few minutes later, he was dressed, neat, and ready to start his workday. Walking toward the door, he stopped short when his gaze caught on a hologram flickering across one wall that he’d programmed his imager to display. It was the only part of his room that had any personal meaning. A hologram of his family, smiling and happy, mocked him silently. He had no family now. He was the last Arjun.
His gaze moved over his mother’s face. She had laughter dancing in her eyes. His father radiated pride, one hand on Farid’s shoulder, the other holding his mate’s. In the center was his sister, beautiful and bright as a sunbeam. Cilji. She’d been so young then, and Farid himself had been barely of age. So long ago, so many wonderful memories that would never be more than that now. Gone. All gone. He’d lost them one by one, each death more heartrending than the next.
The image dissolved and a holofilm his mother had taken of his graduation from the academy began playing. He drew himself up, took a deep breath, and tugged at his sleeves to be certain they were in place. Turning away from what no longer was, he left his room.
It was rare he allowed himself to think of that time. He preferred the happier version of his family captured by the imagers. It must be this dilemma with Bren that had him tripping over the past, unable to get out of its way and let it rest.
But the past was what made him what he was, the loss of his family was what made the very idea of bonding with his One so abhorrent to him. He shuddered, Cilji’s lifeless eyes flashing through his memory, her blood drying on his skin as the warmth left her slender body. He’d never understand the actions she or her One had taken. He just knew that he’d been left to pick up the pieces. He’d been left to answer the questions of others. And he was the one left wondering why.
The only answer he had was that he never, ever wanted to be in a position to make those same choices. He was of an age that he’d thought he could rest assured he didn’t have a One, that he could marry a Kith of appropriate social standing and rebuild his line. He still intended to once they returned home. If they ever returned home. He ruthlessly subdued the feline’s screech of protest at touching anyone besides its mate. The man had a 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
