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Chaos sighed, then caught himself. “Prime Minister, Ice is not about to betray us for this woman, as there’s no cause for his jealousy to start with. I won’t require her to mate with any other men. And he hardly seems broken up about his own sexual experience. Ice, are you all right? Do you feel well?”
Ice glared at the prime minister b
efore answering. “I am well, Emperor. I feel as good as I ever have. The experience was intensely pleasurable.” Thinking about it now threatened to arouse him again, so he focused on the prime minister’s sour face instead.
“And now,” the prime minister groaned, “you want the woman all to yourself. Your mission was to find a way for Crimeans to learn to love again, to reproduce naturally. You come in here with what could be the key, and you want to horde it! See, Chaos. Already a loyal Crimean has been made selfish by feelings and acts we have learned to live above!”
Chaos held his hand up to stop the prime minister’s rant. “Ice, continue to spend time with Alana. Explore these new instincts, and learn what you can about awakening them in others. I feel like you’ve given our planet hope, you and Alana. You’ve done well. I will arrange for Alana to have full Imperial ranking and clearance to our libraries, in case there are things she could find useful in her research. Every hospitality and resource will be provided for her.”
The prime minister scoffed again. “That’s right, drain the coffers for a scheme that should never have been authorized—”
“Prime Minister, I have made my decision.” The emperor moved to sit and sip his tea. “Thank you, Ice. Report back to me when there’s something new to tell. I trust you and Alana will get to work on this immediately.”
“Of course, Emperor.” Ice gave him a quick bow and hurried to give Alana the news of her new status in Crimean society. He also longed to touch her again and taste her kiss, and feel her body pressed against his, even if only in a quick embrace before they got to work.
Alana was busy writing down notes when he returned to her room, simple observations about Ice and his time with her. She allowed him to read them, and he found himself pleased at the things she said. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that though Ice didn’t really have emotions like she did, there were subtle changes in him during the short time they’d known each other. Changes aside from wanting to have sex with her, of course.
“Should we go to the libraries now?” Alana asked, after he’d relayed what the emperor said. “Now that we’ve seen some actual progress, maybe I can find something that’s restricted to the elite class that might help. At the very least, it’ll be interesting. I have a lot yet to learn about Crimea and its culture, after all.”
Ice agreed they could spend the day scouring through the libraries, but before they left her room, he put his hands on her shoulders. He wondered for a moment if he should ask her permission to kiss her, but she leaned in, understanding what he wanted.
His lips dragged across hers in a slow, heated kiss that thrilled Ice and made him want to postpone the library.
The future of my people is at stake. And we can spend only so many hours in the library. Tonight, when we’re finished, there will be time for this….
Ice was a little ashamed he had to remind himself of these things so firmly in order to pull away from Alana. He led her from her room toward the libraries.
As they walked along the path that took them through one of the few remaining flower gardens on Crimea that wasn’t for food purposes, Ice wondered if the colors had become brighter than before, or if he happened to be looking at them with a new perspective. Alana took in all the flowers and greenery, and her enjoyment seemed to enhance Ice’s appreciation of it. He’d only viewed all the greenery and the few flower gardens through the lens of science before—plants helped clean and oxygenate the air. Now he appreciated them on an aesthetic level for the pleasure they gave Alana.
“You know,” Alana said, “since the object is to promote love and relationships, we might as well set a good example.”
Alana’s hand slipped into his and held tight, her smile broad and…beautiful, Ice thought. It rivaled even the most delicate and colorful flowers in Crimea.
“Ice.” Commander Storm walked toward them on a side path and stopped, mouth slightly open, when he noticed their joined hands.
“Yes, Commander?” Ice said.
“Is everything all right?” Storm frowned at Alana. “Do you need assistance?”
Alana laughed sweetly. “I’m fine. He’s not holding me up, Storm. Just holding my hand.”
Storm still looked confused, and Ice felt for him. He’d have been confused if he saw someone else doing it. But Alana’s hand felt right in his, like it belonged there. He wanted Storm and other Crimeans to know what it was like.
“I’ve just been to see Emperor Chaos,” Storm said, still looking at their hands. “He told me of your breakthrough. I was coming to find you to see if I could help in any way, and to inform you that sabotage was confirmed by the investigators. The ship was crippled intentionally so our mission would fail.”
Ice wasn’t surprised, but it was still a disappointing outcome. Now they had to prove who did it and why, which was much harder than discovering the treachery in the first place.
“Where do we start?” Ice asked.
“I think we start with our suspicions, and once he’s ruled out, we’ll formulate a new plan.”
“You have a suspect?” Alana said, moving closer so they could speak softly.
Storm met Ice’s eyes. Clearly, he wasn’t sure how much of Crimean business Alana should know.
Ice said, “Prime Minister Hallow.” When Storm’s eyes narrowed, Ice was about to remind him that the emperor had given her the highest clearance. But Storm’s back straightened, his head snapped to the side, and he tackled both of them to the ground.
A plasma pulse crackled in the air above their heads. If Storm hadn’t thrown them down, it would have hit its mark—Alana.
