Pain radiates throughout my body as I lie on the bed and cry my eyes out. My husband is afraid I’m doing something to his mind.

If I am, I’m unaware of it.

The thing I did was nothing I knew myself was capable of. And now it seems that by saving myself and possibly Kerr, I have given my husband a reason to fear me.

Time has passed. Not sure how much but enough that I’m feeling very frustrated and penned up.

I’ve done everything to stop this feeling welling up inside me. I’ve taken a shower and put fresh clothes on.

Kerr’s unique scent was all over me. Making me want him so badly it hurt. I had to wash it from my skin and put on clothes that smelled nothing like him.

It’s hard to believe the tall, masculine man is afraid of me. I would never do anything to hurt him. Not ever.

I believe it was because he was in danger that my mind even did what it did. There was no fear in me for my life, only his.

Out the small, round window of my room, I see sunlight. It’s a welcome sight, and we seem to be about to land on some planet.

I guess this is Ulta Minor. Kerr said we’d be recharging soon. The ship lands on a light green surface.

It’s hard to see much from the little window. A shiny, black ship comes down next to ours and lands.

His aunt is supposed to be on one of the other ships. I do hope she comes to talk to me. Another female on my side would be helpful.

This room begins to suffocate me.

My door opens, and I see Bet. She won’t look at me though. She slides a silver covered tray into my room and then the door closes.

“Bet, wait!”

Kerr and the guards must have everyone afraid of me now. Had I known how this would’ve been taken, I’d never have used the power.

Not that I even knew I had it.

I suppose I should make an attempt to learn exactly what kind of power I have and how to use it only when I want to. Not when my emotions want to.

With extreme concentration I look at the tray she placed on the floor near the door. The lid rises, and I see something different from the regular crawly things on the tray.

Holding out my hand, the ivory colored page of what looks like paper floats off the tray and into my outstretched hand.

It seems Bet has written me a letter. As I look it over, I can see she’s been told not to talk to me. But that she’s still loyal to me.

She tells me not to worry, she will get me something I can manage to eat without Kerr’s help. It seems she will get off the ship on this planet and find me something suitable.

A smile runs over my lips. And the door glides open. A tall, slender woman with long, flowing blond hair is looking at me with wide, deep blue eyes.

“Nar?” I ask.

She nods. “Am I safe in your presence, Princess?”

“You are, Princess.” I rise and go to take her hand.

“You have stirred things up, my dear,” she tells me as she takes the hand I extend and places her other hand to cover mine.

“Seems so.” I smile and let her hand go and then turn and gesture to a chair. “Please, why don’t you sit so we can talk? Would you like a drink?”

She shakes her head. “Kerr would be furious at me if I leave your room lightheaded from the drink. He’s counting on my intuition to know if you can be trusted or not.”

With a heavy sigh, I sit in the chair on the other side of the small table. “I can be trusted. It was my intense worry for him which had me finding powers I had no idea I even had.”

“You love him?” she asks with one brow cocked.

I nod. “More than I ever knew possible. It hurts me more than you can imagine that he’s afraid of me.”

“Afraid is not quite the word I’d use. He’s a smart man. You have to admit he did need to distance himself from you to see if you’re having some type of control over his thoughts.” Her eyes are pretty and sparkle as she looks me over.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. Is he okay?” My hands wring in my lap as I want so badly to see him in the flesh.

With a nod, she says, “He’s fine. And you will be happy to know he’s thinking about things between you two. He and I spoke about what love feels like. I dispelled quickly his worry that you made him feel something that is not real.”

“How so?” My hands stop twisting as I find hope in my heart he’ll stop this nonsense and set me free now his father is locked away.

Her smile reveals perfect, white teeth, and she is remarkably beautiful. “I have the experience of having true love in my life. I married the love of my life, the Duke of Standon. Luthus is the best thing to ever happen to me. As my nephew told me of his feelings for you, I easily recognized them as legitimate.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “That is nice to hear. My heart belongs to him. Never did I know love could feel like this.”

She nods. “It is amazing, is it not?”

I nod in agreement. “The King? Have you had the chance to speak with him?”

A frown covers her beautiful face. “He is not well. Mentally or physically. I’ve been told his body is hot, and he’s shaking with a chill. We Euthenians do not get ill. But he may have some type of other blood coursing through his veins along with the Euthenian blood of his late mother.”

“I happen to have brought some medications with me, as I am susceptible to illness like all people from Earth are. Shall I give you some? You can administer it to him to ease the symptoms of what sounds like a fever.” Getting up, I go to look in the small bag Bet brought from the room I was originally sharing with my husband.

“Do you honestly think it would help him? I mean, you aren’t trying to kill him with a poison, are you?” She studies my reaction.

“I can see you all might think I want him dead, but I truly don’t. Though he means to kill me, I don’t wish to cause him any harm. I swear it.” I hand her the bottle of aspirin and take a seat again.

“My sister would’ve liked you, Kataline. There is a good feel about you. I can see you are honest and you love Kerr. I can see it when you speak of him. Your eyes light up. His do the same when he talks about you.” Her hand moves to rest on mine as I’m drumming my fingertips nervously on the tabletop.

“I’m sorry she’s not around for me to get to know. Kerr must resemble her more-so than his father. He looks a lot more like you than the King.” I look at her hand which covers mine.

It's long and elegant. Her nails are pink and long, filed into a nice oval shape. Her tresses are long and braided only halfway down and then free-flowing over her shoulders.

She’s taller and larger all the way around than I am. The way she sits commands respect, and already I am in awe of the woman. “Do you have any children, Nar?”

“Two daughters. I cannot wait to introduce them to you. They’re with their father. I want to take you to meet them.” She stands and gestures to the door. “Please, let us waste no more time with this lunacy of you being a witch who is to be feared or a part of this uprising happening so far from where we are.”

My legs shake as I follow her out of the room I’ve been trapped in for so long. Her hand quickly takes mine as she leads me out into the corridor of the ship where the bedrooms are all located.

We pass a guard who looks at me with wide eyes, but he says nothing. Nar stops him and holds out the bottle of pills. “I need this given to the King to bring down what Kataline says is most likely something called a fever.” She looks at me. “How many should he take?”

“Two, every four hours until he’s better,” I say. “Do you think he’ll take them, knowing they came from me?”

With a shrug of her shoulders, she says, “Not sure. But at least, you’re offering.”

The guard takes the bottle of pills and goes into another room, I suppose the King’s.

Kerr comes around the corner, and we all stop. His eyes settle on me. Then he looks at his aunt. “You sure about this?” he asks her.

I look away. His doubting me makes me angry. I try hard to find a place in myself which can understand his distrust in me, but it’s not easy. Not after all we’ve felt for one another.

Nar answers him, “Quite sure.”

It came very quickly to him, the doubt. That isn’t a thing I knew was possible. His hand on my shoulder has me looking up into his blue-green eyes.

Questions loom behind them. “Are you mad at me?” he asks with somewhat of a quiver to his voice.

I shake my head. “I should understand you had to be cautious. It hurts, though. I cannot lie to you.”

“It’s not what I wanted to do, you know? Hurt you. It just is unusual to say the very least. Never have I dealt with such a thing.” His hand massages my shoulder.

I want to fall into his arms so badly, but my guard has come up now, and it may take some time to go back down.

“Your aunt is taking me to meet her daughters.” I take a step back, and his hand moves off my shoulder.

He frowns at me then says, “I have to meet with the others to discuss my father. I’m afraid I have to ask you to stay with Nar until I come for you. You’re still to be kept under watch at all times. Though I have said if Nar felt you were being honest and not a threat to anyone, you could move about much more freely. As long as you’re with someone.”

Words stream from my mouth without my real consent. “If you’re threatened in any way, it doesn’t matter who’s with me. My emotions seem to control that thing inside me that seems to be able to control others.”

Nar’s hand holding mine pulls me to follow her. “Come, Kataline. You and I can work together to get that under your control.” She looks back at Kerr who watches me being taken away with sadness riddling his handsome face. “Perhaps her gifts can aid us in getting the rebels back under our control, Kerr.”

I watch his reaction. It doesn’t seem to change as he says, “Perhaps she can use it to help. I’ll be there to get you as soon as I can, baby.”

A little jolt goes through my heart, and I stop and give Nar a look that tells her I have something I need to do. She smiles and lets my hand go and waves me away.

I turn and run back to Kerr. His arms open up, and he envelops me. “I’m sorry, baby,” his words heat the skin behind my ear.

“I know.” My heart is pounding. “I understand. Hurry to come and get me. I miss you more than you can imagine.”

He lets me go and then smiles. “Our first fight.” He sighs and leans in to whisper, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. When I get you back in our room, you’ll forget about it all.”

I smile and my cheeks heat. “Promise?”

He nods and takes my hands in his and places his lips on them. “I promise you, my sweet Princess.”

My heart melts, and I can no longer be upset with him. “I love you.”

Light fills his gorgeous eyes. “I love you.”

He lets my hands go. “See you soon then.” I turn and go back to his aunt who waits with a wide smile on her face.

Her arm goes around my shoulders. “My sister would’ve really loved you, Kataline.”

We walk out of the ship through a ramp and for the first time ever my feet land on ground other than Earth. It feels the same.

The air, however, is sweet and cool. I can actually taste it. “Cotton candy.”

“What is that?” Nar asks.

“The air tastes like cotton candy,” I say as I breathe it in.

“Don’t know what that is. It does taste sweet, doesn’t it?” She takes in a deep breath too.

Now that we’re out of the ship, I can see the place we landed. The sky is pink with yellow hues. It’s near dark I assume. Then I see the tiny sun and think it might be midday on the planet.

“Ulta Minor is a small planet used primarily as a charging station for space travelers.” Nar leads me toward what looks like a small café. “The girls and my husband said they’d meet us at this eating establishment. I’ve never had food here. When we stopped here on the way to Earth, my husband and I sent the girls with Kerr and took the time to be alone. We never left our room.”

I grin as I can imagine what they were doing. The door to the café slides open, and I see a man and two teenage girls sitting at a large table. Mountains of junk food cover the table, and I may be in Heaven.

“Yes, it looks like Earth food.” I know my face must be beaming with joy as my stomach has been feeling quite empty.

The man stands up as we approach the table. He’s tall, dark, and extremely handsome. His deep green eyes peer at me from beneath lush, dark lashes.

I’m pulled into his embrace as Nar lets me go. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Kataline. I’m Luthus, your new uncle.” He pulls back to look at me. “I’m sorry about all the crap you have to deal with. Just so you know, Nar is an excellent judge of character. I mean, she did pick me to be her husband after all.”

I giggle as he’s incredibly charming and sweet. His strong arm wraps around me as he turns me, gesturing to the blond teen girl with blue-green eyes much like Kerr’s. “This beautiful young lady is our daughter and your new cousin, Latice.”

The young girl smiles and gives me a little wave. “Hello, Kataline. We met at the wedding, but I don’t expect you to remember that.”

I laugh. “Thank you. There were so many faces, and truth be told, Kerr had me very distracted. It’s very nice to meet you again. I think we’ll get along well.”

My shoulders are squeezed as Luthus points to the girl with dark hair, like his, hanging in ringlets around her pretty face. Her eyes are blue, like her mother’s.

“Lavine is our oldest.”

“Nice to meet you too, Lavine,” I say.

Luthus seats me next to her. They seem like a really happy family, and that gives me hope for the first time. A fizzy drink is placed in front of me by what I think is a female as there’s a lump in front of her massive chest.

Her voice comes out kind of high, so I’m pretty sure I’m looking at a woman. She’s quite lumpy as all the locals are. So lumpy it’s hard to tell them apart.

Their skin is blotchy and pale behind the red blotches. The ones I see in here all have thin, greasy hair, and almost all of them keep them short.

I suppose it’s their uniforms they have on. They all match in some type of overall which has more buttons on the sides I’m assuming is for more expansion space in them.

“Anything else?” she asks with a high, gravelly voice.

Luthus shakes his head, making the dark waves falling to his shoulders bounce. “I think we’ve got a little of everything you make here. Thank you.”

She moves away, her gait slow. Nar hands me a plate made of wood and a pointed little spear-like instrument that I guess is what I’m supposed to eat with.

Following the example of the rest of them, I stab at the items I want to try and place them on my plate. I load up on what looks like cheesy, chili fries and there’s flat bread with a red sauce which hopefully tastes like pizza.

Placing a fry in my mouth, I groan as it seems to be a normal fry and normal cheese, with normal chili. “I miss my kind of food.”

They all laugh. Lavine’s elbow pokes me in the ribs. “You’ll have to join us for meals sometimes. We eat Earth food once each week.”

I clap my hands. “I will definitely be accepting that invitation!” I take another bite off the thing that looks like pizza, and I am not disappointed. “Yum!”

Everyone smiles and I get the impression everything could go well in this new life of mine.

With these people to help me, could this all go well after all? Do I dare to hope?