She shook her head. "No. We planned it together, but I volunteered."
"You willingly endangered yourself by entering the Clan Alpha House alone?" His tone possessed elements of disgust and disbelief. He let her go and put some distance between them. "Had you been killed by the bloodsuckers, your family would have been crushed—did you ever consider the consequences of your actions? Did you ever think how it would have affected me?"
His shoulders sagged. Hernando turned his face away, hiding the tears in his dark brown eyes behind a lock of shoulder-length hair. It was difficult for him to allow anyone to see him crying. She had hurt him, perhaps wounded him more than anyone ever had. Would he ever forgive her?
"I'm an idiot. I didn't think it through at all. Please forgive me."
Olivia crossed the space between them and reached out to touch his arm. He stepped away. She bit her lip, an angry frustration boiling within her. She had to explain it to him—he had to be made to see sense.
"Look, I said I was sorry," she began. "I'm fine—and we have new information on what the Alphans were up to with their unauthorized Portal device, and the culprits are in jail. I've proven the trust Caveman and the others on the ruling council have in me hasn't been misplaced. I'm willing to sacrifice my own safety in order to make this new government work for all of BloodDark's inhabitants and not just the renegade Pure Bloods. My work should count for something, right?"
A dark cloud passed over Hernando's face. "I'm sure the council will reward you for your courage and ingenuity, if it's what you really want."
Olivia gasped. Her blood ran cold. He thought she wanted accolades and trophies? She wanted praise for her good deeds? "No, Hernando, I don't need a ribbon or a medal. I want you to be proud of me and to trust me to do the right thing—for everyone. I don't want you to think I'm a selfish glory hound showing off her abilities. I want BloodDark to be safe and to have continued good relations with Earth. I did this because of us—you and me. I love you."
He frowned. "How was risking your life on a hunch any way to prove you love me?"
Olivia sighed. "It just was. Believe me, I didn't mean to cause you any pain."
She reached out to take his hand. He didn't move away, but he didn't squeeze back, either. Before she could take his other hand in hers, they were interrupted.
"Ambassador, it's good to see you’ve returned home," Caveman Charlie said, striding into the council's library chamber. He paused as he spied Olivia, a grimace spreading across his leprechaun-like features. He turned back to Hernando. "Your timing is fortuitous. You can accompany this young lady back to Earth when your visit is complete."
"Only if she wishes to return." Hernando dropped Olivia’s hand and composed himself to converse with the president of the ruling council. "Miss Brown has become engaged to Moreau of Clan Alpha, I've been informed."
Ouch. That explains why Hernando doesn't believe me. Who told him about my pair-bonding-thingy already? I don't suppose I can convince him it was Lauren Petrowski who pair-bonded and not me?
Caveman cleared his throat and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Ahem, yes, we’ve heard as much. Annara's preliminary report on the operation gave us the main details, and it demonstrates how far undercover Olivia was willing to go to discover the location of the unauthorized Portal. Thanks to her efforts, it's been decommissioned."
Hernando harrumphed. "It sounds like Valori and her powers had more to do with putting it out of action than anything else."
Double ouch. Olivia flinched. Hernando wasn't going to give her any credit for locating the rogue Portal. Would he ever let go of his hurt?
"Good thing Valori is on our side then." Caveman's tone softened. "Perhaps we should have a liaison within each of the Pure Blood clans to help integrate them fully into our new society of equals. What could it hurt?"
"Terrific idea, Caveman." Olivia smiled. "There's been a lot of misunderstanding between the human and mixed populations, and the original colonists of BloodDark. An official liaison within each clan could go a long way to smoothing over past hurts and future worries. They could act as mediators between groups and prevent slights from festering and potentially turning into all-out war."
Caveman raised a bushy-red eyebrow. "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?"
"I have. You get to know people well when you're eating at their table and polishing their silver. Professor Mahvet, who instructed us on the history and culture of the Pure Bloods, would make an excellent liaison for the Alphans. He's a great speaker and enjoys meeting all sorts of people. I'm sure he could recommend others like him among the other clans."
Caveman nodded. "Fascinating. Sounds like an excellent plan." He turned to Hernando. "Do you think you could spare this intelligent young woman for a while longer? I think we could use her to set up this new office of liaisons."
"Olivia is free to do as she wishes," Hernando said, without a glance at her. "I'm certain the council could make good use of her talents."
Triple ouch. Olivia cringed, but fought hard to keep her outward appearance calm. I should be grateful he thinks I could be of use to BloodDark, because he's sending out signals I'm of no use to him.
"I'd be honored to help the ruling council." She shook Caveman's hand and did her best not to look over at Hernando. His scowl was a knife to her heart.
Annara rushed into the library just in time to save her from an awkward moment. "Our guests in the holding cells are willing to talk." She turned to Caveman. "They've requested your presence as the head council member."
"Me?" Caveman pursed his lips. "Why? I didn't have anything to do with this... operation."
"They say they'll only speak to someone in the highest
