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  “Like I said—let me carry them.”

  “No, I’ll get them! I’m not an old lady yet!” she exclaimed with asperity.

  I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Then led her into the living room where Grav was sitting in all his blue, horned glory on the couch. “Mom, meet Grav. He’s going to be your new son-in-law.”

  “Hi there.” Grav smiled at her.

  “Good gracious!” said my mom and dropped the groceries again.

  The End…or is it?

  (Ha—just kidding. Of course it’s not. Keep reading…)

  Epilogue

  “So your mom got used to Grav?” Zoe asked, grinning at me over a plate full of Girls’ Night snacks.

  “She more than got used to him—she loves him.” I took another bite of hudu cake, which I had specifically requested this time. Zoe and I were back on Eloim catching up and I couldn’t have been happier about the way that things had worked out.

  “Even though he’s an alien?” Zoe asked, taking a bite of cake herself.

  “Even though,” I agreed. “You know my mom has always been very open minded. And she’s also a good judge of character—she never liked Gerald either. So once she got over the shock of finding out that there is alien life out there and that I had fallen in love with an alien, she was fine with Grav as long as he promised to treat me right. Which he swore up and down he would do—honestly, he charmed her socks off.”

  I grinned, remembering how well my mom and Grav had hit it off. She didn’t even mind it when he slipped and threw in a swear word from time to time. It was amazing how charming he could be when he put his mind to it.

  Zoe frowned. “What about Gerald, though? I would have thought that Grav would break his arms at least.”

  “He wanted to,” I said grimly. “But I talked him out of chasing him down the street in broad daylight. It didn’t matter though—Gerald got what he deserved.”

  “He did? How so?” She took a sip of bubble wine—a pale blue one this time that tasted faintly of melons and some kind of berries and cinnamon—and raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Well, Grav had taken his clothes because he didn’t have anything else to wear. So when Gerald escaped, he was nude.” I giggled. “My mom’s neighbor, Mrs. Kowalski called the police and reported a naked man running down the street. I heard later that when they caught up to him, he was babbling about a big blue alien from outer space who stole his clothes.”

  “Oh my!” Zoe giggled. “So what happened?”

  “Last I heard he lost his job and he was, uh, under observation at a psychiatric care facility,” I said, taking a sip of wine myself. “It seems like some people can handle the idea of aliens and some…well…” I shrugged. “They just can’t. And I think Gerald was one of those.”

  “Serves him right after the way he treated you,” Zoe said, frowning. “So now you guys are going to settle here on Eloim with me? You are, aren’t you? Please say you are!”

  “That’s what Grav wants,” I said. “In fact, he’s negotiating right now with the ruler of Thonolax with that goal in mind.”

  “What?” Zoe shook her head. “I don’t understand—why would he need the ruler of Thonolax’s permission for you guys to stay here on Eloim?”

  “Because he wants Teeny to stay with us.” I took another sip of wine and smiled. “We’ve gotten really close since we found her on Chndra—almost like a little family. And Grav wants to keep her with him to keep her safe—at least until she’s old enough to rule Thonolax herself. So he’s negotiating with her grandfather to bring her back to Eloim and keep her here until she’s of age.”

  “Oh, that would be just perfect!” Zoe clapped her hands in excitement, nearly spilling her wine. “She can use Selah’s old tutors—they’re still here, you know, on the palace staff even though Selah has gone away to get a higher degree. And she can hang out with us and we can have so much fun!”

  I smiled. “That’s what we’re hoping. Grav already talked to Sarden about it and he agreed to make Teeny a ward of the planet. And Teeny wants to come live with us so badly she was almost crying when I hugged her goodbye. All we need is her grandfather’s permission. But since Grav had consistently proved that he’s the only one who can keep her safe, I don’t think it will be a problem.”

  “I bet they’ll be back in no time,” Zoe said confidently. She sighed. “The only thing that could make it more perfect would be if Charlotte was here.”

  “I know,” I said frowning. “But when I finally got her on the phone again, she would hardly talk to me. I wanted to go see her but she said she’s really busy with her medical rotation and asked me to stay away.”

  “But I thought you told me before that she might be in danger,” Zoe objected. “That makes me worried!”

  “Grav and I were worried too, but he made contact with Captain Verrai—the head of the Imperial Guards I told you about, remember? The one who thinks Charlotte is supposed to be the next Empress?”

  “Yes—so what did he say?” Zoe asked eagerly.

  “That he was watching over her and not to worry,” I said.

  “Watching over her? What does that mean? Has he even talked to her yet?” Zoe demanded.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. But by that time we had taken so long to get Teeny back to her grandfather, we couldn’t stay. Grav was only able to justify coming back to Eloim to drop me off because he needed a part for his hopper. That’s why he got it fixed and took off again with Teeny so quickly.”

  “And you really think that Charlotte is safe?” Zoe sounded concerned. “I mean, I’m concerned about her! Especially after what happened with the other Imperial Guards.”

  “What other Imperial Guards?” I asked, frowning. “You mean the ones that were with Captain Verrai?”

  “Yes—didn’t you hear? Sarden just told me this morning. They were supposed to take Count Doloroso’s ship back to Femme 1, which is also known as Majorah Prime, and turn it in to the proper authorities. But they never arrived.”

  “What?” I felt a cold chill go down my spine. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Sure as I can be.” Zoe shrugged uneasily. “There’s no ship and no warriors and nobody can find them. They’re just…gone.”

  “That’s awful!” I put my arms around myself, trying to stop the sudden rush of goose bumps that rippled over me.

  “Yeah, it’s not good, that’s for sure.” Zoe sighed. “So that’s why I’m so worried about Charlotte. I mean, aside from the assassination attempts by people who don’t want her on the throne, we also have to worry about the Creepy Count coming after her. And we don’t even know what he looks like this time.”

  “Well, Captain Verrai will be looking out for her,” I said comfortingly. “And the Commercians are watching too, through the AMI. I think she’ll be okay.”

  “I just wish we could contact her—but it’s so hard to get a reliable signal this far away!”

  “Who knows,” I said. “Maybe the next time we’ll see her will be at her coronation.”

  “Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Zoe grinned. “From your lips to the Goddess’ ears.”

  “So you believe in her now—the Goddess of Mercy, I mean?” I asked curiously. “Because I thought you weren’t religious. Not like me, anyway.”

  “Oh, like when your mean grandma used to take you to that Hellfire and Brimstone church and smack your hand if she thought your manners weren’t good enough?” Zoe grinned. “No, it’s nothing like that. But I do think this whole big universe is just too vast and varied and amazing to be just some accident. You know? And I’ve seen things…when it seems like nothing is going right and then, somehow, things just fall into place. There has to be a divine hand at work in all that.”

  “I agree,” I said thoughtfully. “And I know that Grav believes—he’s certain that the Goddess put us together and helped us seal our bond.”

  “Well, maybe he’s right,” Zoe said, smiling. “You k