Sometimes my life doesn't feel real to me. It's so different—infinitely better—than anything I had on Earth. I'm not running or hiding or afraid anymore. I'm not dealing with the trauma of my past. I'm not alone because I have Lorne. Every time I look into his eyes, everything else fades away—the war, the fight ahead, the fact that we have so much work to do if we want to win. I see him and I forget that SpaceTech is moving against us, but it's not just me I'm trying to save anymore. It's the Aunare.

And yet, the Aunare High Council isn't listening to a word I say. I'm the only one who seems to understand the danger that we're up against, and that if we don't start acting soon, it'll be too late. I want to dissolve the High Council, but I'm not sure I should. I don't even know if I can. But I know that SpaceTech is closing in. Their war ships are stationed at the edges of our colonies' territory, and I can feel the fight growing closer every minute of every day.

The time for us to act is coming, and I'm not sure how much more politicking I can do. That's not who I am. It's not who I'm meant to be. I can only be a fighter. A warrior. A queen.

If no one else will fight with me, then I will do what I need to take down SpaceTech. Because I'm Amihanna di Aetes, the future High Queen of the Aunare, and I won't quit. Not ever.