“You wish you’d never come?” I repeated, floored. “Why?”

Emily grinned broadly and draped herself across the chaise like a Greek goddess. “Because nothing will ever compare to this. Earth is like a dystopian hell compared to Albaterra.”

I felt a swelling of relief in my lungs, though I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason why, and let out a whoosh of breath. “But you don’t intend to ever return to Earth, do you?” I asked.

“Not unless my husband comes with me,” she replied lightly.

My eyes skimmed down the length of her arm to her hand, seeking a wedding band, but she wore no jewelry. I blinked as realization dawned on me. “You—you married Duke?”

“Of course I did! He’s the love of my life, although I still don’t quite know how that happened,” Emily chuckled. She tilted her head to study me. “You seem surprised.”

“I didn’t know humans and A’li-uud could wed, that’s all,” I said sheepishly.

“Neither did anyone else,” she shrugged. “We were the first to do it, apparently. I mean, there’s Tabitha and Rex over in Campestria, but they aren’t married yet. Tabitha refuses until the A’li-uud get over their issues with humans. She says marrying Rex right now would just lead to more reasons for A’li-uud to hate humans, like our females stealing all their good men.”

I realized I’d been so engrossed in her that I was leaning forward with my elbows digging into my knees and staring at her intently. I sat back, a little embarrassed, and asked, “Do you disagree with her thinking?”

Emily frowned, and I could see she was truly giving my question thought. “Yes and no,” she said slowly. “I guess I understand why she’s concerned about damaging the A’li-uud attitude toward humans further, especially since the Council has kind of gone off its rocker. But I also wonder if integrating humans into A’li-uud society would actually help rather than harm. I mean, Duke held me hostage for a month and it was during that time we somehow fell in love. He can’t possibly be the only A’li-uud whose mind can be changed about humans by a little exposure.” She gestured at me suddenly. “Clearly.”

“Oh, no,” I said quickly, holding up my hands as if surrendering. “Dane and I aren’t the same thing as you and Duke. I’m the Ambassador of Alien Relations; it’s my job to interact with the A’li-uud leaders, and he was the only leader on Earth, so—”

“I didn’t mean to imply anything,” Emily interrupted. “It’s just that you’re here in the Elder palace instead of in a guarded area. Dane obviously trusts you to some extent, and that never would have happened without interaction between you two. Believe me, the A’li-uud are so paranoid about us that he would have at least had you in restraints, if not thrown in a dungeon completely if he hadn’t developed trust for you, and that could have only happened through exposure. It’s a prime example why I believe humans and A’li-uud could mutually benefit from integration.”

She was making some excellent points and, given my position as Ambassador, I wondered if I had enough pull to at least bring her ideas to the Board’s table. Of course, before that could happen, I’d have to get back to Earth somehow, and that was a complicated matter in and of itself. Then, I remembered something else she’d mentioned.

“Wait a minute. Did you say Duke held you hostage?” I demanded.

Emily nodded. “For a month. His ship landed in the Mojave Desert where I was painting, and he kept me onboard in a cage.”

“How do you know you’re actually in love?” I asked, leaning forward again. “How do you know it’s not just Stockholm Syndrome or something?”

She lifted a brow and shot back, “How do you know you and Dane aren’t the same as Duke and me?” I didn’t have an answer for that. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure I wanted to answer that, so I remained silent. Emily smiled and ran a hand through her cropped hair. “The point is it doesn’t matter why I feel the way I do. All that matters is that I feel it.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed simply.

“Anyway, I understand Tabitha’s point of view,” Emily continued. “But, from what I’ve learned since the astronauts returned from the resource mission until now, avoidance is the reason this whole mess started in the first place. I think continued avoidance will only perpetuate the hysteria of the A’li-uud. Which is a shame, really, because they’re actually a pretty wise, grounded bunch in day-to-day life.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed with Emily’s analysis. Next to her, I felt inadequate as Ambassador, but I was not one to sulk in self-deprecation. Instead, I made mental notes as she spoke. It was possible she was telling me the key to ending the war in that very moment.

“There is one thing I still can’t fully grasp,” I confessed. “And that’s why they came to Earth in the first place. I can understand why they bombed the Paragon when it got too close to Albaterra; human militaries don’t tolerate when boundaries are crossed. I can even understand why they don’t want us to know about them: security. But why would they come to our planet, where our numbers could swallow theirs in an instant, and go straight to destroying our race without even attempting non-violent methods of alliance or co-existence?”

She shrugged, a response I felt was much too casual for the severity of the topic. “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “But I’ve gathered the Elders are in a panic because they know the potential for A’li-uud extinction at the hands of humans is highly likely if humans were ever to decide they wanted Albaterra for themselves. And, if we’re being honest, they’re not wrong. If humans want Albaterra, the A’li-uud are sitting ducks. Their best defense is a strong offense, and I think they were hoping they’d have that by a surprise attack on Earth. Of course, this is just what I’ve put together from overhearing Duke.”

“Where does he stand on everything?” I inquired.

Emily frowned. “I thought he was in favor of ending the war when we left Earth, but now I’m not sure. The longer we’ve been here, the more he seems to become just as paranoid as the rest of the Council. He’s been waiting for Dane to return with the rest of the fleet so he could fully step down from Elderhood, and I think it’s best he does because he’s so warrior-minded that it seems too easy for him to accept the rash decisions the Council’s been making.”

I swallowed hard. Dane, too, was once a warrior, and if he were to accept Elderhood completely, he would be in exactly the same position Emily was hoping Duke would escape. The thought that Dane could become as irrational as the other Elders rattled me. He’d been loyal to his orders, certainly, and had been willing to attack humans to protect his race, but he had also opened his mind up enough to consider the possibility that the Council could be wrong. He had the ability to think freely—he just needed to exercise it before he was sucked into the vortex of madness like the others.

The rumble of voices suddenly pricked my ears, and I saw Emily’s head snap slightly as she listened too. It was clear the voices were angry, but I was unable to decipher which was Dane’s and which was Duke’s. Emily and I met eyes and waited, trying to make out the words. They weren’t speaking A’li-uud, but I was still unable to pick out anything they were saying. After several minutes, the rumble died, and everything was silent once more.

“What was that about?” I wondered aloud in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Emily replied, also speaking quietly.

We sat there for a moment more, and then the bedroom door opened. Duke stalked in, his fan of white hair flowing out behind him and his face contorted in anger. I watched as his features softened slightly when they fell on Emily and felt a jolt of emotion at how just seeing her soothed him. She stood up.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, resting her hand on his forearm.

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he turned toward me. “Dane and I have finished our discussion,” he said. He spoke coldly, and I immediately felt uncomfortable beneath his hard gaze. “You may return to him.”

It wasn’t an offer. It was a command. I got to my feet. “Okay,” I said awkwardly. I glanced at Emily, who sent me a small, sympathetic smile. “Thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime,” she responded.

I left the room. The moment the door closed behind me, I heard Duke say vehemently, “She will be the death of us all. Just you wait.”