If I’d been angry at General Morgan when he’d humiliated me in the ship’s cafeteria, it was nothing compared to the anger I felt now in the wake of the argument with Dane. Irate venom pulsed through my veins as swiftly as blood, and I was unable to stop my fingers from trembling. Even as I left the cabin and the crisp mountain air smacked my skin, my whole body felt so hot I would have believed it if someone told me I’d just been dipped in scalding wax.

Maybe the fears that had arisen when Emily told me about Duke’s change in attitude were justified. Maybe there was something about being on Albaterra that completely altered rational thought. Maybe, the longer he was here, Dane would eventually believe all humans were evil and needed to be eliminated—and that included me.

I slipped and slid across the snow as I meandered down the mountain, not paying attention to where I was going or how to get back. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get back at all. In the heat of the moment, staying in the dormitories with grungy soldiers and the lecherous General actually sounded preferable to staying in a comfortable, gorgeous little cabin with an alien who would soon want me dead.

But would he?

I brushed a hand across my eyes and realized I was crying. The coursing adrenaline and winter chill had numbed my nerves, and I hadn’t felt the tears streaming down my cheeks, but, as I drew my hand away, I felt moisture on my palm and saw a sheen on my fingers. Part of my weeping was, I knew, from the sheer amount of rage I felt, but I also felt sorrow and grief. It was like I’d lost the Dane I’d become so infatuated with, like he’d been an illusion and now the real Dane had been presented to me in bitter fashion. How could I have ever harbored such feelings for someone that could consider wiping out my entire species for no other reason than fear?

Then again, he’d expressly said he didn’t agree with the Council’s decision to attack Earth. And everything he’d said in their favor had been regarding their desire to ensure the safety of the A’li-uud, which, in and of itself, wasn’t a bad thing. Plus, he’d also told me he’d do what he could to get the Council to consider the peace treaty. Perhaps I was simply overreacting because of the high energy of the argument.

I looked around and realized I’d descended most of the small mountain already. The sun was still high in the sky, but the valley in which I stood was surrounded by mountains on all sides and seemed shadowed. I was standing on a path similar to the one we’d walked from the ship—maybe it was the same one, but I couldn’t be sure—and wooden huts and houses were visible a short way away, arranged like a small town. Part of me wanted to venture toward them, but the logical side of my brain told me the A’li-uud there likely wouldn’t respond favorably to a human suddenly appearing in their midst, so I turned and proceeded in the opposite direction.

It simply didn’t make sense to me that the highest authority of a race that proved itself to be intelligent, advanced, and worthy fighters could have made what Dane referred to as “a poor and uncompassionate decision.” Attempting to end an entire species was not a whim, a small error in judgment. It was cold, calculated, and bloodthirsty. Frankly, it reminded me of the Holocaust. The parallel was painful to draw because it reinforced Dane’s assertion that humans had done equally egregious things many times to other humans, but I couldn’t deny he was right. Then again, it didn’t justify the actions of the A’li-uud.

What was more, I couldn’t have an outburst like the one I’d just had when I went before the Council. I had come to Albaterra solely to propose the peace treaty and convince the Elders to coexist in the universe with humans. Of course, since speaking with Emily, I was toying with the idea of bringing up cultural integration as well, but that was second to the treaty. Maybe—

“Roxanne.”

The voice stopped me in my tracks, and I whipped around. Snow flung from my boots in miniature arcs and landed in piles on the feet of another. I looked up and saw Lokos’ eyes staring back at me, his brow dropped in confused surprise.

“Hello,” I said uncomfortably. “Sorry.”

“What are you doing out here all alone?” Lokos asked, sounding slightly suspicious and equally concerned.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and tried to avoid his gaze so he wouldn’t catch me lying. “I just needed some fresh air.”

“Does Elder De’inde know where you have gone?”

“No,” I admitted.

Lokos straightened up and reached for my arm. I pulled back, but he was faster than I was and snagged my wrist before I could move out of reach. “You must return at once,” he said sharply.

I tried to tug myself free of him and said, “No, really, I just want to be alone right now.”

“You may be alone inside where you are watched.”

“If I’m being watched, I’m not alone,” I pointed out.

There was a split second in which I was certain Lokos was going to smirk, but his serious face remained serious, and he tugged on my arm. “Come. We must go back.”

I sighed and resigned myself to allowing him to bring me back to Dane. We trudged side-by-side down the same path I’d just traversed alone in silence. Finally, I couldn’t bear the quiet. “Did you get the soldiers settled?” I asked, trying to sound conversational.

“Yes,” Lokos answered. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Your General Morgan is very ungrateful.”

“He’s not my General Morgan,” I immediately snapped.

This time, I was sure I saw Lokos’ lips twitch. “Of course not. You belong to another.”

“What?” I spun without warning, taking him by surprise and managing to twist my arm from his grasp. “I don’t belong to anyone!”

“I meant no offense,” he said calmly. We had stopped walking and were standing several feet apart, facing one another.

“I know what you meant,” I retorted. “You meant I belong to Dane.”

Lokos said nothing, but the corners of his mouth continued to twitch, and his eyes seemed to grin mischievously. I had never seen him look so…human. He had always worn such a stiff mask of sobriety that to see any emotion from him was like seeing an entirely different A’li-uud.

“Look, what you walked in on was just something that happened,” I hotly insisted. “We were caught up in the moment, I guess. I don’t know. We’re not together, though. We’re not a couple. There’s nothing between us. Okay?”

Still, Lokos didn’t respond, and it infuriated me, but I also felt hot blush where my tears had been just a brief while ago. I sighed heavily.

“Let’s just keep walking,” I said.

He nodded in agreement, and we resumed strolling back toward Dane’s mountain. He allowed me to walk without his assistance, which I appreciated. Silence fell between us again, but my mind had suddenly become so occupied that it didn’t bother me. Thoughts tumbled through my head like clothes in a dryer, and I was struck with image after image.

Dane’s set, angry face.

Sparkling purple aspex.

General Morgan’s nose gushing blood.

A strong, muscled, pale blue body hovering over mine.

I breathed in a quiet, sharp breath. No matter the state of our relationship, that was an image I could happily replay over and over in my mind. The feeling of my nipple in his mouth, the way his hand had so expertly pushed my buttons, the exquisite scent of him filling my senses…

“No!”

Lokos’ shout startled me so severely that I actually slipped to the ground, my leg curling beneath me at an unnatural angle and my hands scraping over ridged ice. A loud snap cracked through the air, instantly accompanied by shrieks of panic I recognized as my own. In front of me, Lokos was crouched in a strange, hunting-like pose, and he was looking around wildly at the sky like he was trying to locate a tiny bug. I tried to hoist myself up, but the ice was too slippery, and I fell back as more shrieks spilled from my throat.

“Lokos!” I cried weakly, reaching forward to cling to his pant leg and get his attention. Before I could clutch the fabric in my fingers, however, I was yanked backward by an unseen force, and everything went black.