Harold joined Conan, Shamira and Raphael at Lark’s side in the hoverplane’s medical section. Harold wasn’t sure why he bothered glancing at the scan readouts Raphael was pouring over. It was all just a jumble of medical terms and numbers to him.

He apparently got too close to Lark’s unconscious form for Snowy’s liking. The tiny tiger puffed up, hissed, and made a vicious swipe for Harold’s arm. Seeming to understand Lark’s current vulnerability, Snowy had stationed herself on Lark’s bed as her feisty guardian, only allowing Shamira, Conan, and Raphael near her without bared fangs.

Not wanting his arm shredded by Snowy’s claws, Harold took a step back toward Raphael, Snowy’s predatory stare following his every move.

“How is she? What happened?” Harold asked Raphael.

“I don’t know what happened to her,” Raphael said grimly. “I can only make guesses based off of what I’ve seen since we got here.”

“And that is?” Conan squinted at Lark’s unconscious form through a black eye.

Instead of answering Conan, Raphael turned to Shamira. “What exactly did she do?”

“She used one of their power conductors to manipulate their force field. Since you had given us rough distances to the exit, that’s what she went off of. But she had only just started to figure out how to move energy, so there’s no telling what else she affected.”

“We don’t know her limits yet,” Raphael said gravely. “What worries me is her organs looked like they were eating themselves up either before the bio-bots kicked in, or they were deteriorating too fast for the bio-bots to keep up. But now her body is repairing itself at a remarkable rate. These bio-bots are really something else.”

“Will she be all right?” Harold asked.

“I can’t guarantee anything since we just don’t know how badly she pushed herself or how thorough the bio-bots are. But, if things keep going the way they are now, she should physically be perfectly fine very soon.”

Everyone gave a sigh of relief.

“How are you all doing?” Shamira asked her commanding officers.

“We’ll be fine,” Harold assured her. “Let’s get our princess home.”

Pain. Head splitting. Pressure closing around the throat.

Can’t breathe!

Tears streaming down cheeks, noiseless sobs wracking a tiny frame.

Blood everywhere.

Help. Someone. Anyone.

Help!

Lark jerked awake and flew into a sitting position. She just barely swallowed a scream. One of her own hands was wrapped around her throat, the other stretched in front of her. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to fend something off or reach out for help. Heart racing, blood pounding in her ears, she gasped for breath.

“Lark? I mean, princess.”

The deep voice caused her to jump and whirl around to face whoever else was with her. Her movements ended up twisting sheets and blankets around her body.

She had just enough time to register Conan as the room’s other occupant before a yowl of protest scared her enough to let out a short, breathless scream. Poor Snowy had apparently been resting either beside or on top of Lark and was now just as tangled in the sheets.

“Lark, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Conan jumped up from a plump chair in the corner.

“No!” Not completely back in the present, she shrank away, hands flying to her throat.

She closed her eyes and breathed deep, attempting to pull her wits together. She hadn’t had this nightmare for a couple months. She wasn’t going to count her mini panic attack after the scuffle in the woods. Shuddering, she managed to force her hands down. She couldn’t afford to show anyone her greatest fear. Maybe she could smooth this over somehow.

“I’ll be fine.” Lark absolutely hated how breathless her voice sounded. “I had a nightmare. It’s nothing.”

Conan wasn’t an idiot. But he didn’t comment.

“Are you okay?” She looked him over.

His left eye was nearly swollen shut and a ghastly shade of dark purple, ringed by a small circle of green. It looked like his lip had been split, and his right arm was in a sling. A head bandage covered some of his blond locks.

“Nothing permanent.” He smiled. “My shoulder was dislocated briefly, but this is just so I don’t overuse it while it’s recuperating.”

Lark carefully untangled herself and Snowy from the blankets.

“Shamira told us what you said.” Conan sounded a little awkward. “Thank you for coming back for us.” His sky-blue eyes held her gaze for a moment before he bowed. “I’ll get the doctor.”

Lark watched him leave silently. She got the feeling he was giving her a private moment to calm down.

Conan was smart, so he’d eventually catch on that she protected her neck vigorously when they started sparring. She could work her way out of almost any situation. But when something tightened around her throat, she froze. She couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything. Sometimes she catatonic for hours, barely able to move or comprehend anything. Other times, her panic grew until she just screamed and then curled up in a sobbing ball.

No matter how much she trained, it never got better. Learning the basics of jiujitsu was torture. She greatly preferred practicing Thai boxing and kicking. She had strong legs.

Wondering where she was, Lark glanced around the room. It looked like the most luxurious hospital ward she had ever seen. The bare, whitewashed walls gave it a sterile feeling, but her large bed had silk sheets. There was a deep sink, counter, and light maple cabinets catty-corner from her bed. Some sort of action movie was being projected high on the white wall across from her, but she couldn’t see a remote to turn the sound on.

There were small, sticky dots on her chest, abdomen, and head. No wires, but she could feel a faint electrical pulse from them.

Snowy plopped into her lap and waved her tiny paws up at her.

Lark massaged her throat one more time, then allowed the last vestiges of fear to be replaced by amusement. Thanks to playing with Snowy, she was able to face the group that came in with smiles and laughter. Conan opened the door, followed by Raphael, Harold, Shamira, an unknown man that looked close to her age, and King Avi.

He looked almost exactly like he did in her memories. Thick, snow-white hair, long nose, copper-colored eyes. His tall frame might be slightly pudgier than she remembered.

Somehow, his enthusiastic air made her angry.

Avi’s heart warmed as he noticed how much Larkspur had matured in the last few years, and a mix of emotions flooded him as he caught sight of her. Relief that she was awake, excitement that she was finally here, worry about how she would settle in. Then an icy coldness clenched his heart when her beaming smile vanished upon seeing him, and her eyes flashed with anger.

“H-hello, Larkspur.” Avi wasn’t even sure what his voice sounded like.

“Sir.” Lark’s tight nod and cold voice felt like a hammer.

I messed up. Again.

He had so hoped to do things right with Larkspur. But obviously, he had made a huge mistake along the way.

As soon as Raphael proclaimed Lark completely recovered, Avi ordered everyone out. They needed to talk. But when they were alone, an oppressive silence hung between then.

“Harold told me about Snowy,” Avi finally spoke up.

Lark glanced tenderly at the tiger cub curled up sleeping on her lap. “I’m told I can keep her because you adopted me.”

“We searched and searched, but you simply disappeared,” Avi blurted. He hated how it sounded like he was scrambling for an excuse. He took a deep breath and continued with a calmer cadance. “I was trying to meet you and your brothers to talk about my wish to adopt all of you. But time travel is still a spotty business, even more so back then. I had to return to this time before I could find you, and we were unsuccessful in later attempts to hit the right time and place.”

“Why me?” Lark asked bluntly.

“Which part? The bio-bots or the adoption?” Avi gave a small smile.

“All of it, I guess.” Lark shrugged. “Why did you even want to adopt us? You knew us for two weeks.”

Avi hesitated. Would she hate him even more if he told the whole truth now? Well, he would tell her most of it, anyway.

“I’ve always wanted a family, but my queen and I were never blessed with children. One by one, I lost all my extended family members until my nephew, Casimer, was the sole survivor. He lost his parents at a young age. In my enthusiasm to be a loving parent figure, I forgot to be a good one. I was warned, but I refused to believe I had indulged him beyond the point of a spoiled brat. By the time I could no longer turn a blind eye, he was a man. I had wasted my one opportunity to be a father.” Avi felt a wave of shame as he remembered his foolishness. “And then I met you. You and your brothers were exactly what I always dreamed of for my children. I thought I had found a second chance to do things right. I thought I could make up my mistakes with Casimer.”

“You wanted to atone for the horrible person your nephew turned out to be, through us?” Lark’s voice trembled with barely controlled anger.

“I’m sorry.” As a powerful king respected throughout the galaxies, Avi was not used to admitting he could have been wrong.

“Where, exactly, did the bio-bots fit in this plan?” Lark didn’t quite hide the sarcastic undertone.

Avi hesitated for a fraction too long. He couldn’t tell her the real reason. Not yet. He couldn’t admi—even to himself—how selfish his motives were. “I did, and still do, think you will make an excellent ruler. The bio-bots had to be entrusted to someone that wouldn’t easily abuse their power. But they were also to help protect you.”

Lark raised a dark eyebrow.

“The bio-bots weren’t meant as a weapon, per se. The idea was for them to work as a shield, protecting the lives of our soldiers like never before. The unit who were to have them would be our Shield Unit. And who better to lead the country’s shield than the reigning monarch?”

Lark didn’t object, so Avi kept going.

“When we met, adversaries were closing in on all sides. It was imperative we keep the bio-bots out of enemy hands, so we programmed the bio-bots to your DNA using a sample of your blood. Once they’re programmed, it’s impossible to change, making them useless to anyone else.”

“So, in the end, I was used as a convenience.” Lark’s low voice pierced Avi.

When he finally plucked up the courage to look at her, Avi was taken aback by her eyes. The darkened jewel tones were glowing.

For so long, he had studied those prophecies. He wanted his family to be the ones with “strength beyond compare.” Even if it was through adoption, his family name would still go down in history. Now he realized there was a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted a relationship with Larkspur. Papers didn’t make a family.

He just prayed Lark would be willing to let him try.

“Thank you for your explanation. Is that all?” It took everything in Lark to not yell at Avi.

What kind of selfish, shortsighted, pompous jerk thought she would be okay with them experimenting with her DNA, dragging her into his problems, and using her precious family to atone for his own stupid mistakes?

But Avi was still a king. Her king, now, since she had agreed to stay. Even coming from a modern-day (or was it ancient now?) democracy, she knew you didn’t just talk smack to a monarch, no matter how benevolent they might be.

“That’s all for now.” Avi’s voice was calm and strong, despite the sorrow in his eyes. “I’m glad you are feeling better. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll see you later, Larkspur.”

She refused to be moved by his depressed departure. They would have to work out exactly what kind of relationship they were going to have later.

Snowy, sensing Lark’s mood, jumped up and batted her face.

“Hang on, girl.” Lark set the tiger on the bed beside her. “I’ve got a lot to think about. And I don’t want to accidentally shock you.”

Putting aside her ire for Stupid Avi for the moment, she had agreed to become his heir—even if that was mostly just to make it easier to rescue her brothers from their doomed past. And he apologized. Most likely, as a king, he didn’t have to do that very often.

There was way too much she didn’t know. Not just about herself, but about this new world she found herself in. There was no helping the past. She was here, she had the bio-bots. Unless something changed, she would shoulder the mantle of a kingdom in the future. And if she was honest, she was getting excited to explore. And there was no denying the bio-bots came with some advantages.

All right, first things first. Bio-bots, then time travel. She wanted to save her brothers, not accidentally electrocute them. The more she understood Franklin’s invention, the better off she would be.

Right now, knowledge was power.