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motion, Elder Meadowlark scoffed. “That we should lower the shield,

establish relationships with barbarians and warmongers?”

“Oh, for fuck sakes.” Ivy threw her arms in the air and groaned. “Get

over yourself. War happens. It happened before, and it’ll happen again.”

“Next time, we may not be so lucky to avoid it.” Pausing in his

pacing, Kai gripped the back of the chair in front of him, and leveraged

a hard, calculating glare at the elders. “How confident are you that we

can win a war without allies?”

No one spoke for a very long time, and just when the silence had

begun to grow uncomfortable, Elder Meadowlark pushed his chair back

and rose to his feet.

“We will call a summit of the Five Isles to discuss your concerns. This

is not a decision to be made lightly, and I believe everyone should have

a chance to voice their opinions.”

“Agreed.” The tension in Kai’s shoulders eased, and the muscle in his

jaw stopped ticking. “Call your summit. In the meantime, I will be

opening communications off planet.”

Ivy beamed from ear to ear, even as the elders stuttered their protests.

“I love you,” she mouthed to her mate.

In return, Kai winked at her, but returned his attention quickly to the

elders. “I am also authorizing the departure of Tariq and Cami Navarra.

They are guests, not prisoners, and when they choose to leave, they

won’t be hindered.”

“Now, see here!” Elder Meadowlark blustered. “You have no

authority—”

“I have every authority,” Kai interrupted. “Furthermore, I am hereby

adjourning the Court for suspected deception and manipulation

regarding the people of Xenthian. You are welcome to plead your case at

the summit.” He lowered his voice, but spoke just as forcefully. “The

universe is changing, Elders. I think it’s time we change with it.”

* * * *

on everything that had happened during the meeting with the elders.

“Really? Kai really said that?” Cami covered her mouth to muffle her

giggles. “I wish I could have been there to see it.”

Ivy was so damn proud of her mate she felt like she might burst. “It

was kind of hot.”

They fell against each other on the sofa in the library, their laughter

echoing throughout the room.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Cami asked once she’d

sobered. “I mean, we don’t have to leave right away.”

“I’m going to miss you and Tariq, but you came with me on the

Dreamweaver
to see the galaxies. You can’t very well do that from the

surface of Xenthian.” Ivy knew where she belonged, and she had no

intentions of going anywhere. “You’ll stay for the celebration after our

bonding ceremony, right?”

Cami bobbed her head excitedly. “I wouldn’t miss it.” She took Ivy’s

hands and squeezed them reassuringly. “Are you nervous?”

“About the ceremony?” After considering the question for a moment,

Ivy shook her head. “No. I know what I want. I’ll admit I’m not as sure

about this Vasera thing, though. I don’t know how to rule a planet.”

“I imagine it’s no different than commanding a ship, just on a larger

scale.”

An interesting way to look at it, and one Ivy hadn’t considered.

Bonding with Kai and becoming a ruler of Xenthian meant she wouldn’t

be an Elite anymore. As much as it hurt, she couldn’t maintain a foot in

both worlds. So, she tried to think only of what she’d be gaining, not

what she would lose.

“Wyn still isn’t giving up any names?”

A sigh billowed from her lips. “No, he’s not saying much of anything,

really.” Kai had finally given in and agreed to let her take a crack at the

questioning, but she hadn’t gotten any new information from the sentry.

“Kai says it’ll take time for the magic to wear off and then even longer

for him to begin to remember. Waiting sucks.” Too bad they didn’t have

a D’Aire on the planet willing to perform a mind scan.

“Well…I could always contact Naira,” Cami offered, not looking

even a little sorry that she’d plucked the thought from Ivy’s head. “If Kai

will allow it, I think she’d come.”

Ivy had met Naira D’Veen on a few occasions when she and her crew

had stopped over on Beta Station 4 to refuel or pick up supplies. The

D’Aire female always indulged her with a fresh cup coffee in her

restaurant, sweetened with real sugar, and Ivy never passed up a chance

to stop by Starscape while on the space station. She didn’t know Naira

like Cami did, but from she did know, she like the female well enough.

“Cami, you’re brilliant!”

If Cami could convince Naira to come to Xenthian, it meant they’d

have answers in a matter of minutes rather than months.

“Talk to Kai,” Cami encouraged, standing from the sofa and

smoothing out the wrinkles in her tunic. “See what he thinks. If he

agrees, I can send a communication to Naira tonight. Hopefully, we’ll

have a response within a few days.”

“Where are you going?”

“Tariq is in the training hall. I like watching him.” Her cheeks flushed

with the confession. “Like you said, it’s hot.”

Ivy couldn’t even think about Tariq that way without upsetting her

gag reflex. “Okay, too much information. Go, get out of here. I’ll find Kai

and let you know something after dinner.”

They said their goodbyes, and once Cami had left the library, Ivy

touched the transponder at the back of her ear. Not only had Kai

approved of her being given a comm device and a dagger, he’d actually

insisted on it. Ivy couldn’t have been happier with the new arrangement.

A small vidscreen projected from the transponder, flickering to life

twelve inches or so from her face. “Kai?”

Instead, Tira appeared on the vidscreen, clearly annoyed at being

interrupted. “Ivy Dalton, did you set the correct frequencies?”

“Uh, how do I do that again?”

The captain huffed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ask Lorcan.

He can help you. Do you need assistance with something else?”

“Actually, I’m just looking for Kai. Do you know where he is?”

“The Vasili is on his way to the library.”

“Oh, excellent, I’ll just wait.” Ivy thanked the captain and reached up

to switch off the vidscreen, but paused when Tira called her back. “Yeah,

what’s up?”

“Is that a trick question?”

Ivy laughed. “What did you want to tell me?”

The captain hesitated and shook her head. “Nothing. Are you alone?”

“Well, yes.”

“Stay in the library, Ivy Dalton,” Tira ordered, her voice sharper than

it had been. “Your mate will be there soon.”

The vidscreen went blank, leaving Ivy blinking in confusion. Only

moments later, the glass doors slid open, and Kai entered the library. He

appeared deep in thought, not even noticing her until she called his

name.

“Dove, what are you doing here alone?”

“I’ve only been alone for a few minutes. Cami just left to go find

Tariq.”

“Where is Sion?”

Ivy shrugged. “In the kitchens. He’ll be back.”

Sighing, Kai crossed the room and pulled her into his arms for a

chaste, distracted kiss. “We need to find you another guard. I don’t like

you being alone, not even in the citadel.”

After what had happened with Wyn, Ivy wasn’t enthusiastic about

choosing another guard she neither knew nor trusted. However, she

could also understand Kai’s position on the matter.

“Okay, you’re probably right,” she conceded. “Speaking of guards,

Cami had an idea that might help us get some answers out of Wyn.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Ivy ignored him. “Do you know who the D’Aire are?”

“I’m aware, but Ivy—”

“So, you also know what a mind scan is. I mean, it’s not guaranteed

that it will work.” She paused, frowning up at him. “Actually, it might

kill him, but I think it’s worth the risk.”

“That won’t help in this case. I’m afraid Wyn—”

“Cami knows a D’Aire female on Beta Station 4. Naira would come.

I really think we should at least try. I mean if it doesn’t wo—”

“Ivy!” Kai gripped her face in both hands and dipped his head to kiss

her, effectively cutting off what she’d been saying. “Dove, I think that’s

a wonderful idea, but it’s not going to work. Correct me if I’m wrong,

but mind scans only work on a living subject.”

“Well, yeah, but…” He couldn’t mean what she thought he did.

“What do you mean a ‘living’ subject? What happened?”

Kai nodded. “Wyn Nightstar is dead.”

It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be dead. Ivy hated that the thought

even crossed her mind, but she had to ask, “You didn’t…did you?”

“No, dove. As much as I would have enjoyed it for what he did to

you, it wasn’t me.”

“Then how?” He’d been in a locked room with no windows and

sentries posted at his door around the clock.

“No one knows. The medics are examining the body, but there were

no visible signs of injury.”

“What about the vid feeds from the holding room?”

Kai shook his head slowly. “Just static.”

If someone could get to Wyn inside a locked, guarded room, they

could get to anyone, anywhere. “It’s magic, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so, but not a kind with which I’m familiar.”

Groaning, Ivy dropped her forehead to Kai’s chest and closed her

eyes. She’d said it before, but she’d never meant it more—she
really
hated

magic.

“Dalton.” Commander Sullivan Archer grinned back at Ivy from the

vidscreen in the library. “Causing trouble?”

Ivy shrugged. “Of course.” With interplanetary communications now

open, she’d finally been able to set up a vid comm with Sully, though it

had taken weeks for the
Stargazer
to be within range. “Was the salvage

crew able to recover anything from the wreckage?”

Ivy sighed when the commander shook his head. She hadn’t expected

much, but the updates were still disappointing.

While the crew had recovered several pieces of the
Dreamweaver
,

they’d found not even a single scrap of metal from the alien craft. He

urged her to keep the Xenons vigilante against attack, but beyond that,

the Alliance could do nothing without more information.

In the meantime, the opening of Alpha Station: X21 had been

postponed while they relocated the space station closer to Xenthian

airspace. This would allow the Alliance to monitor activity in the area,

but would also provide enough distance so that the Xenons didn’t feel

threatened. For now, Ivy considered it an excellent compromise.

Sully also urged her to encourage the Xenons to choose a

representative to meet with the Alliance. At the very least, the Alliance

wanted permission to recover the
Dreamweaver
from the planet.

“I’ll speak with them at the summit,” she promised.

Beyond that, she made no guarantees. While communications had

been open, travel—both incoming and outgoing—was still restricted to

just Cami and Tariq until after the summit. As most Xenons had never

been away from their home world, Kai had reservations about opening

travel to everyone right away, and Ivy had been in full agreement.

Furthermore, welcoming too many outsiders to their planet too quickly

had the potential to be just as disastrous.

Which led Ivy into her next order of business. “I realize this isn’t the

most professional way to go about what I have to say, but considering

the circumstances, I’m afraid this communication will have to serve as

my official resignation.”

“Resignation?”

“I’m staying,” she clarified. “I’m staying on Xenthian with my mate.”

“We had assumed you were.” Sully was still frowning at her. “I don’t

see why that means you have to resign, though. We’d hoped you—”

“You’re not fucking resigning.” High Commander Jax Spartan

appeared next to Sully on the vidscreen. “You’ll stay as an ambassador.

I want regular reports and updates.”

He didn’t wait for a response before disappearing from the vidscreen,

leaving Ivy and Sully both struggling not to snicker and quickly failing.

“So, I guess that means I don’t have a choice?”

Of course, she’d happily accept the opportunity to stay on with the

Alliance while being able to remain with her mate on Xenthian. She

couldn’t resist needling Jax, though. He just made it too easy.

“You always have a choice,” Sully answered. He looked as though

he’d say more, but sighed and shook his head when Jax began yelling

from somewhere in the background.

“No she doesn’t. I’ve already started the fucking transfer files. Do you

know how long it took…”

His voice faded out until Ivy couldn’t hear him, but she assumed he’d

just moved to a different part of the cruiser to continue his rant.

“Just say yes, Dalton, before the top of his head explodes.”

Ivy beamed from ear to ear, straightened to full attention, and fisted