GWEN

I gazed around the huge ballroom, determined not to be scared out of my mind. Everything either shined or glittered, including the beautiful people around me. I didn’t know if I stood out like a sore thumb, or if it was paranoia. Somehow Lyzette didn’t come off like a commoner. Maybe I didn’t either.

I had married Anders and gotten pregnant almost immediately. It was hard to imagine a different outcome considering all the fucking we were doing. I had decided that I couldn’t live without Anders, so what else was I going to do?

I had changed my mind about the risks of having my child being half Auxem. If all the people on their planet had managed to deal with the pain, I was sure our baby could too. And the benefit would be that she could fly. That was something I could never give her without Anders.

We were in the Markan palace, and I wore another princess dress. It still had a poofy skirt, and I supposed I looked like every other woman there. The main difference between them and me was that I was a nobody who happened to have married a prince.

Anders whispered into my ear as he came up behind me. “Half of these women are married to princes or kings. Believe it or not, quite a few of them are human.” It was as if he had read my mind.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you telling me all the women on Earth marry alien princes? Look at that one. She looks like she was born to be a queen.” I nodded at a cute brunette who was dancing with a tall, dark and handsome man.

Anders shook his head, moving beside me. He laughed. “She’s a queen, all right, but she was born on Earth. Her name is Kenna. She’s married to the king of Susohn.”

“I would never have guessed it.” I admired the scar on her upper thigh and looked around again. “What about that blonde?”

“Okay, she’s a queen. Her mother stepped down to give her the crown.”

“There you go. My royal radar’s not that bad. Who’s the other beautiful blonde? She doesn’t seem like she’s a queen. The guy she’s dancing with looks like a scoundrel.”

“You’re two for three. Those are Ayrie’s friends, Nathaniel and Ashlyn.”

“The ones who rescued them with their ship?”

“Exactly. That’s enough guessing for now. Come dance with me. You’re making yourself anxious. I thought you were finally overcoming your fears now that you married into a royal family.” He led me onto the floor, and we started to sway gently together.

“I hope I am. But this gathering makes me terribly nervous.”

“I know. But we couldn’t turn down the Markanor when he wanted to celebrate getting rid of those fucking pirates.”

He looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard him cursing.

“Anders, you can take the pilot out of the starship, but you can’t take the starship out of the pilot.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“It is nice to be recognized, considering that we almost died.”

“We weren’t even close to death.” Anders shook his head. “Our survival was guaranteed, even when the photon torpedoes started coming at us. I knew we’d figure it out.”

“How could you know something like that?”

“It was easy. Someone had just said she loved me. The universe wouldn’t let me die before I had sex.”

“That’s your reasoning? You couldn’t die a virgin?”

“You bet.” He grinned. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

“You are something else.”

“I’m your husband now. Father of your child too.”

He put his hand awkwardly on my small baby bump.

“I have a lot of titles, now that I think about it. The best pilot you’ve ever flown with.” He looked smug. “What else am I?”

“Conceited, for one.”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “Maybe.” He laughed and pulled me closer, giving me a quick kiss.

I couldn’t keep myself from yawning. “Speaking of babies, I have to sleep for two now. Do you think we’ve stayed long enough?”

“Are you tired?” His voice dripped concern.

“Just a little bit. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Let’s start making the rounds to say good-bye. We can be out of here in half an hour.” He stopped and glanced at me. “Do you need to go right now?”

“No, I’m fine. I can handle another thirty minutes.”

“Okay.” He led me to the king of Susohn and the Markanor. I supposed there was nothing like starting introductions from the top. He waited politely until the two kings turned to us. All the breath left my lungs.

Not only were they both royalty, but they were also devastatingly handsome.

“Dar, Mikael.” Anders nodded to each in turn.

“Anders, it was good seeing you. You’ll have to come to Susohn and bring one of those good-for-nothing brothers with you.”

“Ayrie would love to go back to Susohn and finish his studies. But he’s got a wife now, and they’re trying to get pregnant. It might have to wait.”

Dar shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day the Madellan boys settled down.”

“Speaking of settling down, this is my wife, Gwen. She’s a pilot, like me.”

“The partners who did what couldn’t be done.” Mikael smiled. “They eradicated the pirates from my sector of the galaxy. They’re tonight’s guests of honor.”

“That was you?” Dar looked at Anders with a newfound respect.

Anders shook his head. “It was her.”

Dar’s eyes got even bigger than before. “Very impressive, my lady. I saw the videos on the news.”

“All I did was fly the ship.” I decided I should make a token attempt at modesty. “Anders had the hard job.”

“Someone said all I had to do was push a button.”

“That does sound like something that would come out of my mouth.”

Dar burst out laughing. “She’s a smart one.”

“Smart and talented,” Mikael added. “That’s a good combination. Anders needs someone to keep him on his toes.”

“You can say that again.” Lyzette came up to join our little group. Mikael smiled warmly at her and put his arm around her waist. “I assume you’re talking about Gwen?”

“I’ll do my best. The little one should help too.”

“Are you expecting?” A smile spread across her face.

“You couldn’t tell?” I felt big already because of the bump, but I guess it wasn’t too obvious.

Before I knew it, I found myself in a discussion about the joys of being a parent. All of a sudden I realized that I was having a conversation with royalty like they were a bunch of starship pilots. I was getting over my anxiety!

After a few minutes, Anders remembered that we were supposed to be saying goodbye. We left the Markan palace with a security escort. When Mikael and Lyzette had found out about our attack, they were appalled. Mikael insisted on providing safe passage to our starship this time.

Anders took my hand, and we gazed up at the stars while trying to ignoring the security detail following us. When we got back to the fighter, I went into the changing area and put on my blue pilot’s uniform. It was the outfit in which I felt most comfortable, although the pants wouldn’t fit me much longer.

We hadn’t been able to resist taking out the fighter again. We knew that our piloting days together were numbered. I had decided to take two years off to be with the baby before I returned to flight. We were trying to enjoy every minute in space together before the baby arrived.

When I came out, I saw Anders lounging in the cockpit. He was still wearing fancy clothes.

“You’re a pretty handsome pilot.” I kissed him and sat down on the left seat.

“I am. And modest too. The Madellan men are known for our good looks.”

“Have you talked to Allex lately?”

He pulled on my hand like he wanted me to sit on his lap, but I felt too heavy to risk it. “Come over here.”

“No way.”

“You’re going to get a lot bigger than that. You should have seen Jayne.”

“She was having twins.”

Anders looked unconvinced. “Come on. I’m a big boy. You won’t hurt me.”

I finally laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“The last time I saw him, he looked worried. He was acting strangely.”

I nodded. “I noticed something different when we were all at Jayne and Arnon’s for dinner.”

“I don’t know what to do.” He shook his head. “We don’t know what will happen if Priya reveals herself.”

Anders’ father was a wild card, more likely to make his children miserable than help them find happiness. I could easily see him locking up Priya. Allex, who knew him better than I did, had probably imagined it too.

“I suggested we smuggle her out and find a legal place for her to stay. Allex could pretend to meet her and bring her back to the ship.”

“But she tested positive for the gene. Your father would not approve.”

“That’s what Allex is worried about.”

“They belong together. How’s Priya doing? Maybe I should visit her. She must be going crazy down there by herself.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m not sure Allex wants you going down there. It’s better if we don’t have regular expeditions to her hideout.”

“Don’t you think she needs to talk to people?”

“I’m sure Allex is good company when he gets down there.” Anders waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Well, I’m not doing that.”

Anders looked around and lowered his voice even though we were the only people on the ship. “They’re doing more than fooling around. They’ve bonded. Allex is in trouble. I have no idea how to help. This won’t end well for either of them.”

“Are they married?”

He shook his head. I sensed he was trying to withhold judgment on his little brother, but Auxem views on marriage and bonding were strict. There was a proper way to do things. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for him. They both know they’re running on borrowed time.”

“It’s called letting your brother grow up.” I put my hand on his cheek. “You might think of him as the baby of the family, but he’s not a baby anymore.”

“I know.” Anders looked off into the distance. “I can still remember holding him before he could walk. It’s hard to believe he’s a grown man.”

Anders dropped his hand to my belly. “What kind of father do you think I’ll be?”

I frowned. “You’re going to be great.” I looked into his eyes. “What are you worried about?”

“I’m afraid I’ll be a copy of my dad.”

“You’re your own person, and you’ll be what this baby needs. If I see you making the same mistakes, I’m going to tell you so you can stop. Is that a deal?”

He smiled, looking more hopeful. “Yes. Are you making me a promise?”

“Only if you tell me when I screw up, too.”

“You got it.”

“Anders, we might not know what we’re doing, but we’ll love this baby and do our best. I think that’s all anyone can do. The little one isn’t going to grow up like you did.”

I had to address what I knew he was thinking, even though it made me feel afraid too. “I’m not going to die, okay? I’ll do everything I can to be there for this baby and so will you.”

“You’re right, Gwen. I’m worrying over nothing.”

“How about a distraction?” I squirmed a bit on his lap. “There’s no sense in getting stressed out about it. Anxiety is not good for the baby.” I took his hands and put them on my breasts. He drew in a breath, and I could tell he wasn’t thinking about fatherhood or his little brother. “Let’s release some tension together.”

Anders leaned in to kiss me. “Anytime you want.”