* * *
The jarring ring of her cell phone woke Ronnie up the next morning. Wondering who could be calling at the ungodly hour of—a glance at the clock told her it was a little after nine—she reached for the phone and answered it.
“This better be good,” she growled into the phone. Sleep evaded her last night. Even getting up and putting her sword under her pillow did little to keep away the nightmares and creepiness of a quiet house.
“Good morning to you, too, Princess,” Gavin greeted her. “Come let me in.”
“Why don’t you just come in?”
“I’m trying to be more gentlemanly.”
“That’s not a good enough excuse.” She closed her eyes as she settled back against her pillows, the phone still pressed to her ear.
“You’re right, it’s not,” Gavin agreed. Ronnie had about a second to realize he was in her room before he pulled the comforter back. She shrieked as she sat up and grabbed for the comforter, but he was too quick.
“What the hell are you doing? It’s cold,” she whined as he chuckled.
“So put some clothes on,” he replied. Ronnie glared at him. She was wearing clothes. She had on pajama pants and a t-shirt. She continued to glare at him as she crossed her arms. He grinned at her. Relenting, unable to stay mad at him for long, she put her phone on the bedside table and scooted over so he had a place to sit down.
“What are you doing here?” she complained as he settled next to her on the bed.
“Why can’t you ever be happy to see me?”
Her grumpiness lasted until she saw his smile and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. He was in an exceptional mood for someone supposedly banished to his home planet. She realized what she was thinking and her smile became genuine as her eyes widened. It was nine o’clock Saturday morning and he was here—in her room—and he didn’t look like he was worried about Rick finding them.
“Oh my god, you’re here,” she exclaimed. He chuckled as she threw her arms around his neck. “How is this possible?”
“Rick got called back to Kalearnia so I got a free day. I thought I’d spend it with you.”
She laughed as she sat back, thinking this was a perfect way to wake up. “So, what do you want to do on your free day?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.
“There are so many ways I could answer that,” he responded and she giggled. “But I would like to see you in that dress again.”
“Anything you want today, it’s yours,” she promised as she bounded from the bed to the closet. She grinned back at him as she pulled the dress out.
“That’s a dangerous promise to make,” he told her. She felt a blush creep all the way from her toes to her cheeks. Warm desire bubbled up within her as her eyes met his and she giggled again.
“I know,” she replied and left the room. She ran down to the bathroom and locked the door behind her, not that she thought Gavin would follow her. Leaning against the door, she grinned and giggled, wondering what she was thinking flirting with him like that. She knew exactly how dangerous that promise was to make, but she figured if it was his free day, she would take a free day as well and see what happened. Her hands trembled as she changed into the dress and she took several calming breaths before she returned to her bedroom. She entered as his communicator beeped and she only got a moment to see his appreciation before he answered the call. She waited and crossed the room when Osirah’s picture came up on the wall, settling next to Gavin as Osirah started talking.
“Gavin, it’s horrible. Pterodonia is under attack and nobody knows why,” Osirah announced as Ronnie sat down next to Gavin. Osirah blinked and shook her head as she took in Ronnie’s dress. “You look gorgeous.”
Ronnie’s cheeks pinked. “Thank you. So, what happened? Where’s Pterodonia?” she asked, turning towards Gavin.
“It’s the planet closest to Cira. It’s inhabited by peaceful flying creatures, the kind that you would never expect to be under attack,” Gavin explained, his face grim as he looked back at his sister. “What’s happening? Is Queen Alina calling everyone back?”
Osirah nodded. “Immediately, or as soon as you can get here. Lord Ulrich is already here but he has to go back to round up the recruits. He’s getting a couple units together before he returns to Earth.”
Ronnie reached for Gavin’s hand, offering the only comfort she knew to give. She didn’t really understand what was going on, but it seemed to upset both brother and sister. She wished she understood. Gavin squeezed her hand as he told Osirah he would be home soon and ended the call. Ronnie wrapped her arms around him.
“So much for having a free day,” she commented sourly. Gavin relaxed, his hand skimming her bare back. Her breath caught in her throat as a shiver shot up her spine. Goosebumps broke out along her arms and legs.
“I’ll stay with you until Rick rounds you up to leave,” he offered. She shook her head.
“No, you can’t do that, you have to go back. You’re needed there,” she argued.
“I’m needed here more.”
Tenderness flooded her body as she hugged him again. “Thank you,” she whispered and scooted off the bed. “Guess I better put on something real.”
She was about to step away from the bed when Gavin caught her hand. She looked down at him and smiled as his dark eyes traveled the length of her body, tingling warm awareness replacing the tenderness.
“Definitely better in person,” he declared. She blushed. “You better not forget to pack that.”
“Will there be a reason for me to have it?”
“I’ll make something up if I have to.”
She giggled as he released her hand. After crossing the room to get jeans and a shirt from her dresser, she returned to the bathroom. She twirled around in her gown a couple times, Gavin’s gaze seared into her brain, and giggled again as she changed out of it into her normal clothes. She hung it on the back of the bathroom door and picked up her pajamas before returning to her room. The sound of Gavin talking to someone made her pause just outside her room. She peered into the room and Gavin’s eyes cut to her. He shook his head, an almost imperceptible shake, and she stopped inside the door frame. He didn’t want the caller to see her. A moment later, she found out why.
“Are you refusing a direct order from your queen?” the woman in the picture on the wall asked imperiously and Gavin shook his head. Ronnie looked at the woman as he answered. This was the queen of Kalearnia. She had long black hair, large brown eyes and olive skin; Ronnie realized with a start that the queen looked like an older version of herself.
“Of course not, Your Majesty. I just can’t leave the girl unattended,” Gavin told the queen. Ronnie leaned against the door frame, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the woman on the wall. Why did the queen look like her? Or was it that she looked like the queen? Was this part of what Gavin couldn’t tell her? Her stomach clenched as the queen spoke again.
“Then bring her with you; that was your original mission,” she reminded him and Gavin bowed his head. “Though why Commander Goodyear interfered is something you’ll have to explain when you return.”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Veronica has only just agreed to come back to Kalearnia with me. She hasn’t told her friends or family anything and to disappear without a trace would make everyone hysterical. She needs a couple days to set some lies in place.”
The queen sighed, frowning with frustration. “Very well. Return as soon as possible.”
Gavin raised his head as the wall went blank. His expression was pained as he looked at Ronnie, as if he knew what she was going to say. Ronnie read the plea in his eyes as she crossed the room and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she had to. She needed to know why his queen looked so much like herself.
“Please don’t ask me. I can’t tell you the answer,” he whispered. Ronnie’s heart pounded as she took a deep breath, nervous about his answer. He’d told her when they first talked about Kalea
rnia that there were things he couldn’t tell her. She knew this was one of them. But it was the one thing she needed to know.
“I have to,” she replied. She took another deep breath and spit out the words. “Who is she, Gavin? Why does she look like me?”
“She’s my queen,” he stated, the last word seeming to strangle him as he said it. Ronnie realized she had never seen him this way before. He looked completely terrified of answering her, as though he would be struck dead if he told her the truth. Anger ignited within her at the woman who could make him look this way.
“Tell me who she really is,” she demanded, anger giving strength to her voice. Gavin flinched. “Why do we look alike? We could be sisters!”
He shook his head. His mouthed opened as though he would tell her, but nothing more than a strangled sound came out. Ronnie’s eyes widened as she stared at him, astonishment and anger warring within her now. What did that woman do to him?
“I can’t,” he whimpered. “Please, don’t ask me again.”
She glared at him. “You can’t or you won’t?”
He closed his mouth and swallowed audibly, gathering his wits as he lifted his head to meet her gaze. “I can’t,” he firmly repeated.
“Did she forbid it?” His queen’s audacity appalled her.
“Yes,” he ground out, the admission hard for him to say. Ronnie’s mind spun at the implications of his answer.
“Why would she do that?” she whispered, choking on the words as Gavin reached for her hand. She allowed him to take it within both of his.
“Please, Princess, let it go. Everything will be explained when you come back to Kalearnia.”
The word princess slammed into her and Ronnie jumped off the bed, her eyes wide as she gasped for air. It couldn’t be true! Her head whipped back and forth between the blank wall where the queen’s picture had been and Gavin, his face twisted in agony. His broken expression told her everything she needed to know.
“Show me again,” she pleaded, leaning against the edge of the bed to support her wobbly legs. Silently, Gavin hit a button on his communicator and a picture of the queen appeared on the wall across from them. She stared at the woman, recognizing her eyes and nose from the girl she saw in the mirror every morning.
“My god,” she croaked and collapsed to the floor next to the bed. Gavin slid off the bed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap as he cradled her against his chest. Ronnie couldn’t decide whether to scream or cry. Her eyes refused to move from the woman smiling back at her from the wall.
“She’s my mother,” Ronnie whispered. Gavin’s arms tightened around her and she knew she’d guessed right. Her eyes remained dry as she lifted her head and looked at Gavin. His tortured expression mirrored the thoughts and feelings whirling through her mind.
“Why?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I was just told to bring you home.”
“And she put some kind of spell on you to keep you from telling me the truth about who I am. You could tell me about the Spiral Defenders and even Kalearnia but you couldn’t tell me the real reason I had to go back with you. What would you have done if Rick hadn’t shown up and done what he has? How would you have gotten me to go back with you? Would you have kidnapped me?”
She pushed him away, scrambling out of his embrace at the thought of him using force against her. His face hardened at the accusation. But then a new thought occurred to her, one more horrifying than the thought of being adopted.
“Do my parents know?”
“No, of course not. At least I don’t think they do.” He shook his head.
“I don’t even know who I am.” Tears filled her eyes now. Her tattoo tingled and she swallowed her tears. “I’m not a princess. I’m a girl—a normal girl.”
“But you aren’t.” He cut off her hysteria with his words, catching her hand once again. “You’re more than normal. You’re extraordinary. You already know you’re different because you can heal yourself. Come home with me and find out what else is special about you.”
Ronnie shook her head as she pulled her hand out of his grasp. “I don’t know if I can. I need time to think about this.”
A tear trickled down her cheek and Gavin reached up to wipe it away with his thumb. His hand cupped her cheek and Ronnie allowed herself the moment to give in to the comfort he offered. The comfort was short lived as her throat constricted and another tear slid down her cheek. She scrambled unsteadily to her feet.
“Please go,” she begged quietly. “I can’t do this. I can’t be around you right now.”
He opened his mouth as if to argue but then closed it. He nodded as he stood, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his cargo pants.
“Please call me when you’re ready to see me,” he said and turned away. He spoke some words, took a step forward and then he was gone. Torn between calling him back to demand an explanation and feeling grateful he’d listened, Ronnie threw herself across her bed and let the tears come. She could hardly believe less than an hour ago she’d been happily showing off her new dress and shamelessly flirting with him. That girl from an hour ago was a lie. She didn’t know who she was now.