Chapter 44

Connie

Seeing the king’s face and then Laylar’s filled me with so much joy. I still wondered if Raylon being here was a dream, but when I saw them on my TV, I knew it was real.

Ash shot up off her seat. “Okay, hold on a damn minute. ‘Your Highness’? Who the hell is this guy?”

Connie placed her cup on the table next to her seat and stood.

“Ash, that man on the TV was King Zasrus of the Vara kingdom. His brother, Raylon, is the prince, and that beautiful woman you just saw is his daughter, princess Laylar.”

“Is this some kind of live action role-playing gang of yours or something?”

I laughed. “No. He is a real king, from a place billions of miles from here.”

“Like an alien?”

“Yeah,” I said and watched Ash.

“Con, these guys are regular Joes. Look at them. There is nothing alien about them.”

I thought back to when I thought the same. ~I still want to know how that’s possible.~

I turned to Raylon. “Did you say the Fuls are still here?”

He nodded. “Yes, and I believe you will be happy to know that it’s Billy and Bob.”

I smiled wide and looked up at my ceiling. “Really?”

“Hello Connie,” a familiar flat voice said in my ear.

“Bob? Oh my gosh, I’m so happy that you guys came back.”

“We did not leave.”

My smile fell.

“What?”

“Our experiment is not yet over.”

“You have been here all this time, watching me suffer and cry and miss Raylon, and you didn’t do anything about it!”

“You did not ask us for our assistance.”

“I thought you were gone!” I shouted, and when Ash stared at me with a confused look, I remembered why I wanted them.

I took a breath to calm myself down and said, “Can you come down here?”

“Are you sure it is wise to do so with the other human there?”

“Just come down here already,” I said and turned back to Ash.

“Listen,” I said to her. “Don’t be scared, okay?”

“Scared of w—” her words were silenced by a flash of light. I turned to see the two tall beings standing by my window.

As angry as I was that they just left me to suffer for so long, I was glad to see them.

I gave them a wide smile and felt Ash’s hand jerk out of mine. I spun around in time to see Raylon catch her as she fell.

He lifted her up and placed her on the sofa with great care.

He stepped back, asking, “Is she all right?”

“I think she just passed out,” I said and went to her. I checked that she was breathing and nodded when I saw her chest moving.

I went to Raylon and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. His arms held me close, and I shut my eyes at the safe and loved feeling it brought me.

I looked up at him and when he met my eyes I said, “Yes.”

He frowned.

“Yes, I will go back with you. I don’t want to ever let you go again.”

His smile grew so wide that I thought he would burst, as he said, “Really?”

“Yeah. Being away from you the last year and thinking that I would never see you again made me realize just how much you mean to me. How much I need you in my life.”

“I cannot imagine how it must have felt.

“For me, it was only a few weeks, then I spent the rest of the time in stasis, but even so, I almost lost myself thinking that you were gone for good.”

“Take me with you,” I heard Ash say, and I turned to see her laying with her eyes open on the sofa.

Ash

Seeing how much Connie loved this man, and how much pain she was in without him, made me wish I could have something like that.

I thought I did, when I married Dave at nineteen, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was because of him and the way he treated me that I failed to make any real connections with people, until Connie came along.

Hearing her now, telling this man that she loved that she wanted to go with him made me feel so alone again.

~I don’t want to lose my only friend.~

Connie let go of Raylon and turned to me. “Ash, you can’t—”

I sat up. “Please,” I said, as my eyes filled with tears.

“What about your life here? The shop, your house?”

I scoffed. “I don’t have a life, Con, you know that. Not one that has any meaning. The shop is so deep in debt that I had to sell my house just to pay some of it off.

“I have nothing holding me here. I haven’t seen my sister since I was thirteen, and I haven’t spoken to her since I was twelve. She didn’t even come to my father’s funeral.”

“Ash,” she said, and took my hand. “I’m never coming back. This is a one-way ticket.”

I nodded. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

She stared into my eyes for a moment, then turned back to Raylon.

“She is welcome, as my guest,” he said and gave Connie a nod.

She met my eyes again. “Are you sure about this?”

“More sure than I have been about a lot in my life lately.”

“Okay,” Connie said, and I flung my arms around her neck.

“Thank you,” I said, and when I let her go, I went to Raylon and wrapped my arms around him before he could say anything.

When I let him go, the guy from the door was at his side, glaring at me.

I glared back at him. “What?” I asked.

“Touching a royal is a crime,” he said between clenched teeth.

“Oh, get over yourself,” I said and rolled my eyes. “He’s a big boy, he can handle it.”

I heard Connie giggle from behind me, and when I looked at her, she was staring at Raylon.

~Me thinks she broke the same rule when they met.~

I moved my gaze to the two tall beings still standing motionless and silent by the window. “And who are you two?” I asked.

“I am Billy,” one said, and the other said, “I am Bob.”

“I wonder who gave you those names,” I said, turning back to Connie. She laughed again before gesturing for me to sit down.

“A few years ago, I was walking home from a night out, and Billy and Bob abducted me.

“They wanted to study me and human nature, and we made a deal. That’s how I met Raylon.”

“There is so much more to that story,” I said. “And I want the details. But for now, I just want to know what I can expect.”

“Um, well it’s a beautiful kingdom. It’s rich and prosperous, and there are a lot of weird-looking aliens there, but you’re gonna love it.”

“Will you be with me?”

“Of course,” Connie said. “I would never leave you alone out there. You can stay with me for a while, until you get settled.”

I caught Raylon shift in his place from the corner of my eye. ~Don’t think he likes that idea too much.~

I met Raylon’s eyes. “How do you feel about that, big guy?”

He smiled. “I think it is a great idea. It will give you the chance to get to know my home, and for Connie to have her friend close. Where you will live is up to Connie.”

“What are the options?” I asked.

“Well,” he said and sat next to my friend. “I would like it if Connie lived in the palace with me and my family.

“But there are many options: the summer house in the country, an apartment at the top of the tallest tower in the city. I even offered her my private home on Parna.”

“What do you think?” I asked Connie.

She placed her hand on his leg. “I think we can decide when we get there.”

I pulled in a deep breath as my nerves began to flare up. “When will that be?”

The tall blue one at the back stepped forward. “Our ship can have you in the kingdom in five weeks.”

“That’s fast.”

“Took me sixteen months to get there,” Connie said, giving the being side eye.

“As we told you, we had other things to study in the universe. But we can take the more direct route now.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said as I stood. “What are we waiting for?”

~End of Book One~