Page 11

“Different?” Linnea’s voice was a croak.

“Restless. Like you're looking for something that isn't here."

This was one problem that came from becoming friends with your attendants. Zelina knew her too well.

Linnea pushed the thought of what she might be looking for aside. "I'm fine."

"You're many things, Madame Chancellor, but fine isn't one of them." Zelina's voice softened. "Did something happen at the oasis?"

Images of golden skin and heated looks flashed through Linnea's mind. The feel of Zexx's hands on her body, his mouth on hers… She shoved the memories away. "Nothing that matters now."

"Clearly it matters if it's affecting you this much."

"The only thing affecting me is the challenge of keeping this peace alive." Linnea put down her tea and shuffled through the documents she’d been reviewing earlier, needing something to do with her hands. "The treaty is still new. Fragile."

"Then maybe we need something to strengthen it." Zelina's eyes lit up. "Or someone."

"What do you mean?"

“If we’re fighting to keep the peace treaty between the Cresteks and Dothveks, maybe our people need to see firsthand that the barbarians aren’t the enemy. Isn’t that what you said? The Cresteks need to know the Dothveks.”

Linnea drummed her fingers on her desk as she considered this. “How? We can’t tramp the city across the sands. I do not think the Dothveks would wish even small groups of Cresteks descending upon them.”

Zelina bobbled her head back and forth as she thought. Then her face broke into a smile. “We don’t need to go to them. Can’t they come to us?”

Linnea gave Zelina a confused look. “You wish to bring the Dothveks here?”

“Not all of them. Perhaps only one or two. We need a Dothvek ambassador. Someone to be the face of our former enemies.”

Linnea's heart stuttered. An image of Zexx striding through the market in his leather pants, tribal marks on display, made her pulse quicken. Was this the way she could be with him again? He would certainly be a handsome face to represent the Dothveks.

But no. He would hate it here, confined by walls and politics. And she would hate seeing him every day, knowing she couldn't have him.

"The Dothveks aren't exactly diplomatic," she said carefully.

"Neither were we until recently." Zelina raised an eyebrow. "Things change."

"Some things shouldn't." Linnea turned back to the window, unable to meet her friend's shrewd gaze. "Some lines shouldn't be crossed."

"What lines?" Zelina came to stand beside her. "The ones between our peoples? I thought those lines are what we’re fighting to bridge.”

Linnea watched a group of females hurry past below, their cloaks swishing around their feet. "I'm chancellor. I can't afford to be..."

“Revolutionary? Experimental? Daring? If you can’t, who can?”

Linnea thought of Zexx's smile, rare but radiant. The way he'd looked at her like she was something precious instead of something to fear or use. The safety she'd felt in his arms.

But she also thought of the whispers that would follow if anyone found out about them. The damage it could do to everything she'd worked for. The danger it would pose for him.

Of course, she didn’t have to choose Zexx as the Dothvek ambassador. There were other Dothveks who could serve. But her pulse quickened as she realized that this would be her chance to see him again, to discover if what she’d felt that night was real.

It was a huge risk to bring him to the city. Not only could it risk her position as chancellor, but it would be a huge risk to her heart if she was wrong. Did she really want to bring him to her only to be rejected? Then she’d have to work with him every day, and his presence would be a reminder that the feelings she’d been so sure were real had all been a mirage.

But what if she was wrong? What if he missed her as much as she did him? What if he thought about little else but that night? What if she would be giving him the thing he desired most by summoning him to the Crestek city?

“Maybe you’re right,” she told Zelina. “Maybe a Dothvek ambassador would help.”

Zelina beamed. “I’ll send word to the leader of the Dothveks and ask them to send their most diplomatic—”