Chapter Two
As Mila stepped out of the palace, the sweltering heat from Zerconia’s two suns engulfed her, briefly robbing her of breath. She fanned her face, knowing she’d probably turned bright red.
“Bit cool today,” Willa said, moving alongside her as they headed towards the marketplace.
Mila gave her an incredulous look. “Cool? It’s 90 degrees.”
“Compared to Joyadan, this is quite pleasant. Especially with the cool sea breeze.”
She tripped then righted herself. Clumsy as ever. “Then I’m grateful I don’t live on J1oyadan. I don’t think I would survive that sort of heat.”
“Oh, you survive, even if sometimes you might wish otherwise.”
Koran hadn’t allowed Mila to leave the ship when they rescued Darac, Willa, and her people from the Coizils. So she hadn’t experienced the atmosphere on Joyadan, but from everything she knew about the planet, it wasn’t a hospitable place to live.
She was glad they’d been able to relocate some of the people from Willa’s village to Zerconia. Here they would have a better chance at a decent life. Especially the children. And if some of them ended up as mates, that was just the icing on the cake.
The Zerconians were slowly coming to accept the Joyadan refuges. It was going to take time for everyone to adjust, and it was Mila’s job to ensure that happened. If she was going to entice more humans to visit Zerconia, they had to feel welcomed and safe.
Her job as the human ambassador to Zerconia was exciting and nerve wracking. Some nights she awoke in a cold sweat wondering what the hell she was doing. But Koran was always there to reassure her. The big guy didn’t always have the right words, and he could be incredibly blunt.
But he believed in her. That was much more important to her than soft words.
Mila knew she wasn’t the most attractive or interesting woman. Her dress sense was almost non-existent. She had mousy brown hair, a fairly plain face, and an average body.
But for some reason, Koran thought she was the sexiest, most beautiful woman in the universe. He told her that every day. Koran wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, but when the two of them were alone, he delighted in showing her just how much she meant to him.
Yep, he could be a bit overprotective, and he had a tendency to think that he knew best, but she thought he was pretty much perfect.
Nerves strummed through her as she thought of their upcoming trip. In two days’ time they were due to leave for a meeting on Newsdale with members of the Earth Council. She hadn’t officially met with the Council before. Dex had requested that she become Earth’s Ambassador to Zerconia and the Council had agreed. So this meeting was very important on a number of levels. She had to make a good impression with the Council. But her main goal was to help negotiate an alliance between Earth and Zerconia.
The lives of the Zerconian people depended on it. Mila felt the importance of her task weighing on her shoulders.
“Did you think Zoey seemed really down today?” Mila asked. She was growing concerned about her friend. Zoey was always so upbeat and funny. Nothing much got her down.
But the longer her pregnancy went on, the grumpier and more depressed she grew.
“Can’t blame her for getting a bit down,” Willa said. “She’s constantly watched. Everyone has their opinion about this baby, from its name to the birth. Plus, she’s not getting any. Not a good situation to be in.”
“Maybe I’ll get Koran to have a word with Dex.”
“Or Thor, he’s more tactful, and he’s a healer.”
“Good suggestion.” Feeling happier now that she had a plan to help her friend, Mila turned to Willa. “Can you find your way back to your place?”
Willa snorted. “I think I can manage.”
Mila bit her lip. “Sorry. I got horribly lost when I first arrived. I was kind of grateful that Koran insisted I have an escort.”
“I’m glad they eased off on that rule.” Willa nodded over at two Zerconian women strolling past. Behind them, two Zerconian males followed. “Seems like some are still stuck in the old ways, though.”
“Zerconians find change hard. With more humans here, they’ve eased up on some of their rules. But many still stick to the old ways, like women having escorts outside their home.”
“Zoey has a guard all the time,” Willa pointed out.
“She’s the Crown Princess, and she’s pregnant.” Mila understood why Zoey felt suffocated. As the Crown Princess, her safety was paramount. She was also the first female in a long time to give birth to a Zerconian.
“Sucks to be the Crown Princess.”
“I hope you’re not upset she’s not coming to your mating ceremony. If she was feeling more herself, then I know she’d be there. Probably causing a ruckus. At my mating ceremony, she tried to get everyone to do the Macarena.”
“Macarena?”
“Just think about a bunch of over-sized Zerconian warriors standing in a line, trying to wiggle their hips and jumping to a beat.”
“Ookay, not a sight I need to see.”
“No, but it sure was funny. I’m going to head to the medical center to find Thor. See if I can get his help with Dex and Zoey. See you at the ceremony.”