Royal Hearts (31 page)

“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