or that you’re royalty.”
Marcus grunted. “I was going to say the same.”
The Lasaran siblings laughed.
Seth made his way to a chair behind them. He really did love Ami like a daughter and had asked if he could accompany them. Lisa suspected he wanted to gauge firsthand the king and queen’s response to the Earth mates to whom their children had bonded. If he didn’t care for it, he would probably balk at forming any kind of alliance with them.
The door closed. Ari’k strode past them and opened a door in the front wall. Lisa caught a glimpse of two more Yona soldiers before he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The next thing she knew, the land outside her window fell away.
She gasped. Though Seth and David had mentioned hearing engine noises, Lisa heard nothing. Nor did the craft shake or vibrate or do any of the things planes usually did when they took off.
Taelon grinned. “Ari’k.”
Ari’k’s response emerged from speakers she couldn’t see. “Yes, Prince Taelon.”
“Activate the front viewscreen.”
“Yes, Prince Taelon.”
The wall with the door through which she had spied the pilots lit up like a high-def television screen, providing them with a view of the land below them.
“Bloody hell,” Marcus murmured as he stared at it. “Would you look at that?”
Lisa nodded. David’s home rapidly shrank, as did North Carolina, then the entire continental United States as the ship climbed faster than she thought possible without subjecting them to serious g-forces.
Taelon tightened his hold on her hand. “You might feel a little something as we leave Earth’s atmosphere.”
Shutters slid down over the window exteriors. The floor beneath her feet began to vibrate.
She felt a peculiar sense of weightlessness for a second or two. Then all was calm and as it was before. The shutters rose and…
Lisa stared.
They were in space.
“Holy shit,” Marcus breathed.
She nodded. “What he said.”
Taelon grinned. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Why aren’t we floating?” she blurted. Astronauts on the news always free floated through the space station. But it felt as though she were still on Earth.
“The transport provides us with artificial gravity,” Taelon explained.
Marcus shook his head as he looked at Ami. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said your people are far more technologically advanced than ours.”
“Nope,” she said with a smile, then swiveled in her seat to glance behind them. “What do you think, Seth?”
Lisa glanced back to catch the Immortal Guardian leader’s reaction.
“It’s beautiful,” he responded. “You’re sure Earth’s satellites and radars can’t detect us?”
“Yes.” Ami wrinkled her nose. “The only reason they knew I was here when I arrived was because I let them see me.” Clearly she regretted that decision.
Seth’s eyes narrowed speculatively as he stared through his window. “I wonder if I can survive in the vacuum of space.”
Ami’s eyes widened. “Don’t even think about it!”
Lisa glanced at her. “Think about what?”
“Teleporting outside the transport to see if he can survive it,” Ami said, her disapproval clear.
Taelon frowned. “I agree. If you don’t survive, you will die so quickly you won’t have time to teleport back inside.”
Seth’s gaze dropped to the planet shrinking beneath them. “I wonder if I can teleport to David’s home and back.”
“Hell no,” Marcus barked. “If you tried it and survived, Leah would kick your ass. And if you didn’t survive…”
Seth took no offense. He just nodded and glanced at Ami. “I was just wishing I could teleport you to Lasara for a visit so you could see your family again in person without the lengthy travel time.”
Ami’s smile held a touch of melancholy. “Perhaps when Adira is grown, we can make the trip.”
Lisa glanced at Taelon. “How long does it take?”
“About thirteen of your Earth months.”
Sheesh. “That is a long time.”
He drew a hand over Abby’s downy hair. “Which is why I thought it best to make the trip before Abby forms attachments here.”
Concern rose as she tried to recall everything she’d heard about space travel. “It won’t harm her in any way?”
“No.”
Marcus watched them. “Are you sure? I’ve read that exposure to space radiation can increase an astronaut’s risk of cancer significantly, that it’s similar to having hundreds or even thousands of chest X-rays.”
Lisa stiffened. “Shit. Will we increase Abby’s risk of cancer by leaving Earth’s atmosphere?”
Taelon frowned. “Of course not. The materials our engineers use to fabricate the hull of both the transport vehicles and the ship protect those inside from all exposure to radiation. Our dual shields provide the same, doubling our protection. Even the suits we use to walk