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a message right before I heard it.”
    “And?” Luka asked, waiting for the kicker.
    “It’s Betinsa. She’s coming here. Why wouldn’t she contact us to let us know first?”
    “That can’t be good.”
    Drawing his lips into a thin line, Jake stared at Syla.
    “She comes here for me,” Syla said.
    “Probably,” Jake replied. He grabbed her hand as Luke took her other hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
    “Let’s go find out,” Luka said. “Where’s she landing, Jake?”
    “Said to go to the usual rendezvous.”
    “Gotcha. Follow me.”
    Leading the way through the corner of the woods, Luka took them to a small field where the supply ship landed whenever it was coming around. He had to slow his long steps so Syla could keep up.
    He couldn’t calm his thoughts. After all the time he, Jake, and Syla had spent together, Luka had grown to believe the fairy tale—that they would always live here in this unspoiled country with no one to interfere with their paradise.
    How immature…
    The world was bound to intrude sometime. Syla was a princess. Her destiny was on Trilan, not in Montana. No matter how much he wanted to keep her and Jake bound to him, Luka was going to have to let them go. Probably today, or Betinsa wouldn’t be making the trek all the way out here.
    Damn, but that thought threw him into a hellacious mood.
    Betinsa’s ship , the Charhock , hovered above the grass, slowly drifting down like a lazy bird searching for a good place to land. When Betinsa finally set the craft down, Luka held Syla back when she tried to rush forward.
    “Wait, honey. She’ll kill the engines and then lower the ramp.”
    No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the engines slowly wound down until they were merely hissing with the release of their heat. The side of the ship opened, and a long ramp dropped from the wing to open up the ship’s interior.
    Betinsa marched down to meet them in her typical no-nonsense fashion. She was dressed casually in a comfortable caftan of her planet, which at least boded well. Had there been danger around, she would have worn black and camo and bound up that thick, wavy hair of hers. Instead, it spilled around her shoulders in a mass of heavy curls.
    When she reached the end of the ramp, she bowed to Syla. “Your Majesty. I am here to speak to you.”
    Syla bowed as well and then smiled. “Oracle. I am happy to see you again.”
    Betinsa didn’t return the grin. “May we find a place to talk in privacy?”
    Luka hated the sound of that but just because he liked to think that Syla kept no secrets didn’t mean she’d told him everything about herself. He had no claim on this woman and no right to know all her business. “Why don’t we go back to the house? We can make some tea and—”
    “I cannot stay long enough for social niceties,” Betinsa replied.
    Since it was so unlike her to be that abrupt, Luka’s radar ratcheted up a notch. “I guess Jake and I can just…step aside and give you two some space.”
    “No,” Syla said. “Say anything you may to them you might to me say.” Whenever she was nervous, her English skills slipped—that and her cheeks had flushed to a bright pink.
    “Are you sure, Your Highness?” Betinsa let her gaze fall first on Jake and then on Luka. Her lips dropped into a small frown.
    Damn, but Luka had known Betinsa long enough to understand her expression. She knew Jake was on Syla’s side, but she wasn’t sure about him.
    His already angry mood blackened even more in a heartbeat. When Syla hesitated in answering, he felt even worse. After all they’d shared, how could she not know how special she was to him?
    Probably because he’d never bothered to tell her. From the moment she’d arrived, he’d been less than open with her. He’d never truly given her a reason to trust him. Sure, they’d slept together—although he preferred to think of it as making love. But not once had he wanted to talk about her world or what