Royal Hearts Read online

  “No, Hathor.”

  He shot her a confused look. “He just threatened you. You could have died.”

  “I have a better idea on how to handle this.” When he didn’t respond, she touched his arm. “Send him back to the past. Not the past we just went through or the past when he knew I went to Raz. Let him be in the one where I moved to Florida and he didn’t want me. All he wants is to be a king. He never wanted me. When we remove the knowledge of who I am from his mind, he won’t be a threat anymore.”

  After a tense moment, Hathor removed the sword from William’s neck. Bowing to her, he said, “The queen’s will be done.” Keeping his sword pointed at William so that William couldn’t cause any more harm, he found the chip injector and gave it to her.

  “We’ll go back to the Olympian ship,” she told William.

  Looking defeated, William nodded and led the way.

  “I ran into Athena on my way here,” Hathor told her.

  “She has the chip in her,” she replied. “How did you get past her?”

  “I took out her chip and destroyed it. Speaking of destroying a chip, I need to get rid of this one, too.” He took the chip out of the container and crushed it with his foot before he continued walking.

  “Where is Athena?” Ann asked.

  “We ran into Second Commander Jaz on our way in. Athena is back at the Olympian ship healing Jaz’s wounds.”

  “Did you see the other Paler? I think his name is Falon.”

  “No, we didn’t. Maybe he made it back to the ship while we were searching for you.”

  They continued the rest of the way in silence, and once on the ship, Hathor tied William up so he couldn’t get away.

  Falon, who soon came into the ship, explained how he had destroyed Omin-2 before he could wake up from his hibernation. “Omin shouldn’t be a threat to us once we go back to the future.”

  Jaz turned to them. “I’m glad to see you’re safe. I contacted Leader Paff, and Earth is safe, too. Everyone has had their chips removed, and the technology to make the chips has been destroyed. Leader Paff, the Palers, and the Olympians are on their way back to the future. He’ll drop Zeus, Ares, and Apollo off at Olympia.”

  “It feels good to have control over my mind again,” Athena said as she cloaked the Olympian ship before heading out of the secret hideout.

  Hathor put his arm around Ann’s shoulders and pulled her close to him. “How much do you remember?”

  “I remember everything up to when I was in North Dakota,” she said. “I’m guessing when we get back to our correct time, I’ll remember everything else that’s happened.”

  He nodded, and she leaned against him, glad everything was finally over.

  ***

  Six years in the past

  Dayton, Ohio

  Planet: Earth

  They put William under a deep sleep and removed all of his memories so that, for him, it was the day before he met Ann for the first time. They put him in his bed so when he woke up, he would go on with his life like he was meant to. This time, he would watch Ann move to Florida and choose to break up with her. There would be no regrets for him anymore.

  Afterwards, Hathor turned to Ann and said, “I know you don’t like to change anything about the past, but Stacey meant a lot to Kent. I’d like to see them together.”

  Ann smiled, touched by his sentiment. “She liked him a lot, too.” She paused. “How can we get them to meet without interrupting anything in my timeline?”

  He considered her question. “Were you with Stacey the day before you met William?”

  “Yes, but she was running late that afternoon because she had to stop by the mall to get a music card for her brother’s birthday.” She glanced at his watch. “She might be there now.”

  “I have to find a way to get Kent there. He should be at one of his campus meetings.” After a moment, he added, “I think I got it. I’ll go to the meeting and pretend I need a ride to that store she’s at. Kent’s the kind of person who’ll help anyone out.”

  They asked Athena, Jaz, and Falon if they would make a trip to the college.

  “The queen can do anything she wants,” Athena replied.

  Athena flew the invisible ship to the campus. Ann watched Hathor as he left the ship. She wanted to go with him, but she knew it was best if she didn’t get involved. She didn’t want Stacey or anyone else to accidently see her.

  As they waited for Hathor to return, she took time to get to know Athena and the two Palers better. She figured she probably already knew them but didn’t see the harm in learning about them all over again.

  When Hathor returned, Athena started the ship, and they took off for Pale.

  Ann couldn’t help but notice the big smile he had on his face. “I take it that your plan was a success?”

  “I think so. I let them bump into each other. They started talking about the music they liked, and that’s when I left. I didn’t want to get too involved in their lives.”

  She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

  “I was lucky enough to get the greatest woman on Earth. Kent might as well have the second greatest.”

  She blushed at his compliment.

  “We’ll be going six years into the future once we leave Earth’s atmosphere,” Athena called out.

  “I feel much better knowing Omin’s clone won’t be a problem there,” Jaz said.

  The rest of the group agreed.

  “Queen Ann and King Hathor, thank you for your assistance in all of this,” Jaz continued. “We’re only sorry you had to be stuck on Earth in your pursuit to help Pale.”

  Hathor grinned. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Earth isn’t such a bad place after all.”

  Ann raised an eyebrow. “Does Earth have a bad reputation on other planets?”

  “We just think Earth is boring because of its lack of magic,” he replied.

  “Oh.” Just what kind of world was Raz?

  It didn’t take her long to remember. As soon as Athena made the jump into the future, a rush of memories flooded through Ann’s mind. She recalled meeting Hathor for the first time in her apartment in North Dakota, being told she was going to be queen of another planet, being pursued by the Palers who had been enemies with Raz at the time, and overcoming her own insecurities. In the process, she formed alliances with Pale and Olympia.

  Most of all, she was finally able to put William behind her and fall in love with someone who meant the world to her. She recalled marrying Hathor, having his child and his support as she learned how to be the queen of Raz. She knew she still had a great deal of learning to do, and she was thankful that she would have Hathor there to be with her every step of the way.

  “Are you alright?” Hathor asked.

  She laughed as she wiped her tears away. “I’m fine. It just feels good to finally remember everything.”

  As they continued through space, she reflected on all the things Hathor had done for her over the years, and she couldn’t imagine that anyone else would love her enough to go through everything he did just for her. She leaned against him and shut her eyes, content to relive her memories and knowing the best was yet to come.

  Enchanted Galaxy Series by Ruth Ann Nordin

  (This is a romantic fantasy series.)

  A Royal Engagement: An ordinary young woman on Earth learns she’s destined to be the queen on another planet...and she’s already engaged to a young man she doesn’t know.

  Royal Hearts: An old nemesis sends Ann Kerwin back in time on Earth to ensure she never gets to become the queen of Raz. It’s up to Hathor to follow her and compete with her old boyfriend for her affections. Because if she doesn’t choose Hathor, all they have will be lost.

  The Royal Pursuit: On another world, a dying group called the Nicals are desperate. If they don’t do something drastic, they will become extinct. With nothing left to lose, they steal the power in the Olympians’ Stone of Immortality,
thereby saving themselves, but unknowingly dooming the Olympians. A mysterious stranger promises to help them, though whether he truly means to help them isn’t clear, especially when he kidnaps Queen Ann.

  Royal Heiress: The new queen has been crowned, and her first order of business is to pick a husband. Thankfully, her dilemma is put off by her first mission: a trip to the lost city of Atlantis on planet Earth. Or…this might be the trip that leads her to the right man to be king.

  Across the Stars Series by Ruth Ann Nordin

  (Contemporary Romances with a Hint of Science Fiction or Fantasy)

  Suddenly a Bride: Rilo An grew up on a world with no women. One day, he makes the decision to go to another planet to find a wife. He’ll have to change his name and give up everything he’s ever known, but for the sake of finding true love, he takes the risk. And his quest sends him to Earth, specifically to Caitlyn Davis who will be married before the night is done.

  Runaway Bride: Mark Tanner also comes from a world without women on it, but he’s determined he’ll find his future bride on his own. The problem? Once he meets Lexie (Caitlyn’s sister in Book 1), he realizes she’s already engaged. But Lexie isn’t married yet, and Mark will do whatever he can to convince her that he’s the better choice.

  His Abducted Bride: Sandy Davis is just about to write the scene where she finally kills the villain in her fantasy novel. But the villain will do whatever it takes to stay alive...even if he has to trap her into the story and marry her.

  List of All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Regencies

  Marriage by Scandal

  The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

  A Most Unsuitable Earl

  His Reluctant Lady

  The Earl’s Scandalous Wife

  Marriage by Deceit

  The Earl’s Secret Bargain

  Love Lessons With The Duke

  Ruined by the Earl

  The Earl’s Stolen Bride

  Standalone Regency

  Her Counterfeit Husband

  Historical Westerns

  Nebraska Romances

  Her Heart’s Desire

  A Bride for Tom

  A Husband for Margaret

  Eye of the Beholder

  The Wrong Husband

  Shotgun Groom

  To Have and To Hold

  His Redeeming Bride

  Isaac’s Decision

  South Dakota Romances

  Loving Eliza

  Bid for a Bride

  Bride of Second Chances

  Montana Romance Collection

  Mitch’s Win

  Boaz’s Wager

  Patty’s Gamble

  Native American Romances

  Restoring Hope

  A Chance In Time (novella)

  Brave Beginnings

  Bound by Honor, Bound by Love

  Virginia Romances

  An Unlikely Place for Love

  The Cold Wife

  An Inconvenient Marriage

  Romancing Adrienne

  Standalones

  Falling In Love With Her Husband

  Kent Ashton’s Backstory

  Catching Kent

  His Convenient Wife

  Meant To Be

  Contemporaries

  Omaha Contemporary Romances

  With This Ring, I Thee Dread

  What Nathan Wants

  Just Good Friends

  Across the Stars Series

  Suddenly a Bride

  Runaway Bride

  His Abducted Bride

  Standalones

  Substitute Bride

  Co-Written Romances

  Bride by Arrangement (with Janet Syas Nitsick)

  The Stagecoach Bride (with Stephannie Beman)

  Bride by Design (writing as Barbara Joan Russell; written with Catherine Lynn)

  Other Genres

  Enchanted Galaxy Series (Romantic Fantasy)

  A Royal Engagement

  Royal Hearts

  The Royal Pursuit

  Royal Heiress

  Standalone Christian End-Time Thriller

  Return of the Aliens (writing as R.A. Nordin)

  ***

  To find out more about Ruth Ann Nordin’s available books and her works in progress, you can go to the following sites:

  Her Author Blog: http://ruthannnordinauthorblog.wordpress.com

  Her Website:

  www.ruthannnordin.com

  You can also find her on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/ruth.a.nordin