^"I heard you were taking the princess to her ancestral home. I thought I'd come to join you and officially welcome the lady back to her home. Will you be staying in your family's castle, Princess Skyland?"

“I hadn't thought about it." The idea of living in my own house with my own servants sounds nice about now. I'm tired of Trav’s constant pressure to make hilock or whatever it's called. "If we can prove I'm truly Princess Skyland, then I would be happy to stay here. If it's alright with you, Hammon?"

"I would be honored to have a Skyland in residence again. Ecstatic. I've been awaiting the return of the princess all these twenty-eight years."

"Super. Let's see what we can find," I say. The sooner we have this figured out the better. If they can't prove I'm the princess, then they will have to leave me alone. If they can, I can move out of Trav's castle into my own.

"That is out of the question," Trav protests. "I cannot protect you here!"

"I would be happy to post a guard for the lady of Skyland," Conyac counters. Trav growls at him.

"Fine. If we can prove she is the princess today, we will both post a guard. But I will be staying with the lady."

"And I will stay as well," Conyac says with a grin.

I roll my eyes and step between the cockfight. "Guys, please. Let's just find what we came to find. Okay?"

Conyac is wearing a long black cloak with fur around the shoulders, making his already broad shoulders seem even broader. The black cloak and white fur bring out the color of his glowing blue eyes. He smiles at me when he notices I'm watching him. I look away, embarrassed. I haven't gotten a chance to spend much time with Conyac. He has an equal claim to the throne, and to me, as Trav does. I bite my lip thinking about spending time with him. He always seems like such a nice guy. A big, sexy, powerful, nice guy.

Hammon leads us through the front hall, up a winding staircase, down a long corridor, and up another narrower winding stair that leads high into one of the towers.

Looking out a narrow window, I take in the view, and my breath is sucked out of my lungs. I understand now why this is called Skyland. Beyond the castle grounds, the land falls sharply away and plummets into a bottomless canyon. Vertigo overtakes me, and I slump down on the stairs, winded. Conyac is by my side, lifting me up in his arms. I take in the scent of his cologne, alpine and fresh, making me even more light-headed.

I lean against his chest as he carries me effortlessly up the staircase. Trav is behind us, growling. I know he's going to grab me back at any moment. I should have the right to choose which prince I mate with, if I mate with either of them that is.

We make it to the top of the stairs and enter a laboratory similar to Gizmel's.

The tiny man begins bustling around the room, unrolling crumbling scrolls, as Conyac sets me down in a dusty chair. "Are you all right, lady?" he asks me.

"I'm fine. I just got dizzy when I realized how far up we are."

"Yes, Skyland can only be reached by a narrow bridge or by wing. It is the safest fortress on Endor."

"This place is a mess!" Gizmel complains as he searches through dusty tomes, looking for the information he's after.

Trav sits on the other side of me and hands me a metal cup full of water. His expression is blank, and he says nothing. "Thanks, Trav," I mutter, taking the water. I bring the cup to my lips and sip. The cool liquid flows down my throat, making me feel much better.

As I sit between the two princes, a buzz burns in my body, making me come alive in an embarrassingly intense way. Double prince pheromones, not good. My nipples pebble painfully against the cloth of my bodice, and my pussy becomes slick with juice. I lick my lips and look from one man to the next.

Is it Conyac that is doing this to me or the effect of both of them? Trav seems to think I'd get turned on by my "true mate." When they crushed me between them last night, I was more turned on than I had ever been in my life. I even ended up letting Trav go down on me, which was totally out of character.

If it's just Conyac that makes me so randy, then maybe he's my true mate. I shake my head at my ludicrous train of thought. I still don't really believe I'm one of these people.

Gizmel moans as he runs his finger down a yellowed scroll. "These scrolls are disintegrating!" he grumbles.

"Keep looking wizard," Trav commands.

"Perhaps we should take the lady to get some fresh air," Conyac suggests. "And leave the wizard to do his work.

"Yes, yes," the gnome agrees.

Conyac stands and offers me his hand while Trav growls beside me. I take the offered hand and follow the black-haired prince down the stairs, this time, not looking out the window. I don't think I'll ever get used to the sight of the land falling away into nothingness. It's as if we're on a cliff in the Himalayas or something.

Downstairs, Conyac leads me into a throne room. Two massive chairs sit at the end of the hall that is lined with rows of benches. We walk down the red-carpeted aisle, approaching the thrones. Between the two intricately carved gold chairs is a massive crystal globe on an onyx pedestal.

"It is the Mirror of Skyland," Hammon says from the doorway. I turn to see him standing there, wringing his hands, and looking at me expectantly. "It is said to hold the power of the Skyland family within its depths, but most believe it is just a legend."

I step up on to the raised floor where the thrones and crystal sit, and I walk around the massive Mirror of Skyland, wondering what it's for.

"It's beautiful," I say. Conyac waits below me, watching me with his glowing blue eyes, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Trav bursts into the room and growls as he passes Conyac.

"Gizmel can find nothing. We go. Now."

I sigh and sit in one of the thrones. I'm not ready to give up. Part of me feels at home here. The heights scare the heck out of me, but otherwise, I like it here. I focus on the radiant crystal in front of me. The shadows and lights within the clear gem seem to play tricks on my eyes. I see a man and a woman waving at me from within. I peer into the depths of the Mirror of Skyland, and a subtle hum radiates from the globe. Raising my hand, I place a finger on the smooth surface.

Hammon barks from the end of the room, but suddenly, I'm overcome by some inner need. I put my entire hand on the ball and then the other. Electricity radiates through me, and I cry out. "What is happening to her?" I hear Trav yell.

Conyac catches me as I fall to my knees. "Wait, don't move her," Gizmel's voice echoes through my brain as images and memories shift and move inside my awareness. I can feel something happening to me. It is as if I am being cracked open and the insides are being pulled out. I scream, but I'm not in pain. I can vaguely make out the voices of the princes yelling at each other while Gizmel begs them to wait.

"She has tapped into the power of Skyland. She is the princess," Hammon's voice cracks through the room. I moan as my body seems to break apart and be put back together again. Time stands still, and I'm lost in a white light. Suddenly, I'm back in the room, kneeling on the floor with all four men looking at me frantically.

I let go of the globe and hands are all around me, helping me to my feet. I'm set in the throne, the throne of my mother, and everyone is talking at once.

"What happened?" I ask. I don't recognize my voice. It's deeper, richer. I feel strange, as if I don't fit into my own skin.

"Princess!" Hammon gushes, bowing deeply before me. "I am your loyal servant."

"I'm the princess," I say, somewhere between certainty and questioning.

"Look at her face, her eyes. She is dragon born," Trav says, his voice somewhat shocked.

"Did you doubt it?" Conyac challenges.

"Of course not," Trav says defensively.

"Now that we are sure she is the princess, I assume that means we will be staying with her at Skyland," Gizmel says.