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place?” It’s all I can get out. Tears are now streaming down my own face. I was right. Something is going on. They’re getting rid of me—sending me away.
    “Your life was in danger. You’re important at home, more important than you could possibly imagine. They had to protect you, no matter the cost. And now that you’re old enough to know the truth, they need you. They need your help.” Valentino stays mostly calm. He speaks through gritted teeth. His eyes remain dry.
    “And how do you fit into all this?” I ask him.
    “Who’s the first real friend you’ve had?” He sits beside me now and takes my hand into his.
    I look into his eyes, knowing he’s aware of the answer. But I say it anyway. “You.”
    “Home isn’t on this world, Shanice. It’s why you’ve never fit in. It’s why you’ve never had any real friends. We’re from the same world. I volunteered to come and take care of you, watch over you, and bring you home safely when the time came so you didn’t have to go it alone. And the time is now. Your world, our world, needs you.”
    I slide my hand from Valentino’s grip as my palms start sweating. My heart is racing. I’m not sure if this is a joke or if they’re serious or if I heard wrong. “Where is home? How do we get to this other world? This doesn’t seem real.” As I say that, I realize that it does. I’ve never fit in. Never. It makes perfect sense in an odd, twisted way.
    And the fact that I don’t look like either of my parents? It explains quite a bit there. I suppose I always assumed I had one of my grandparents’ skin and hair. That, or I was adopted—and that one seems to be the truth.
    “Where’s the one place you’ve always been attracted to but never gone?” Valentino’s question makes me think hard.
    “Every day we go riding, and where’s the first place you ride?” he adds, hinting.
    “The gate?” I never really understood why I always choose to ride there. I thought I just liked the forest. The serenity of it all. Then again, I’ve always wanted to be on the other side of the gate. Always.
    So it wasn’t just the mystery—it was my world calling me home. “So you’re saying that gate leads to another world? The one where you and I belong?” I ask, just for clarification.
    He nods. I look back at my parents. “Is this for real? Are you all being serious right now?” I want to believe that this is a joke, that Mom and Dad know I’m absolutely madly in love with Valentino and brought him in on it.
    “I assure you, it isn’t.” Such sadness in Valentino’s eyes as he says it.
    “Then answer me one more question. Who am I?”
    I see the panic in Valentino’s eyes before he looks at my parents. They both keep silent, leaving it all on him to tell me the truth. But he squares his shoulders, drops my hand, and turns to face me.
    “You are Shanice Calaria, princess of Umare, daughter of Roan and Ivy.”
    I want to laugh. I also want to cry some more. Did he really just say what I think he just said?
    “My name is Shanice Tetreault. And princess? Did you just say I’m a princess?”
    “To be specific, you are the only princess we can locate. And your world needs you to help find the other missing royals.”
    I ignore his last statement, bubbling with more questions. “Who are you?”
    “Princess, can we please save this for the road? We really must be going.”
    “What? Now? Are you serious? I just found out, like, two seconds ago. I haven’t even processed it yet, and you want me to just up and leave?”
    “I’m sorry. We have to. We must be to Avonathia before nightfall.”
    He closes his eyes and breathes in. “The other world. Now I’ll leave you to your breakfast. Once you’re finished, you’ll want to go home, take a shower, and say your good-byes.” My heart sinks as he stands and walks away.
    I want this all to be a joke. I need this all to be a joke. I wipe away my tears just as my parents wipe away theirs and we all dig in