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ground. There was nothing left, no trace of his parents. Then she remembered a cloak that his mother left at the palace. Astra had put it aside, meaning to return it. But before she could, the Tabun invaded.
    She’d taken the deep blue wool, lined with fur, and sewn it into a small blanket. One a scared and lonely little boy could curl up with for comfort. One that bore the faint traces of his mother’s scent. Haldor still had it, locked away at the bottom of a chest. An iron chest that wouldn’t burn, tucked safely under his bed.
    His footsteps echoed on the stone floors as he paced through the half-finished rooms. Astra had given him a tangible sign of love. The memory of his mother, sewn into something warm and comforting by the woman who had stepped in and taken him in as her own. Reminding him that he had not one mother, but two.
    He stopped in the small room tucked away at the back of the house, the only one nearly finished. He’d meant it to be his hideaway, a place he could go for a few moments of peace, both while the house was under construction and later, when a brood of noisy children and barking puppies overran the place. Somehow he always saw the house filled with giggling children tumbling around on the floors wrestling with a litter of plump, furry puppies.
    His room had a long window with a wide ledge, overlooking the open meadow, where he could sit and enjoy the warmth of the suns even on the coldest days of winter. In summer, the thick stone walls would keep it cool, a refuge from the heat.
    Haldor sat on the ledge till darkness drove him back to town. Thinking. Planning. Imagining.
     
    * * *
     
    “He’s dumped me here. Again.” Selena perched on the edge of an ornate cushioned bench, staring glumly into the fire. “Gone off somewhere. Says he’ll be back by half moon. But he won’t tell me anything more. Just closes up like one of those giant Bacrian swamp clams if I ask him any questions.”
    Talia sat beside her, one hand absentmindedly stroking her belly. “Well, I’m happy to have you. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. I can’t get out as much as I’d like and even in the palace, life gets dreary in the winter. I’m grateful for the company. This one…” She looked down at her enormous bulge. “I’m sure it must be a boy because he’s already so active he keeps me up half the night. Then I’m so tired I can barely stay awake during dinner in the Great Hall, let alone spending hours on all the activities I’m expected to oversee. After Kylar and I were married, Astrid happily handed over most of the obligations she inherited when her mother died. It’s only fitting, since I’m the one who will be queen someday.”
    Talia laughed. “Queen! It still sounds absurd. Unreal. I remember the day I arrived here on Gadolinium. I stepped out of the Star Portal into utter chaos. The city deserted, Tabun roaming the streets. All I wanted to do was turn around and teleport straight back to Earth. Now—I can’t imagine spending my life anywhere else.” She reached for Selena’s hand. “I can see that you’re really upset. Tell me about it.”
    “I don’t know if I can stay here, Talia. On Gadolinium. It’s so cold and dark most of the time. I love Haldor. But I’m not sure it’s enough. He’s gone so often. If he’s not out hunting, he’s at another one of those endless council meetings. I try to keep busy but there’s only so much I can find to do around the house. I miss my work back on Earth, miss feeling useful. And when we’re together, when we’re not…” She paused, still embarrassed at saying the words out loud. “When we’re not making love, lately he seems like a different person. Distant. Closed off. Pretty soon I find myself responding the same way. After all, it’s easier.”
    Talia nodded. “Of course. It’s the way we were both raised, you and I.”
    “But I don’t want to be that person any more. I like the woman I’ve become since