duty to the Arjun name that the instinct-driven beast would never understand. Duty that had nothing to do with Bren or Ones or even desire. His body throbbed at the reminder of the desire Bren and he shared. If the dreams were so intense, it was dangerous to even allow himself to imagine truly touching her.
He sighed, rubbing the grit from his eyes.
“You look terrible.”
Farid was chuckling before his hand left his face. The ship’s second in command came striding down the hall, a wide grin on his face. “Haakesh. Diplomatic as ever, I see.”
Haakesh gave a brief salute, the light overhead glinting off the short man’s shiny pate. “It is amazing I’ve advanced this far in the fleet, is it not?”
“I think you have your One to thank for that. How is Mythri?” In truth, Haakesh was too likeable for anyone to ever take offense. His men loved him and would follow him anywhere. Add that to being a fearless soldier and it was no mystery why he’d achieved the rank he had. Whatever he lacked in finesse, his One more than managed to smooth over in her position in the diplomatic corps. To Farid’s mind, the two of them were the perfect Kith pairing. His parents had been like that before they’d met their tragic end. One more reason to avoid Bren—even when things seemed perfect in a bond, they were always a single step from pain, disaster, and death.
Haakesh grinned wickedly, his white teeth flashing in contrast with his dark skin. “I left Mythri resting in our rooms. She’ll be recovered sufficiently when her work shift starts.”
Farid coughed into his fist to hide a smile, unable to withstand Haakesh’s good cheer. “As her superior, I can only express the diplomatic corps’ gratitude at your restraint.”
The older man laughed, clapped Farid on the shoulder, and continued down the hallway and around a corner. The main shift was about to start. Farid’s shift. When not guided by the sunlight on their home planet of Suen, they divided the day into three shifts. Mythri and Haakesh worked the second shift, which meant they could spend the other two together. Farid was glad for both of them that the emperor had seen fit to bring diplomats on this voyage.
Then again, it could be because Farid had suggested it to his younger cousin, and Kyber was an intelligent leader. Considering how poor their reception on Earth had been, Farid was even more grateful he’d convinced Kyber to allow his small coterie of diplomats.
Somehow, his attempts to explain the concept of a One, a bond between two minds in perfect sync, had gone awry. Humans were unwilling to believe that they would have come so far to find the emperor’s One. It was only because he was the emperor that they were here. Not because the Kith wouldn’t travel across space to find their One, but because only the emperor was powerful enough to sense his One from so great a distance. Even Farid hadn’t managed to sense his until they’d arrived on the planet and he’d been face-to-face with her.
The Earthans’ stubborn irrationality knew no bounds, and a wave of rage went through Farid as he remembered how their hysteria had cost Sueni lives. Thousands and thousands of Sueni lives. General Arthur had gathered the motley armies of Earth together and they’d launched nuclear missiles at the Anshar, the smallest ship in the Sueni armada. They’d choosen the spacecraft least able to defend itself, and the result had been devastating. Everyone on board had died. The loss of lives had reverberated along his senses, ripping him from a deep sleep. Their panic and pain had flooded his mind in a great wave. He swallowed, closing his eyes. It was a mistake the Sueni would never make again, and their razer cannons vaporized the almost daily warheads that launched into the sky, but it didn’t bring back those who had died so needlessly.
Kyber had ordered his people not to fight back. He wanted his One and only his One. Once they found her, they would leave this rock hovering on the back end of space and never look back. Farid had been the one left to handle whatever fruitless negotiations were to be had with Earth. He knew he was merely dragging matters out until the emperor’s One was found, but it didn’t stop him from trying to do his job. If it rankled that Kyber had effectively tied his hands by allowing no retribution, he knew his frustration was nothing compared to those who had lost family and friends in the bombing.
Sighing, he shoved away the anger, the fatigue, and the relentless, completely unacceptable desire for Bren that nagged at him. He hurried his step to reach his office.
He had work to do.
Bren patted her hair to make sure it was in its usual tidy knot at the nape of her neck, resolutely pushing the erotic dream with Farid the night before from her mind. Again. There were some women who liked the titillation of sleeping with the enemy, but she didn’t think much of those women. It didn’t matter that the Kith could make a woman come with a mere glance, a simple thought.
Lord Farid was not welcome in her mind or in her dreams. He was a cold, heartless bastard. Condescending, smug, ruthless.
She clenched her jaw and shoved a loose bobby pin into place with more force than the action required. She winced when it scraped her scalp. Stomping on her wayward thoughts of the too attractive, too arrogant alien nobleman, she made her way through the security checkpoints in the Pentagon. The building was a far cry from the baking deserts and sweltering jungles she’d spent years in.
Dropping her purse on her desk, she glanced up to see Arthur motioning her into his office. He had a phone glued to his ear and a dozen stacks of paperwork on his desk. Dark circles made smudges under his eyes, and she doubted he’d been home the night before. She doubted his sleepless night had been as disturbing as hers.
She snapped to attention in front of his desk as he set the phone on its cradle. “Sir?”
“At ease, Sergeant Major.”
She relaxed, tucking her hands behind her back, feet shoulder width apart. “What can I do for you, sir?”
Sitting back in his chair, he picked up a paperweight and tossed it from one hand to the other. “A new country will be joining our coalition. It’s going to be a lot of work for you in the next few months. You know how difficult it can be to get a new member up to speed.”
“Yes, sir.” She’d been in the thick of it when they formed the worldwide coalition of militaries and had done more paperwork to make it all happen than she’d wanted to do in her entire life. She’d much rather be out in the field, but if this is how she could best serve her country, she’d do the best job that could be done. “Which country, sir?”
A triumphant, almost cruel expression crossed his face. “China.”
That was not an answer she wanted to hear. The bottom dropped out of her stomach.
Oh, shit.
2
Bren licked her lips and tried to keep her voice even. “I thought China didn’t want to join the coalition, sir.”
Arthur’s dark eyes cooled. “My efforts to convince them it’s the best thing for their citizens were successful.”
“Congratulations, sir.” Another wave of dread went through her, numbness following in its wake. She wasn’t sure what measures he’d taken to ensure their cooperation, but it would have to be extreme. China had made it very clear from the beginning they wanted to stand alone on this issue, that they wanted no part of an operation run solely at the discretion of the United States.
Who had Arthur threatened or killed to get what he wanted? She curled her fingers into tight fists, horrified she had to ask herself the question, and yet…not surprised by it at the same time. It wasn’t paranoia that had kept her up at night, and that lame excuse crumbled in the face of the unrelenting truth before her. He wasn’t the man she remembered, the man she’d respected, almost worshipped. Something had changed in the last few months. She wasn’t sure if she was just seeing it now, and it had always been there, or if it was a new development.
He still looked the part of the perfect officer and gentleman. Soldier. Hero. The kind of man who ended up with commemorative statues after he died in battle. She stifled a snort at