Authors: Brenda Hiatt
“Once those are destroyed, even the fanatics aren’t likely to see invasion as a viable option. We should be able to finally start planning a gradual, peaceful relocation of our people.”
What Morven had said about the colony’s resources running out within a century or so was apparently true, which made
some
solution essential. Shim and the Stuarts discussed some of the specifics they hoped for, and though I knew I should be paying attention—I was bound to regret it later if I didn’t—it was impossible to follow all the references to people and events I knew nothing about.
Finally, long after the pizza was eaten and the table cleared, Shim turned to me and said, “I owe you an apology, Excellency.”
“Huh? Why?” Oh,
that
sounded regal! But I didn’t understand.
“Though I told Van yesterday that the Council would announce your existence via MARSTAR, we held off, hoping that it might prove unnecessary—that with Smith exposed, Morven would abandon his plans and that you could then continue to live a normal life. We also, upon further discussion, feared that there might be those in the network who were secretly loyal to Faxon, and who might therefore pose a separate risk. But had we announced the truth earlier, it might have lessened the risk you faced today. And for that, I sincerely apologize. Be assured that the word has gone out now, since after what happened today, there was little point in attempting to keep it secret. Better for everyone to know the real story than to piece together an erroneous one from whatever Morven’s escaped followers might say.”
“Oh.” Morven’s gang had arrived so quickly, I doubted having the word out sooner would have made much difference. But I was mainly concerned with just two words out of Shim’s explanation. “Um, normal life? I can still have that, can’t I?”
All of the adults exchanged glances before anyone spoke, making me uneasy in spite of Rigel’s hand covering mine.
“You can try,” Mr. Stuart finally said. “And we’ll help all we can. But there’s no question that some—perhaps many—
Echtrans
are going to want to see you for themselves, to verify that you’re really alive . . . and to pay their respects.”
“Growing up as you have, M, you can have no idea how world-changing this news will be to our people,” Dr. Stuart said gently. “Many may come to regard Jewel, the place you’ve grown up, as a sort of shrine.”
“What, like . . . like Graceland or something?” I squeaked, looking wildly around at all of them. Rigel, at least, appeared almost as startled as I felt. They had to be kidding.
Mr. Stuart chuckled. “A little like that, yes. But with only a few thousand expatriates worldwide, we probably don’t have to worry about parking issues. Still, Jewel is likely to become a bit of a, um, tourist attraction for a while.”
I was completely boggled by that idea and it didn’t help when Shim added, “Only a few thousand at the moment, but if our plans progress as we hope, that number will grow steadily over the next few decades.”
“But . . . what do I
do?
” I asked.
“Nothing, for now,” Shim said. “We will all, and especially Van and Ariel here, do our best to keep things low key. If you can, conceal the truth from your aunt and uncle for as long as possible, preferably until you are old enough to go away to college. From what I’ve been told of them, I doubt they would appreciate having their lives disrupted.”
I had to laugh at such an understatement. “So I can keep, you know, going to school and everything, right? I don’t have to do anything, er, official right away?”
He shook his head. “Eventually, of course, you’ll be expected to take on the responsibilities of your heritage. But for now, I hope you will be able to live the relatively . . . ahem . . . normal life of a teenager.”
“And part of that is going to the Homecoming dance,” Dr. Stuart announced. “We’d better hurry if you don’t want to miss the whole thing.”
Rigel and I were almost an hour late to the dance.
We thought we’d be able to slip into the black-and-gold festooned cafeteria quietly, but that didn’t happen—mainly because it was almost time to present the Homecoming Court and a few of the organizers were starting to panic because Rigel wasn’t there yet.
Not only the organizers.
“
There
you are!” Trina shrilled, rushing up to Rigel seconds after we entered. “Do you have any idea how
mortified
I’d have been to be crowned solo? Not to mention the dance afterwards.” She didn’t even glance at me, of course.
Other people did, though.
“Wow, M, you look great,” said Pete Chesterton, who was a senior, our best running back . . . and Trina’s date. “Lucky guy,” he added to Rigel. Trina glowered at him.
“You can say that again,” Rigel agreed, gazing down at me with the crooked smile that made my heart do that funny little flip-flop thing—even more than usual, after today’s events. I’d been so afraid at one point that I’d never see that smile again. Especially right after he’d actually told me—
“M! You’re here!” Bri brought me back to the present, almost tackling me with a fierce hug. “You sounded so strange on the phone when you said you couldn’t come over before, I was afraid your aunt might not let you come at all. Oh, that dress looks fabulous on you! I knew it would.”
I was grateful she didn’t come right out and say it was hers, with Trina standing within earshot.
The DJ was playing a song I liked, and I was kind of hoping it might be my first-ever dance with Rigel, but before I could even hint at it, Trina grabbed him by the hand.
“Come on—let’s let the committee know you’re here. You need to be briefed on the program sequence.”
He sent me a questioning look, but I shrugged and nodded—and couldn’t quite suppress a snicker at Trina’s self-importance. After facing almost certain death earlier today, being briefed on the “program sequence” just didn’t seem like fate-of-the-world stuff. Still, he looked reluctant as he left me, which I didn’t mind at all.
“So, did you hear?” Bri asked me the moment he was gone. “Like, a
bomb
or something exploded in a cornfield right next to the school today! They actually considered canceling the dance because of it, can you believe it?”
“Really?” I asked with what I thought was admirable cluelessness.
“Yeah.” Matt, Bri’s date, chimed in. “Derek and Paul went out later, after the cops left, to check it out, and they said there’s like a crop circle or something out there.”
“The cops came?” I hadn’t known about that. “Did they find out what happened?”
Before Matt could answer, a voice came over the speakers—the Principal, announcing that it was time to crown the Homecoming Queen and King and their court. The students quieted down a little as Mr. Cowan presented Heather Williams and her king, Scott Anderson (our basketball star—this was Indiana, after all), then the rest of the court, including Trina and Rigel.
Heather made a brief little thank you speech, then the DJ queued up a slow dance to be led off by the Queen, King and court before the rest of us were allowed to join in. I watched Trina draping herself all over Rigel and tried not to mind. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find Jimmy Franklin standing there.
“Oh, hey, Jimmy,” I said, glancing behind him for his date. No one was there.
“Hey, M. I, um, I was wondering,” he stammered, “since, you know, Rigel has to dance this one with Trina, if, um, you might, um, dance with me?”
Jimmy looked handsome and earnest and more than a little nervous as he waited for my reply. A couple of months ago, this would have transported me into complete ecstasy. Now, I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Uh, sure. I guess that would be okay,” I said as other couples started to drift out onto the dance floor to join the Homecoming court.
He led me out to the floor. I had to keep my gaze away from Bri, who kept giving me very-raised-eyebrow looks that were guaranteed to make me laugh. Instead, as I gingerly put one hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and the other on his arm, I looked over at Rigel and Trina, which sobered me right up.
Trina was still pressing herself shamelessly against
my
boyfriend, though it looked like he was doing his best to fend her off by keeping his elbows between their bodies. Then they turned so her back was to me and he saw me. His eyebrows went up almost as high as Bri’s, but then he grinned. I grinned back.
We spent the rest of the song smiling and winking at each other without our partners being any the wiser. As soon as the music ended, I politely thanked Jimmy, Pete reclaimed Trina, and then Rigel and I were together again.
“I’m really sorry about that,” he said, taking both of my hands in his and pulling me close, even though the next song was a fast one. “I wanted my first dance to be with you.”
So had I, but now that I was in his arms, I couldn’t feel anything but happy. “That’s what we get for being late,” I said. “It’s not your fault you’re the most popular guy in the sophomore class.”
He chuckled. “Homecoming Court doesn’t quite compare with real royalty, but I guess it’s something. Anyway,” he added, holding me closer, “I don’t plan to leave your side for the rest of the evening.”
“Sounds good to me,” I murmured.
We danced in contented silence. The next song was a slow one again, which made us a little less conspicuous, since we were treating them all that way. It was like we couldn’t bear to let go of each other—at least, that was true for me.
“Happy?” he asked during our third dance.
I nodded, then finally asked the question I’d been dying to ask all evening. “So, your folks, Shim, they’re . . . okay with, you know, us?”
He raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. “They’ll have to be.” Then he looked down at me, his expression serious, intense. “We’re bonded, M. I don’t think anything can change that. At least, I hope not.”
I hoped not, too. I couldn’t even imagine life without Rigel now, and I didn’t want to. “I love you.” The words were out of my mouth before I had time to worry about them.
A slow smile curved his perfect lips. “I love you, too, M. More than life itself. And that’s saying a lot, since life is pretty special now that you’re a part of it.”
And then he kissed me and I knew that no matter what the future might bring, we were going to face it together. Me, the most unlikely princess ever, and Rigel—my very own star and the most wonderful guy on Earth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brenda Hiatt is the author of nearly twenty novels (so far), including traditional Regency romance, time travel romance, historical romance, and humorous mystery. She is as excited about her new STARSTRUCK series as she’s ever been about any of her books.
In addition to writing, Brenda is passionate about embracing life to the fullest, to include scuba diving (she has over 60 dives to her credit), Taekwondo (where she recently achieved her 2nd degree black belt), hiking, traveling, and pursuing new experiences and skills. She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and Novelists, Inc, an international organization of multipublished novelists, where she served as President in 2006.
For the past dozen years, Brenda has also collected data on writers’ earnings, which she shares at her website,
http://brendahiatt.com
. You can also find Brenda on Facebook, Twitter (@Brenda_Hiatt), Tumblr, Goodreads and Wattpad. If you enjoyed this book, she hopes you will consider leaving a review at Goodreads or wherever you like to talk about books.
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