Two months later, Arik remained alive mostly because Liam had not gotten pregnant.
Liam considered that fortunate for everyone involved.
Arik considered the threat exaggerated.
He had stopped saying so after the third week.
By then, there had been other problems to occupy them.
Borders. Diplomatic corridors. Airspace agreements. Maritime claims. Customs. Security protocols.
Recognition of Nurian sovereignty by governments that had spent generations treating Nuria as either a myth, a historical anomaly, or disputed territory beneath international waters.
Two months.
That was how long it had taken Arik, Cassian, Mezos, Severin, Kamal, and what felt like half the imperial administration to make the borders functional enough that ordinary diplomatic entry stopped resembling preparation for war.
Liam had attended more meetings than he believed any human being should legally survive.
Meetings about landing rights.
Meetings about currency exchange.
