It was broad daylight when I opened my eyes again to find myself alone in Molly’s bedroom. I had no memory of how I’d gotten there, but felt remarkably refreshed. I must have slept at least ten hours. When I made my way downstairs a few minutes later, I discovered it was nearly two in the afternoon—so more like thirteen hours.
“Kyna messaged me not to wake you, dear,” Mrs. O’Gara explained. “Still, I’m glad you’re up. Your aunt has called twice to ask when you might be coming home.”
“Oh, wow. Yeah, I’d better get back. What am I going to tell her?”
Molly grinned at me. “Don’t worry. Mum told her you were helping me shop for a Homecoming dress and we wouldn’t be back till late this afternoon.”
“Which should give you time to conduct certain necessary business at the Stuarts’ house.” Mrs. O was suddenly serious. “First, though, let’s get some food into you. You must be famished.”
I was, though the prospect of another session with the Grentl device kept me from eating as much as I might have otherwise.
Less than an hour later, we were all gathered again in the Stuarts’ living room around that deceptively innocent-looking cube with its coppery projections. Rigel, I’d discovered, had slept every bit as long as I had—which was good, since I was going to need his help for this.
“Ready when you are,” he said now, placing a hand on my shoulder like last time. Warmth and strength flowed into me, along with a welcome dose of courage.
“Right. Let’s find out what they plan to do next.” Trying not to broadcast my fear that it might be something even worse, I reached out and grabbed the prongs.
They warmed instantly in my hands, almost as though the Grentl had been expecting me. Before I could even try to block them, they quickly extracted the last forty-eight hours from both my mind and Rigel’s. The moment they finished, I tried probing the Grentl’s collective minds for some sense of their future plans.
I received impressions of curiosity and satisfaction, which puzzled me, since we’d foiled their attempt to EMP us back to pre-industrial times. Then I caught a distinct vision of the Grentl ship retreating, hurtling through the blackness of space to a planet I now recognized as their home world with its hovering clouds of energy-beings.
You’re leaving?
“TEST RESULT INDICATES SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL. FURTHER STUDY NECESSARY.”
More rapid-fire images assaulted me, too quickly to comprehend all at once, and then the projections cooled in my hands. They were gone.
I let go and took a step back, exchanging a puzzled glance with Rigel, who’d heard what I had and seen at least some of what I’d seen.
“Does that mean—?” he started to say when Kyna spoke.
“Excellency, I’ve just received word from Nuath that the Grentl ship appears to be moving off at extreme speed. They’re leaving!”
Hardly daring to believe, I stared at her, those final impressions from the Grentl still unfolding in my brain. “I think… I think they’re done with us for now. They said—” I tried to remember the exact words— “that the test result indicates we have significant potential.”
“You mean this whole thing was just a test?” Malcolm seemed outraged. “They weren’t really planning to release the EMP after all?”
I shook my head. “No, it was real. They released it. But…they wanted to see if we could stop them.” The truth came clear to me even as I put it into words. “If we hadn’t, they’d have considered it proof that humanity isn’t capable of progressing past our inherent savagery.”
“But you were able to stop them!” Little Nara looked both pleased and confused.
“Yes. Because of my bond with Rigel. Because of our love. That’s the potential they see in our race, what they now plan to study for another millennium or two. Love.”
38
Recombination
“Are you nearly dressed?” Aunt Theresa called up the stairs. “Your friends will be here in half an hour.”
“Almost,” I called back, trying to get a look at the back of my dress in my little hand mirror. Molly had just finished fastening me into another of my less formal (but still way formal for a high school dance) Sovereign outfits, this one a rich green that exactly matched my eyes.
Sean’s friend Pete was taking Molly to the dance and all six of us—me, Rigel, Molly, Pete, Sean and Missy—were going to dinner first at The Rib House, the closest thing Jewel had to a fancy restaurant. Last night I’d been way too distracted to properly appreciate my role as Junior Princess but tonight I planned to thoroughly enjoy myself—now that I no longer had the freaking fate of the world hanging over my head.
“Don’t worry, you look great,” Molly assured me. “How does the back of my hair look?”
“Fine.” I couldn’t help being amused by how excited she seemed about her first date with Pete, after all the disparaging remarks she’d made about Duchas boys. Or maybe she was just happy to be going to the dance and Pete was incidental. I had no intention of asking.
Deciding my silver barrette might look good with the dress, I dug into my nightstand for it. “Do you think this will go with—?” I started to ask when I noticed the message light on my omni blinking. “Oops, guess I should have checked this when I first got home.”
The message was from Kyna and had come more than two hours ago. “Excellency, I must warn you that you will shortly have an extremely important visitor—the President of the United States.”
“What?” I nearly shrieked.
The message continued, “He should arrive at your home at approximately five o’clock this evening. You may wish to prepare your relatives in some way beforehand.”
According to my bedside clock, it was five o’clock now!
I stared at Molly. “The President? Here? Why… How… What will I tell Aunt Theresa?”
Hearing a car door outside, I flew to the window in time to see a black SUV with darkened windows pull up in front of my house. Two other, identical SUVs were already parked, one with a black-suited man standing next to it.
“Holy crap! I think he’s here! How do I look? What should I say?”
Molly shrugged, looking nearly as stunned as I felt. “Guess you shouldn’t keep him waiting, huh?”
That was enough to send me clattering down the stairs, hoping to somehow head off Aunt Theresa before she started asking questions I’d had no time to make up answers to.
She came out of the kitchen wiping her hands, clearly unaware of what was going on out front. “Marsha, I know this dance is an important one, but I’d still like you home at a decent hour tonight. You were out late last night, and I was quite worried when I heard about that explosion or whatever it was near your school.”
I nodded jerkily, barely registering her words. “Um, Aunt Theresa, I should probably—” Before I could finish, the doorbell rang.
Unfortunately, Aunt Theresa was closer to the door than I was. She opened it, then took a half step back at the sight of two black-suited, sunglass-wearing Secret Service agents on the doorstep.
“What on Earth is going on?” she demanded. Then, rounding on me, “Marsha, what have you done?”
“I… Um…”
“Ma’am, we’ll need to secure the area,” one of the men said to my aunt.
When she just gaped, I tugged her away from the door. “Okay. Come on in,” I told the agents.
They swept inside, one quickly surveying the entire first floor while the other went upstairs. After five minutes, during which Aunt Theresa kept shooting me accusing—but also frightened—glares, they reconvened in the front hall.
“What is this about?” my aunt demanded. “You have no right—”
“Building has been secured,” said one of the Secret Service guys into his little earpiece as the other turned to Aunt Theresa.
“Ma’am, the President requests an audience with the Sovereign of Nuath.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! You have obviously come to the wrong house. What sovere
ign and what president?”
In answer, the front door opened again and, sure enough, the freaking President stepped through, flanked by two more Secret Service agents…and Kyna. I saw Aunt Theresa’s jaw literally drop—and realized mine had done the same. As we both stood gaping, the President leaned over and whispered something to Kyna, who whispered back.
The President nodded, then clumsily placed his right fist over the middle of his chest and bowed…to me.
“Sovereign Emileia? Please allow me to express the gratitude of both my country and my planet for the heroic act you performed last night, in which you risked your own life in order to safeguard us all. I’ve been told that without your intervention, the resulting cataclysm would have cost many, many lives.
“Under normal circumstances, you would have been invited to the White House for public recognition of your heroism. However, as it is clearly inadvisable for the general public to learn the truth about your identity or last night’s events, I was persuaded to suspend the usual protocols in order to come here instead, and with as little fanfare as possible.” He flicked a glance at Kyna.
“Excellency, it is my very great honor to personally present you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Please accept this small token of our nation’s thanks.”
One of the Secret Service agents handed the President a small, wooden box, from which he took the medal—a shiny white star on a red and gold background. He held it up by its blue ribbon. “If I may?”
“Oh! Um, sure.” I inclined my head slightly so he could put it around my neck, just like the awards outstanding students sometimes received before my taekwondo tests. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aunt Theresa staring at me in disbelief.
“I hope this will be the beginning of a long and mutually profitable relationship between your people and ours,” the President said.
With an effort, I straightened my shoulders and forced myself into Sovereign mode—something I’d never expected to be necessary in front of my aunt.
“Thank you, Mr. President. I hope that, as well. I greatly appreciate your cooperation, and that of the Secretaries of State and Defense, during this recent crisis. May both our peoples build upon that cooperation going into the future.”
The President bowed again and I inclined my head. Then he and his entourage all went back outside to the waiting SUVs, though Kyna remained behind, on our porch.
As the cars pulled away, my aunt finally found her voice—sort of. “What…what…?” She looked from me to the three retreating SUVs and back.
“Um, Aunt Theresa, there’s some stuff I should probably tell you.”
“Yes. Yes, I should think so. Or…perhaps I am simply dreaming all of this?”
Tempting as it was to let her believe that, I doubted it would work for long. “No, sorry. I’m afraid you’re not. It…it all has to do with who my real parents were. It turns out they were pretty important people.”
The look she turned on me was dazed. “Your real parents?”
Mrs. O’Gara came hurrying up the front walk just then. She and Kyna exchanged a few words on the porch, then they both turned to us where we stood in the doorway.
“Theresa, why don’t we all go inside?” Mrs. O suggested gently. “This explanation may take some time.”
* * *
Between them, Kyna and Mrs. O managed to convince Aunt Theresa that my whole fantastic story was true, though it was obvious, from the disjointed questions my aunt kept asking, that it would be days or even weeks before she really understood it all.
“Louie will never believe this,” she said more than once, shaking her head and staring at me like I was a complete stranger to her.
“Um, maybe we shouldn’t tell him? He’s not exactly great at keeping secrets and this still needs to be mostly secret. Right?” I glanced questioningly at Kyna, who nodded.
“Yes, Mrs. Truitt, we would prefer all of this be known to as few people as possible. As Sovereign Emileia’s guardians, you and your husband deserve to know the truth, but please don’t let it go any further.”
Aunt Theresa was looking dazed again. “Of…of course. If I do tell Louie, I’ll make certain he understands that. Just think. The President of the United States, in our house!” she marveled again. “I should at least have offered him a plate of cookies…”
We had to hurry to the O’Garas’ then, where Sean, Pete and Rigel were already waiting for Molly and me. On the way there, Molly told me she’d called her mother the second I’d run downstairs.
“Yes, and I came as quickly as I could,” Mrs. O said. “I was fairly certain you would need a bit of assistance when it came to explaining everything to your aunt.”
“Thanks. She never, ever would have believed me if you and Kyna hadn’t been there to back me up.” Then, to Kyna, “I didn’t have the nerve to say so to the President, but shouldn’t Rigel get a medal, too? He risked his life every bit as much as I did.”
Kyna smiled. “Indeed he did. And yes. At my suggestion, the President called at the Stuarts’ house before coming to yours. They had more warning than you apparently did, however. Did you not receive my message?”
“Not till about five seconds before the President arrived,” I admitted. “It’s all good now, though. I hope.”
Turning the corner, we saw the three boys waiting on the O’Garas’ porch and dropped the subject, since Pete had no idea of the truth.
“Ready to go?” Sean called out. “Missy’s going to wonder why we’re so late picking her up.”
Grinning a little shyly at Pete, Molly shrugged. “Sorry, it’s my fault. I kept changing my mind about which shoes to wear, didn’t I, M?”
Rigel, meanwhile, came over and took my hand with an expression that nearly melted me on the spot. You look even more amazing than you did last night, he sent silently. Have I mentioned how much I love you?
Maybe, but I never get tired of hearing it. And ditto, on both counts. He was beyond drool-worthy in his subtly pin-striped black suit and crisp white shirt.
Dinner was fun, though it was a little frustrating not to be able to talk to Sean and Molly about the amazing events just past, what with Pete and Missy sitting right there.
At one point, when Sean leaned in close to offer Missy a bite of his dessert, I caught his eye and gave him smile and a little thumbs-up. He smiled back but lifted one shoulder slightly, as if to say, “Hey, I’m trying.”
The Homecoming dance itself was nothing short of magical.
Now and then I did suffer a definite sense of déjà vu, like when I overheard Bri, Deb and their dates discussing last night’s explosion in the cornfield.
“It’s like a new tradition,” Bri was saying with a laugh. “Something weird happened out there on Homecoming weekend last year, too, remember?”
But unlike last year, once the Homecoming Court was crowned, I danced the traditional slow dance with Rigel, instead of being forced to watch Trina mash herself against him while I danced awkwardly with Jimmy Franklin. Much, much better.
Happy? Rigel asked silently as we swayed to the music, though I’m sure he could sense my joyous contentment as strongly as I sensed his.
Happier than I’ve ever been in my life. It was true. The Grentl were no longer an issue and the story of what Rigel and I had accomplished together was already being broadcast all over the Echtran and Nuathan news. Surely that would do away with most of the remaining resistance to us as a couple. And now that Aunt Theresa knew the truth, life at home should get easier, too. Right this moment, my future looked beautifully bright and mostly trouble-free.
And even if it’s not, Rigel sent, catching my thought, we know now that together we really can handle anything.
Absolutely. I love you, Rigel.
He lowered his lips to mine, sending so much love back to me that tears of happiness pricked my eyes. Over the past year, our love had proved powerful enough to withstand every test the universe had thrown at us, growing stronger in the process. I was conf
ident now that it always would.
THE END
A Note from Brenda Hiatt
I know there are many, many books out there to choose from, so I want to take this opportunity to personally thank you choosing and reading Starfall. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review wherever you buy or talk about books to let like-minded readers know they might enjoy it, too. If you’d like to keep up with the latest news about the Starstruck series or any of my other books (listed below), please subscribe to my newsletter (click here), visit brendahiatt.com and starstruckseries.com or connect with me on Facebook or Twitter.
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Books by Brenda Hiatt
Teen Fiction
Starstruck - An orphaned astronomy geek dreams of escaping her tiny town and becoming somebody and then the hot new quarterback befriends her. But strange things happen: her acne clears up, her eyesight improves, and when they touch, sparks fly—literally! Soon she discovers secrets that change her humdrum life forever and expose her to deadly perils. The middle of nowhere just got a lot more interesting!
Starcrossed - The Starstruck adventure continues! Formerly a nerdy nobody, Marsha is the newly discovered princess of a secret civilization. Even better, she’s dating her literal soulmate. But when a new boy arrives at Jewel High, everything M thought she knew about herself and her future turns upside down. Will the destiny that lifted her from obscurity now tear her away from Rigel and their happy ever after?
Starbound - Being a Princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! As newly discovered Princess of a secret Martian colony, M knew she’d have to return someday—but over spring break? An emergency on Mars requires her presence, but not everyone is overjoyed to have their long-lost Princess back. Can she win her people over in time to save the colony from destruction? And what will she have to give up in return?
Starfall - The electrifying conclusion to the Starstruck series! M is finally acclaimed Sovereign Emileia, ruler of the Martian colony Nuath. But at what cost? Without Rigel, life seems pointless but M reluctantly does what she must until an unexpected discovery brings a glimmer of hope. Now she’s determined to do whatever she can to salvage her longed-for happy ending—if it’s not already too late.
Starfall: A Starstruck Novel Page 35