned in her many years of serving in hostile territory.

"I needed to come to Earth immediately. Getting a visa that fast wasn't possible, and, to make matters worse, my role as a diplomat would complicate things."

"So, you decided to go it alone," Colonel Soros said, nodding.

"I did. That left back channels as the only option. A contact recommended a smuggler to me. He said he had access to one of the old portals here, and I paid him to open the gate on our side. I got through just fine, but, as soon as I stepped out, a group of wolves was waiting for me."

"Do you believe you were sold out?"

Emily shook her head. "No. They were lazing around eating apples, believe it or not. The portal made me dizzy, and I stumbled. That's what drew their attention. Otherwise, I would have gotten away."

"And how did they subdue you?" Colonel Soros asked, tilting her head. "I don't know much about your past, but as a ruling noble, you must have had basic training."

"I did, but one of them immediately recognized me as a diplomat and a mage from my time in Plao. They clamped my hands in iron before I could act."

"I'm sure the dizziness didn't help," Colonel Soros said, a sympathetic look on her face. "Okay, what happened after that?"

"They threw me in the back of a van and took me to the prison. I've been there for over a month, I'd say."

Colonel Soros rubbed her eyes. "Narchis will talk to you about exactly what you saw, and what information may be useful to us. For now, let's get into the reason for your travel before I fall asleep at this desk."

Emily smiled at Colonel Soros' honesty. She had been on some critical phone calls at all hours of the night, forcing herself to remain alert and look engaged. It was refreshing to see a leader who could let her guard down in front of her team. Emily made a mental note to do the same. Her small team had been with her for two years now and had never given her a reason to doubt their loyalty.

Part of the reason she came to Earth was to get a break from it all. Being perfect all the time was unbelievably tiring, and Emily needed a few weeks off to remember the real woman she was underneath it all.

"I came for personal reasons. That's all I'm willing to say at this point."

Colonel Soros' friendly demeanor faded, and a line formed between her brows as her green eyes glowed with anger. "That's not good enough, Emily. I risked far too much to retrieve you for such a flippant answer."

Emily felt a chill run down her spine. Colonel Soros could be kind, but her fierce stare had Emily backing down faster than she ever had. One thing a diplomat had to understand was when they had been outclassed, and, at that moment, Colonel Soros had all the power and the right to be angry.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your efforts."

Colonel Soros burst out laughing. "Oh, gods! That was your diplomat's voice, wasn't it?"

Emily smiled tightly, unsure of whether she was still on rocky ground or not. "It looks like its failing if you didn't take that as sincere."

"Don't worry; I'm just good at reading people. I spent some time working in interrogation."

Emily's eyes widened. Not only had Colonel Soros fought at Fochuna, but she had interrogated war criminals. She really was a hardened soldier.

"Oh, come on. I just wanted to scare you a little bit," Colonel Soros said, smiling. "You don't have to tell me your exact reasons. I just want to know if you're mixed up in anything that may blow back on Brevia. The mission to save you is entirely off the books."

Emily sighed. "Thank you. If my superiors knew that I was here, I'd lose my job."

"Word will get around eventually. The Gleonites will talk about you. I'm sure some of your superiors have their spies among them."

"Well, thank you for giving me more time to come up with an answer that will let me keep my job."

"Would you like a glass of water?" Cimmeris asked, turning to her. Colonel Soros had scared the life out of Emily, and she had forgotten that he and Narchis were even in the room.

"I'm fine for now."

"Don't tell me I scared you that much?"

"You did," Emily said, giggling.

"Heck, it scared me, too," Narchis chipped in. "I think you need a new nickname. How about 'the terror'?"

Colonel Soros chuckled. "I just wanted to see what kind of diplomat you were. It looks like you're not the hardball type."

"I'm not. I'm the soft touch they send when needed."

"I think you do a great job at it. Now, we need to get a few things clear. First, Cimmeris vouched for your integrity and convinced me to send the team after you. Your honesty and conduct while with us will be a direct reflection on him and his prospects. So, keep that in mind in regards to what you share and do."

Emily looked up at Cimmeris and clasped his forearm. "You did that for me?"

His brown eyes were soft, filled with an inner glow that made them look almost golden. "Of course I did."

At that moment, Emily felt that the connection she once had to Cimmeris was re-established, but heightened in some way. He'd been so intuitive when it came to her emotions and needs, and it felt good to have someone care for her in that way. More importantly, it felt good to let someone in beside her family, and she wanted Cimmeris to stay with her for a long time.

In what way? she thought.

Narchis cleared his throat and destroyed the moment.

"I couldn't have you rotting in jail. Your mother would kill me," Cimmeris tried to joke. He was always doing that when things got uncomfortable. But, then again, Emily remembered how funny and easy-going Cimmeris was most of the time, so she couldn't decide if he was just being himself or whether the moment that they shared had affected him, too.

"We wouldn't want that," Colonel Soros said with a smirk, and Emily felt herself blush. "Anyway, the first thing is that you have to be honest. Secondly, I need to know how long you're supposed to be away for."

"I told my boss and family I'd be gone for a couple of months."

"That's unusual. How did you convince them of that?"

"Uh, I'm a good diplomat?"

Colonel Soros smiled. "We don't have to get into it. Okay, that gives us plenty of time to organize your extraction through back channels."

"Again, thank you. I'm not sure why you're doing all this, but I appreciate it."

Colonel Soros leaned forward and placed her arms on the table. "I won't lie, a big part of why I'm helping you is that I don't want the more radical members of our army to take your kidnapping as a reason to charge into war. The main reason I'm helping you, though, is that you're Cimmeris' friend and he vouched for you. The one thing I've learned in all these years is that the personal will always override the professional. We're a team and teammates help each other on and off the field."

Emily nodded, and an unease settled into her gut. She'd never felt that sense of camaraderie in the world of diplomacy, where people were always stepping on each other's toes to climb the ladder to direct relations with the universe's most prominent players. Seeing that Cimmeris had found his own little family in the army made her a little jealous. She knew that she and her family had been replaced as Cimmeris' surrogate family, but seeing it in person twisted the knife in her gut.

He's a grown man now, and he's moved on. Be happy, she thought.

Emily put on her best fake smile and turned to Cimmeris. "Then it looks like I'm indebted to you both."

"I know you, Em. It was a no-brainer."

"And, on that note, I'd like to sign off," Colonel Soros said.

"Wait," Emily said, her voice high. "What about the other people in that prison? Are you going to get them out?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. You know the game of peace that diplomacy helps to keep going. If we storm one of Gleon's biggest prisons, we're going to make a splash rather than the subtle ripples we usually do. We have to be delicate in choosing our battles."

Emily clenched her jaw but nodded. Colonel Soros signed off, and Narchis turned to her.

"You must be tired. I'll have Cimmeris show you to your room. After a nice, hot shower, I'd appreciate it if you handed over your prison clothes so we can burn them. I'm sure you can borrow something of Zara's."

"Zara and I have different builds. There's not much of hers that I'll be able to wear apart from tights. Can I borrow a t-shirt?" She asked turning to Cimmeris.

He nodded, and Emily smiled. "Thanks. That should keep me covered until we go shopping. Can Zara come?"

Narchis nodded. "I'll inform Corrus."

"No. I'll take them," Cimmeris said.

Emily watched the silent conversation between the two men but couldn't understand what the problem was. "Why does Corrus have to take me?"

Narchis folded his arms. "We try to keep a low profile, and with our size and height, most of us stand out, as you can imagine. Corrus is the smallest of us, and he doesn't draw as much attention to himself."

"Huh. I'd never thought about it that much."

"Which is why I'd rather send Corrus with you."

Emily could feel the frustration emanating from Cimmeris and knew that, because he hated confrontation, he wouldn't do anything about it.

"I'm sure that a single sighting of Cimmeris won't draw too much attention. You've all left this house at one point or another, right?"

Narchis sighed. "Fine. You win, diplomat."

Emily laughed as Narchis left the room.

"Thanks for having my back," Cimmeris said.

"No problem. I don't know why you'd volunteer to take us shopping, but who am I to stop you?"

"What's so hard about shopping with women?" Cimmeris asked.

"Women aren't a problem, but a cooped-up Zara definitely will be."

"Nah, Zara is more tomboy-like. I doubt she'll go crazy over a bunch of clothes."