Where the hell is a crystal ball when you need one? How am I supposed to make this decision? My problem is that I know what I want to do. I’m afraid I’ll regret the decision; that it will be the wrong one, and I won’t be able to go back, because even if I go home, I might not be able to come here ever again. If I give the key to King Azure, who knows if I’ll ever see it again. There is the slimmest of chances that it could return to me, but what if it decides to stay with him or finds someone else? Stupid key. I wish I had time to weigh everything.

A loud knocking makes me jump, followed by a gruff voice, “Your Highness. The king is requesting your presence along with Princess Pine.”

“That is not my name!” I screech.

Luke chuckles. He walks to the door and holds it open for me. “We must go. You have until we walk next door to decide.” No pressure. None at all.

We walk back into the room where the scent of breakfast engulfs me once again. Taking our seats, I look at my plate and try to steady my breathing. In the time it took us to walk from one room to the next, I’ve become extremely nervous. If I think about it, I should be one big ball of raw nerves by this point.

Every day we’re faced with choices in our lives. Do we go this way or that? Drive down one street or the other? Do we take a leap and jump into the unknown? Or do we stay on the steady and safe course? Every day you make choices that have the ability to alter your life. You have the choice to trust your head or follow your heart. They don’t always align, but when they do, you need to follow them, because it’s rare.

“Do you have an answer for me, Princess?” the king asks.

I lift my head to look at him. Luke is watching me intently, however showing no emotion. “I do have an answer, but it comes with a question that must be answered first and a few conditions. If you don’t agree to this, then we’re only left with one option.” I’m silently hoping he agrees, because everything is depending on this. I know how badly he wants the key and the peace treaty. He can’t have both, though. At least not right now.

“What’s the question?”

“No bullshit. No games. I want a straight answer.” The king’s mouth lifts ever so slightly into a smile, which surprises me. “Why do you want the key?”

His mouth settles back into his version of showing no emotion. I’m getting zero read off of it. “I want it to find my love.”

“Your love?” I inquire.

“Yes, the only woman I’ve ever loved. She’s in your world. Every moment without her my soul aches.” His fist tightens and he brings it to his chest to punctuate what he’s saying.

Luke’s head whips around to face his father. “What? What about Mom? I know she’s gone, but did you love her? Doesn’t her memory garner more respect than this? I can’t believe you had someone else.”

King Azure lets out a long breath. “Lucas, I would never disrespect your mother. The truth is, she didn’t die. She fled our realm, and she did it with Eliza Wescot.” The room starts to spin, and I place my hands onto the arms of my chair to steady myself.

“She’s…she’s alive? Mother’s alive?” Luke questions, barely above a whisper.

“Yes, my son, she is. At least as far as I know. Alison’s mother and yours were very close friends, even though King Pine and myself forbade it. They found ways to stay in touch with one another and spend time together. They trusted each other. We knew, of course we knew, but they were our wives. How do you say no to the person you love most in the universe? Especially when you see how happy having a friend who understands all they are going through, makes them.”

My mind reels with the information. It also starts to put things together. I remember my mom having a best friend, someone who she only saw once a year, but who she spoke of fondly. “Rya,” I whisper.

“What?” It’s Luke who asks. The surprise evident in his voice.

“My mom had a friend who she saw only every once in while, but they spoke often. Her name was Rya.”

“That’s my mother’s name.”

“Alison, is Rya alive?” the king asks.

“Yes.” I nod. “Last I knew, anyway. I saw her at my mom’s funeral a year ago. We didn’t speak much during the service. She seemed as upset as I was. She came to town for it, but I don’t know from where. My mom never told me where she lived.”

The king’s eyes start to well with tears, but he’s able to hold them back. I look to Luke and he doesn’t appear to be holding it together much better. He believed his mother was dead, only to find out that she’s alive. I can’t imagine what that must feel like: shock, relief, anger at his father.

He stands abruptly, forcing the chair to fall back onto the floor. He points to his father, “You lied to me! You lied to all of us! We believed our mother was dead. Why? Why would you do that? We’re your children!”

He scrubs a hand over his face. “I didn’t have a choice.” In this moment he isn’t a king; he’s a heartbroken man who lost his wife. No, she might not be dead, but she hasn’t been with him in many years. “King Pine and I were at war. Eliza was pregnant and scared. Rya didn’t like the war that was going on. When Eliza said she was leaving, Rya went with her. I tried to stop her, but your mother was very headstrong. King or not, she never listened to me. The key you have, Alison, it could bring me to my wife who I haven’t seen in almost twenty-four years.”

“Wait,” Luke interrupts. “I don’t understand why she would leave her four children here.” He leans down with his hands braced on the table.

“The war wasn’t her only reason for leaving. She was pregnant. Your mother was carrying twins.” Luke feels around for his chair, only to discover it’s still lying on the floor. He rights it and takes a seat.

“Twins?”

The King nods. “She started bleeding and our healer didn’t know what was happening. Our medicine isn’t as advanced as it is in Alison’s world. Eliza stressed that the doctors in Colorado could help her. She even drew a map for me of where her home was and where the hospital was in relation to it. That’s why I asked Alison about the Rocky Mountains. They were near where Eliza lived. But you see, I didn’t have the skeleton key, so I couldn’t go there. I also couldn’t leave you and your siblings here without both parents. You were all so young. The war ended and life went on without her. I didn’t want to give all of you hope she’d come back, when after some time she didn’t. So I told you she passed away.

My mom was born in the U.S. I know that for a fact having seen her birth certificate. She must have gotten the key at some point, crossed into this realm, and stayed here for years. She got married and became queen. Had Reid and gotten pregnant with me. There’s so much about her life I’ll never know.

“I’ve waited every day for her to return. Wished, hoped, and visited the cottage often. Why do you think that old building still stands on the outskirts of the woods? I’m waiting for her to come back. It’s the only way she can come here. What I never understood is why she hasn’t. Now I know Eliza kept the key, but I’m sure she would have given it to Rya to return. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Luke turns to me. “Do you recall my mother having children?”

I shake my head. “My mom never offered much information about Rya. What I was told was minimal, at best. Like there was a great secret I couldn’t be told and now I know why. She never told me about this realm until she was gone.”

“We don’t know if the twins survived,” Luke mutters.

“Could my father have killed Leo, because Rya and my mom left? As revenge in some messed up way?”

Luke’s face drops, but then changes into anger. “I don’t care his reasoning. The fact remains that he did it knowing full well what he meant to me.” I can’t help but think that’s part of the reason he did it. I could be way off base and he’s just that ruthless. I don’t know if I’ll ever know for sure.

I can’t believe all that’s being said. My mom was best friends with Luke’s mom. They were both pregnant and they fled together.

“This is the most messed up fairy tale ever,” I observe.

The king scoffs. “Princess, a fairy tale would imply there is a happily ever after. I have yet to see that for anyone.”

“But there’s still time,” I stress. “You can go through the portal and find her. You can use the key to get her back.”

“That’s what I’d like to do. If she’d even want to come back to me after all of these years. There must be a reason she never returned. I hope she still loves me.”

“Maybe the key wouldn’t stay with her. My mom said it would disappear and reappear. For all we know Rya did try to take it, but it wouldn’t stay with her long enough to use.” I know it’s only a theory. It’s better than nothing, though.

I stand and reach for my backpack, which is resting on the chair beside me. I unzip it and notice all of my belongings in disarray. Turning to the king, I accuse, “You went through my things again!”

“No, I didn’t. One of my men did.”

“Same thing!”

I go back to my bag to find the key. In all reality, I should have known he’d look through my things. If I were in his position, and was left alone in a room with something I had been in need of for years to find the love of my life, I probably would have ripped it to shreds.

I find the heavy key in its hidden compartment and hold it tight in my hand. My choice is made. This is bigger than me. There is an entire family who has missed their mother and wife. I can’t be the one to keep her from them.

King Azure has waited too many years; I can’t make him wait any longer. Sure I could go back and find her, but she barely knows me. What if once I’m through, the key disappears? Then he’s still stuck without his wife. There is no guarantee. He has a better chance at convincing his wife to return. For all I know, she could have thought he would move on without her. Who knows what she’s thinking? He needs to find her, however. That is, if the key wants him to use it.

I walk to the king. He rises and looks into my eyes. What I see is a man who has been lost for so long without the other half of his soul. My chest aches for him. I hold out my hand, palm up, exposing the key. He inhales a ragged breath. When he reaches for it I close my hand fast. I have to remember the conditions.

“You need to agree to my conditions before I hand this key to you.” He nods. “First, you must agree not to bring any weapons with you. Second, no one will go through with you. You must go on this mission alone. Third, you cannot tell anyone in my land about where you’re from or how you got there. You can say you’re a friend of the family or something if you’re asked. And you mustn’t tell anyone here where you’ve been if you do come back. You’ll have to make up a story about your wife and where she’s been. My world must remain hidden, as must yours, from the people on the other side.”

“I agree,” he states.

“I will help you find something suitable to wear, so that you’ll fit in. I’ll tell you where I have cash and credit cards kept in my home. I’ll tell you everything that I can to help you. In fact, in my phone on my nightstand is Rya’s number. You’ll have to use it to contact her. In return, I want what you promised me. I want immunity. You will not force me to go to my father or Oliver. I will become a citizen of the Azure Kingdom. You will also provide me with all of the same benefits that your children have. Money, a home, everything.”

“Of course. Luke will see to it all, won’t you, Son?”

“What?” he asks, obviously not paying attention. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to process everything.”

“Alison. She will be your responsibility to protect and ensure she has everything she needs. She will be one of us and treated as royalty amongst our people.”

He tenses and rises to meet us. “Of course. I wouldn’t have let you trade her, even if that were her choice.”

The king smiles warmly. “I already knew that.”

“You did?” Luke questions.

“Of course. I saw the way you looked at her when you first brought her in. I knew she was special to you.”

“You still played her.”

“Yes, and I’m not sorry for it either. I need to find my Rya. I would have done whatever it took to get that key.”

I interrupt. “Oddly, I’m not even angry about that.” I reach for the king’s hand and place the key in it. Surprisingly, it remains solid in his palm. I didn’t know what it would do. “Protect this with your life.”

“On my honor,” he pledges, with the key pressed to his heart, then he turns to Luke. “We have a lot to discuss. I need to fill your brothers and sister in. We need Ryland to take over the throne once I’m gone. We’ll have to devise a plan as to what to tell our people.” Luke nods.

“No one outside of your immediate family can know the truth,” I stress. Hopefully the guards outside can’t hear our conversation.

“I agree,” the king replies. “The less who know, the better.”