Page 23 of The Price of Peace
“I told you to wait and let me ease her into it.” The Prince’s voice was the first one I heard as I swam out of unconsciousness.
“Sorry, not sorry! I was excited. It’s not often you get to meet yourself. Well, maybe more often for me than normal people. What number is she?” My voice that wasn’t me said excitedly and in a language I didn’t recognize.
Am I in a fever dream?I whimpered, immediately wishing I could take the sound back.
“Xiara,” Xyrox murmured. I felt his big, rough hand stroking my cheek. “Can you hear me?”
Xiara? That was the Rykantosian word for “my love” when directed to a female mate. My eyelids fluttered open, and his concerned green eyes were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
I smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I just forgot to breathe for a minute. Kind of important.”
“Yeah, you might even call it necessary.” His lips twitched before he leaned down and brushed my mouth with his.
“Oh, good. You’re alive! Come say hi, sister-friend!” My voice from not-me said from the screen.
“You ready for whatever this is?” Xyrox whispered as he helped me to my feet.
“No. Yes? What is this?” I responded as I stood to face … myself in the screen. My not-me waved and smiled. “Hi. I’m Peace One. Which Peace are you?”
“I’m Peace.” My head started to swim again.
“Yes, I know. What number is in the middle of your tattoo?”
“I’m so confused. Did I accidentally lick a hynotoad?”
“As I was trying to say …” Prince Friðrik shouldered his way back onto the screen. “Our race lost its ability to reproduce, and Jökull got overzealous in his experiments—“
“Blah, blah, blah.” My doppelgänger rolled her eyes. “Long story short, Yogurt made a bunch of clones of us and then OG Peace shot us into space. Now Rick and OG are trying to find us and scoop us back up to try to help defeat Yogurt and stop all his dastardly deeds.”
“Yogurt? What language are you speaking?”
“She means Jökull,” Prince Friðrik explained. “She’s speaking English, which is a human language from the planet Earth.”
“Human? Earth?” I looked at Xyrox because he was the only thing that felt real at the moment.
Prince Friðrik cleared his throat. “Yes. Peace One is from Earth. I think maybe we are giving you too much information at once—“
The other Peace bounced in her seat like a happy child. “If I can handle it, so can she. What number is in the middle of your tattoo? Mine is number one, so that’s why they call me Peace One. Is yours on your ass, too?” She stood and reached for her waistband when a huge purple hand came out of nowhere and wrapped her entire fist in his.
“Princess, we talked about this,” a deep voice grumbled from off screen. “No more exposing yourself on camera. Not even to your clone.”
I sucked my lips between my teeth to avoid laughing out loud. I was beginning to liked this Peace.
She plopped back down into her chair, a pout on her lips. “Fine. This is Varroc, by the way. He’s a Lithomorph and my mate.”
A male squatted behind Peace One, his serious purple face appearing on screen. nodding seriously to Xyrox and me in hello. “It’s an honor to meet you. I am Varroc of Lithoria. Third son of the revered King Herroc, General of the Quarzion Legions, and Mate of Peace One of Earth.”
My eyes widened a bit as Xyrox stood to his full height, squared his shoulders, and placed a fist over his heart. “I am Xyrox, First Son of the House of Quorath, Senior Agent of Intergalactic Investigative Forces, and Mate to Peace of Rykantos.”
I really need to get you alone right now Agent Quorath. Also, can I say, I’m starting to appreciate this telepathy thing no matter where it came from.
A smile teased the edge of his upper lip as he tried to hold his “I’m as big of a badass as you are” pose in front of our new friends.
“You’re talking in your heads, aren’t you?” Peace One twirled a lock of hair around her finger and grinned.
My eyes shot to my twin on the screen and narrowed. “You know about that?”
“Yep, thought so. Pleiadians have telepathy, and it works with our mates, too. It has to do with the whole bond, matching tattoos, clone woo-woo,” she explained breezily. She leaned closer to the camera. “The mate telepathy thing has other perks too. Have you experienced that whole feeling the other’s body thing when you …”
