Solin stared at the strange conveyance. Was that an Earth car way over on one of the border roads? If so, it begged the question of why it was there. No human could arrive in Avalii—or the planet it was on—without his help. A thread of unease needled through him. No one except…

He narrowed his eyes, trying to bring the vehicle into better sight. A small blue car, very Earthen in make, traveled on slowly with two occupants. His heart and stomach lurched together painfully. Could it be? No, not possible. But it was some part deep inside whispered to him. You made it possible before you left Earth—before you left her. He’d been careless, foolish.

In love.

Forgetting who he was.

It’d been a time of wonderful insanity, but he could never go back and be that same person. A person who’d only existed for the breath of three months and only for her.

Avery. So young, so innocent. So—

“Is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Massion asked.

Solin shook his head as if to clear it, which was not at all far from the truth. He needed to discover if Avery was in that car, but he wanted to find out without alerting everyone as to what he was doing. Every moment she spent in Avalii was dangerous. “No.” With difficulty, he turned to war matters. “Massion, gather the guard.”

“But to do so will leave you unprotected and—”

Cillum placed a hand on his own crystal sword that was sheathed at his side. “Pshaw, I’m here and more than capable of guarding our king for a few minutes. Off with you.” He made shooing gestures with both hands.

Solin nodded. “You’re dismissed. Go about your duties.” He paused, thinking better of his words. “The duties your monarch just gave you.”

With a dissatisfied expression twisting his face, the captain bowed and stalked away.

The herald snickered. “I wish I could put him in place like that. Why you ever chose such a straight-laced, pompous ass I’ll never know.”

“Except for the straight-laced part, you aren’t so different.” Solin forced a small smile to his lips, even though he wanted nothing more than to charge after that car. Without his consent, his gaze drifted in the direction he’d last seen the vehicle going. The car spun around sharply and headed back the other way toward a fog-shrouded area he knew all too well. The gate bridge, which only he—or those of his direct blood—could summon.

Disappointment warred with relief. If one of the people had been her, it was better this way. A war-torn Avalii was no place for a human. It was barely fit for his own people, who were much more physically hardy than the average human. With the monsters his brother brought forth, even they found they strength sorely tested. He had no choice but to send her home, no matter what he wanted.

How had she gotten here, though? Since he still thought about her often, he must’ve called upon the gate by accident. That was the only reasonable explanation.