“No one is pleased about it,” Akoro said. “He still needs to do his duties like everyone else.”

“He is intending to,” Prillu said. “He’s still fully involved in the princess’s care and her diet. He’s just been in a strange mood…”

Akoro nodded. Oppo’s memories were probably torturing him. “Keep an eye on him. Dismissed.”

Prillu bowed low and left the room.

Akoro turned his attention to the table. If they could get through her interrogations in two weeks and then adjust their plans as necessary, then everything could be kept within a six month schedule. But there was no room for error or deviation.

He hadn't told any of his council about the late-night visits or their sparring session because he couldn't explain it rationally, and for a man who prided himself on his control, it would have signaled something alarming for them. His council didn't need to know, as long as his behavior with her stopped immediately.

He had to go back to thinking of the princess as a means to an end—a source of important information to help his people. That was the only way he'd be able to function. If he was desperate, he could still fuck her, but just for the pure physical pleasure, nothing more. He didn’t need to know anything else beyond what was necessary for the mission.

And he’d had already begun, telling her that she was no better than any other female prisoner who loved to spread their legs for their masters. In fact, he didn’t know that wasn’t true. He knew his attraction for her was because of a strange compulsion that had probably come from being in the desert so long, but why was she also so aroused? As an Alpha he loved that she behaved differently in those moments; softer, tentative, needy, but it was a far cry from the steely Omega who demanded he return her to her father. She always seemed unwilling to indulge him, but her arousal was powerful all the same. Maybe she was a female who loved sex. Maybe she’d been covertly fucking her way through her father’s army. He didn’t have evidence to support that but it would make sense since she’d indulged him eagerly.

He picked up his beer and took a long drink to wash the bitter taste out of his mouth at the idea of anyone else touching her. It was better to stay focused on the goal at hand, although when he saw her today he thought he’d have to abandon what he'd started. Dressed in a ssukkurian outfit, she looked absolutely stunning. Beyond beautiful. And she hadn't even had her hair done or worn any jewelry. She was an Alpha trap, like those creatures who paralyzed their prey before they even realized they’re caught.

But worse, she brought out a part of him that conflicted with everything he was trying to do. He couldn't allow it. Too much had been given for this cause, too much suffering had by his people. He couldn’t let this strange impulse destroy everything he’d been working on for decades.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The next day began the same.

After she’d drank her tmae juice and practiced her combat sequences, Meiro dressed her and encouraged her to drink the potent gold liquid she called kkermo. Then Prillu took her to meet Akoro and his council in the strategy room.

Today he wore his hair back and braided into one long tail again. Without his hair framing his face, his jaw seemed sharper, his eyes even darker and his body thicker. Naya’s skin tightened, heat flushing over her and lifting her center with a fierce rush. None of it was true. It was just their true mate connection that made him always seem so savagely beautiful, but the attraction cut through her, brutal and deep. He was also wearing more layers of leather than yesterday, leaning into a style that was more warrior than regal king. The result was breathtaking. But it didn’t matter. That mouth and those hands were never touching her again.

Naya dragged her eyes from him and breathed deeply, focusing instead on the table between them as she walked to stand opposite him. Calm, considered, and careful.

As she approached the table, he pointed to a piece of parchment. "Is this correct?"

Naya leaned over to look at it. It was a hierarchy of the Lox army. At the top was her father, Emperor Drocco. Directly underneath him, her uncle, Commander Torin. Then were all the generals that ruled over the various countries and territories of the Lox Empire. Then their second-in-command’s, and then the massive army which was written down as five thousand soldiers.

"The structure is correct," Naya said. "But the amount of soldiers isn't."

"How many do you have?" Nrommo asked.

“Twenty-five thousand."

“That’s impossible,” he said immediately. “That many cannot fit in the palace. It is said by all official channels that the army live in the palace.”

“They used to all live in the palace.” She lifted her gaze to his. “They grew.”

“Where are they if they’re not in the palace?” Nrommo asked.

“All over the empire. They are in every country.” She watched the council murmur thoughts to each other in their own language. She understood now why they needed to take someone who would give them information. While they knew a reasonable amount about the Known Lands and the Lox Empire, their knowledge about specific security measures was old. Papa and Uncle Torin had kept it that way, despite the exasperation about their carefulness by almost everyone. Uncle Torin had specifically moved the army around through deployment and restructuring so they were never gathered all together at the same time. No one would know how many there were… unless they were told.

Naya turned to Akoro, whose eyes she could feel on her. “You said you had more soldiers than my father’s army⁠—“

“He does,” Nrommo interrupted, his eyes dark with pride and annoyance. “Do not assume that because your army is bigger than expected, that our army is unable to overwhelm them.”

Naya angled toward him. He already knew what she was going to say and he was already irritated by it. Good. This Alpha was emotional enough to give her information without realizing it.

“Our warriors are five times the size of your tiny Lox, Omega. It will be easy to subdue⁠—“

“Nrommo.”

Nrommo’s words died at the utterance of his name from Akoro’s mouth.

“Out,” Akoro ordered. “All of you.”

They started moving toward the door but Prillu and Nrommo moved toward him.

“I request to stay, zmola,” Prillu said, her head bowed. “I believe I can⁠—“

“No.”

“I should be present if there is any discussion about the army, zmola,” Nrommo said. “I think I should stay to⁠—“

“No.”

Prillu bowed and turned on her heel to the door. Nrommo’s mouth tightened and he glanced at Naya, anger embedded in his face. For a moment, Naya thought he was going to say something more, but he blazed out of the room.

Akoro leaned over the table, looking at the hierarchy of the Lox army and Naya watched him closely. He seemed to be a completely different person from the Alpha who kept coming to her cart in the desert. Although he had intimidated her and pushed her to the ground yesterday, today he was solely focused on his invasion. That would make things much easier for her.

"Your father values his army more than any other defensive or attack strategy or method, doesn't he?" he finally asked.

Naya considered his words for a long moment.

"Doesn't he?" Akoro repeated forcefully, straightening to his full height.

"He is very proud of his army, yes."

"Why?"

"They were the first army of their kind in the Known Lands."

"What are these Known Lands?"

Naya frowned. “I thought you knew.”

“It doesn’t matter what I know.”

Sighing, she gestured to the three land masses. "These three continents."