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London’s eyes widened. “Father!”

“Please don’t be mad at me, Papa. I had to find my sister. It was important to me. She’s my other half. I couldn’t go on without at least seeing her for myself and knowing she is happy. Besides, I can’t marry Zahn, even if I hadn’t met and fallen in love with Matt.”

London took her father’s hand, hoping he wouldn’t be too angry with her. It surprised her to see her father here on Earth. After giving her a fierce hug, he and his men had escorted her back to their ship.

London had refused to leave without Matt. It had taken some convincing, but her father finally conceded. Once on the ship, he ushered her to his private study and demanded she tell himeverything that had happened to her from the time the heliocraft crashed.

She looked at her father wishing he would say something —anything. “Why aren’t you speaking to me? I know I shouldn’t have stolen your ship, but…”

He held up his hand to halt her words. “London, it’s not that you stole the ship that upsets me, but your blatant disregard for other people’s feelings. Your mother cried herself to sleep every night since you left and when we heard the heliocraft crashed, it was another nightmare we had to deal with. I don’t think I ever want to go through that again. If I’m angry, it’s only because I love you very much and I feared for your life.”

Tears swam in her eyes. “Oh, Papa. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I’ve dishonored your name.”

He squeezed her hand. “You could never do that. I’ve never been more proud to call you daughter. Though I can’t condone your methods, what you did was a brave thing. And it was a noble cause. You never gave up on finding Paris when others had.”

“I felt that she was alive.”

“We should have listened and if we had, we could have found her together.”

“Maybe but then I wouldn’t have met Matt. He’s the most amazing person. He’s handsome, considerate and super smart. He knows things about space that I bet even Thibian scientists don’t know.”

The Emperor’s lips tightened to a firm line. “London, you’re a princess and meant to live like one. From what you tell me, this Matt person owns a small house and doesn’t make that much money.”

“I never said that. He makes pretty good money for this country’s standards.”

“But not to mine.”

Paris rolled her eyes. “You’re the Emperor of Thibius. There aren’t many people who would equal you in wealth.”

He folded his arms across his massive chest. “But that leads me back to my question. What does he have to offer you?”

“Love. He can give me that and then some. When I look at him, I feel the same way you do when you look at my mother. He makes my heart beat fast and I feel sad when he’s not around. He’s kind, gentle, considerate and he treats me like a queen.”

Blaze rubbed his chin, as though contemplating what she’d said. “A queen you say?”

“Yes. He wants to marry me and I’d like to raise a family with him.”

“If your wish is to be with Matt, then I’ll see to it that he’s given a proper job once on Thibius, earning enough to keep you in the style you’re accustomed to.”

“Papa.” She tried to gentle her voice because the next bit of news would probably upset him. “I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to get at.”

“What?”

“Matt and I… we’re going to live on Earth. That’s where I’d like to raise my family. Being a princess was nice, but I want my children to grow up in the place of my birth. I think it would be an ideal situation.”

He stood up suddenly. “No!” he yelled in a thundering voice. “I can’t let you do that.”

Weeks ago, she would have argued with him, but now she saw his anger for what it was, fear of losing her. His love for her was so touching the tears ran down her face. “I’ve given this some thought and my mind is made up. I’m not a little girl anymore and the decision is mine.”

“Do you realize how your mother will take this news?”

London nodded. She’d already thought about it. “Yes, I think she’ll be upset, but I think she will eventually understand.”

“But Earth is so primitive. They get around in cars. We haven’t had cars on Thibius for at least several hundred years.”

“I can learn to deal with the technology here. As long as I have Matt by my side, I can make it through most anything.”

Her father paced the room before halting to give her a long hard look. Finally his features softened. “You’re serious aren’t you?”