I heard Roxanne before I saw her. Her feet shuffled along the hallway to the overhanging loft, and, when her silhouette came into dim view at the top of the staircase, she hesitated. I could barely see her outline, which meant she probably couldn’t see a thing at all since A’li-uud vision was keener than human.

“Stay there,” I told her, moving toward the stairs and beginning to ascend them. “I will help you down.”

She blindly held out a hand, which I took when I was near enough, and we clambered back down step-by-step until we reached the bottom. Even when we were on flat ground again, she didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t pull away.

“Come,” I said.

“Where are we going?” she asked. She sounded strained, bothered, but she didn’t elaborate beyond her question.

“To my house.” I tugged her gently to urge her to walk, and I opened the front door. Light spilled into the foyer, revealing its grandiose height and rustic architecture, but I didn’t allow her a moment to admire it. Instead, the moment she stepped out onto the mountainside and snow crunched beneath her boots, I closed the door with a snap, wrapped my arms around her, and leaped into the wind.

We touched down on another mountainside, this one much gentler in its incline and nowhere near as tall. In front of us, there was the quaint, pleasant cabin I’d called home for so long. I felt my discontent from the argument with Duke beginning to ebb away as I took in the sight of the familiar smooth log walls and high-pitched roof. The wild grain of the wood seemed to smile at me and welcome me back, and the logs’ deep, burnt-orange hue hinted at a hot, snapping fire within. Frankly, as I looked at the cozy house, I wondered if I’d prefer living here over the regal but cold Elder palace.

“I thought you didn’t live here anymore,” Roxanne said breathlessly. She was pressing a hand to her chest, recovering from the unexpected wind travel.

“My brother kindly pointed out that I am not a true Elder until I have completed the Council ceremony,” I replied, a shadow of bitterness lurking in my tone. “It seems he has kept up residence in the palace. I would prefer to be in my own home until my status is finalized one way or the other.”

I opened the door and stepped back to allow her entrance first. She crossed the threshold, still panting slightly, and looked around slowly. I followed her inside.

“Wow,” she commented lightly. “I never would have taken you for a cabin kind of guy.”

Chuckling, I closed the door and moved for the fireplace. “What kind of guy would you have taken me for?” I asked, piling logs into the empty hearth.

“I don’t know. A high-tech, modern apartment kind of guy with a fully-equipped gym.”

My chuckling turned into outright laughter as I knelt to arrange the logs in a neat triangle. She was behind me, but I heard her beginning to walk cautiously around, presumably to examine the house more closely. Once the fire was lit, I stood back up and turned to face her again.

“Are you hungry? I could prepare something.”

“No, thank you.” She placed a small pouch of healing herbs back on the shelf where she’d found them and looked at me. Her expression was serious. “What happened between you and Duke? I heard you shouting.”

I frowned. “You need not concern yourself with matters of sibling rivalry,” I answered dismissively, sidling over to the padded bench near the fireplace and motioning for her to join me. She obliged, but it was evident by the downward twist of her mouth that she was nowhere near finished questioning me yet.

“You’re really going to pretend it was about who took whose toy?” she asked doubtfully, her dark brows lifting toward her hairline.

“No, but you do not need to be bothered with Duke. Your concern should be with the Council.”

“Why should I be concerned about the Council? I’m here to propose a peace treaty. They’ll either accept it, or they won’t.”

I smirked and said, “You are awfully cavalier about the peace treaty. When I did not want to discuss it, you had me thrown in a cell.”

“I did not!” she cried, affronted. “You would have been there whether you had talked to me about it or not! What, did you think the government was going to put you up in a Radisson after they captured you?”

Her strong reaction endeared me into a grin. “What is a Radisson?”

“Never mind,” she quickly dismissed, flicking a hand. “The point is that I’m not worried about the Council because I can only do so much. The rest is up to them.”

“And if they reject your proposal, you will smile politely and thank them for their time?”

Roxanne shot me a look of slight irritation that I found more arousing than intimidating and replied loftily, “No. Emily brought up some things I think would be great for both A’li-uud and humans, and they are preferable to this war on both sides.”

“Oh?” I asked, intrigued and amused at the same time. “What things did Emily suggest?”

“Integration.” Roxanne turned on the bench to face me directly, suddenly brimming with excitement and nearly bouncing with energy. “She said the Elders were afraid humans would wipe out the A’li-uud if they ever decided they wanted to take over Albaterra. But if the two cultures were integrated, there wouldn’t be this fear about takeover because both races would be mutually benefitting from the other!”

“Just because two groups work together, it does not mean one cannot dominate the other,” I pointed out.

“No, but if each relies on the other, then everyone needs one another equally!” She was speeding up, her words spilling from her mouth faster and faster until they were practically running into one another. Her body was inching toward mine as she talked and her efforts to convince me grew in earnest. “Albaterra could host colonies of humans, Earth could host colonies of A’li-uud, and the Council could get a grip because there would be no more fear of the unknown!”

I absorbed this, turning it over in my mind. “Why do you believe A’li-uud could benefit from humans?” I asked rather dubiously.

Her jaw set and her eyes darkened. “A sense of reason, for one thing,” she snapped. “A lesson in not attacking an entire planet just because you want to be left alone.”

My instinct was to stiffen and become defensive, but I resisted the urge to snap back at her. Instead, I calmly said, “I agree with you that the Council acted impulsively and brutally, but the intent behind it was only to protect our people, and, for that, I cannot fault them.”

“You can’t fault the people who ordered a mass assault on an entire race, including women and children because they were scared?” she demanded. Petals of pink heat began spreading across her ceramic cheeks, and even her hair seemed electrified by the brewing storm within her.

“I said I cannot fault their intent, not their decision,” I replied, my voice rising slightly.

“The intent is irrelevant.” Her grass-green eyes had become clouded jade in her anger. “If you intend to shoot a deer and you accidentally shoot your friend, the innocent intention doesn’t make the friend any less dead.”

“It changes the nature of the crime.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending them!” Roxanne cried. She sprang to her feet, clipping the bench with her heel, jostling me, and stared at me like she had never seen something so repulsive. “Apparently, you’re just as entwined in their cult-like ways of thinking as your brother!”

I rose to my feet as well, though I did so much more slowly than she. “We have already established that I disagree with the Council on the matter of the war. When the order was first given, I fulfilled my role as a warrior fighting for my people. I will not be condemned for doing what I was commanded to protect my race.” My voice was very low and dangerous, and my gaze was fixed immovably on Roxanne’s furious face. “Furthermore, I will do my part now to bring about the peace you are here to enact. But I will not turn against my own because, for the first time in our history compared to the umpteenth in yours, a poor and uncompassionate decision was made.”

Roxanne was nearly panting with rage. Her shoulders lifted and fell with quick, shallow breaths, and her cheeks had filled entirely with crimson. Instead of sniping back, however, she spun on her heel and stormed from the house, slamming the door behind her.