The Falcon Prince

His face paled and he reached toward his lower regions. “There are no such things as aliens,” he said.

Oh, Lord, she’d forgotten about her warning. “No, I promise I won’t cut off your”—she glanced at her mom—“any part of your body, but you need to tell Mom the truth. I’ve explained everything to her. I just need you to confirm it.” God, she felt as though the hole was getting deeper and deeper.

“Confirm that you’re part alien?”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Exactly.”

He stood taller. “Rianna is part alien.”

Her mother sobbed into her hands. “You don’t have to lie for her, Kris. I know we have to get her help. Her father and I had hoped she would outgrow the voices and everything. But my poor baby hasn’t.”

“No, Mom, I’m not lying. See watch, I’ll shift.”

Ria had sworn she wouldn’t shift again, but she had to if she was ever going to convince her mother she wasn’t living in a fantasy world.

She closed her eyes. What could she shift into so as not to cause her mother to have a heart attack? A puppy. Yes, that would work. A cute little puppy.

But a puppy would probably piddle on the carpet and it was brand new. That would really upset her mother.

“What are you, dear?” her mother asked.

Ria opened her eyes. “Huh?”

“What have you transformed into?”

“Nothing.” She frowned.

Oh, hell, now her mother was placating her. She quickly closed her eyes. She had to think of something.

“What’s going on?” Ria’s father asked as he came into the living room.

Ria jumped.

“Shh, dear. Ria is…is trying…to change into a…” She sobbed into her tissues. “A hawk! Oh, Ron, she’s completely lost her mind. She thinks she’s an alien, or a hawk, or something. I don’t want men in white coats to lock her away in a cold, sterile institution. What are we going to do?” She jumped from the sofa and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

“There are doctors in Dallas.” Her father patted his wife on the back.

“I’m not crazy!” Ria jumped to her feet and began to pace the room. She looked to Kristor for assistance, but he only shrugged. A lot of help he was.

Her mother got her sobs under control, except for a few sniffles and hiccups. She stepped out of her husband’s arms and squared her shoulders. “I love you as if I had carried you for nine months. I will never stop loving you.” She blew her nose into a tissue. “And we will get you the help you need.”

“She’s telling you the truth.” Kristor walked to Ria and took her hand in his.

“Now listen, young man, we think the world and all of you, but you’re only hurting our daughter by encouraging these fantasies and I won’t allow it.” Her father wore the dark scowl he had used when a boy came to the door to take Ria on a date when she was in high school. It didn’t seem to have any effect on Kristor. Not like it had on other dates.

“I’ll prove it.” Right before Ria closed her eyes, her gaze landed on a pretty figurine of a horse. Without stopping to think about it, she concentrated as hard as she could on a horse.

Whatever she shifted into had to be something her parents couldn’t deny. A horse was as good as anything. When the burning sensation started, she had to wonder if she really was doing the right thing. No, she had to do something.

Think horse. Think horse. Think horse.

She collapsed to the sofa, then rolled off, hugging her middle. From a long way off, Ria heard voices.

“What’s going on?” her mother asked. “Ron, I’m scared.”

“I can’t see a damn thing in all this fog,” her father said.

“It’s going to be all right. Rianna is shifting,” Kristor told them.

The burning sensation was strong inside her. She couldn’t catch her breath. It was as though she’d been running for a long time.

She stretched her legs out, then her arms. Why the hell had she thought this was the only way she could prove to her parents that she was part alien? Surely there would’ve been a better way to go about showing them. She could’ve had Kristor shift. Hell, he did it all the time.

“Ron!”

“There’s a horse in our living room,” her father said. “What have you done with our daughter?”

Ria blinked several times. Again, she felt as though she looked through someone else’s eyes and, in fact, she did. She raised her head and whinnied.

“He’s a magician,” her mother said, then laughed, but it came out weak at best. “You’re a very good one, Kris, but I have to ask you not to bring animals into my house.”

“This is Ria,” he said. “We are a race of shapeshifting aliens.”

“This is not my daughter!” Ron exploded.

Ria walked over to her parents, then nuzzled her mother’s arm.

Her mother leaned closer, staring into the eyes of the horse. “Ria? Is that you in there?”

“Helloooo…” The front door opened and her mother’s best friend, Vickie Jo, walked inside carrying a plate of cookies. “I had the urge to bake and thought you would help me eat a few—” She stumbled to a stop, the plate tilting, and a couple of the cookies toppled to the floor. “You have a horse in your living room. Why is there a horse in your living room, Maggie?” She took a step back.

“No, it is only Ria,” Kristor told her. “She has shifted into a horse.”

“Ria?” Vickie Jo looked around the room. The plate crashed to the floor right before she ran out the door and across the yard, her arms flapping as if she would take off in flight at any second.

Oh, hell, Ria thought. Vickie Jo might be her mother’s best friend but she was also Tilly the dispatcher’s friend, too. There was no telling what would be all over town by this afternoon.

You could’ve been a hawk, Shintara’s thoughts filled her. It would’ve been easy saying it had flown in through the back door. But no, you had to be a horse.

Shut up! I certainly don’t need your help right now.

I was only stating facts.

Ria closed her eyes and thought about being herself again. The burning began to churn inside her. She went to the floor as hooves became legs and arms. The fog rolled in. She couldn’t see. Voices became distant.

The throw on the sofa was gently placed around her and someone picked her up. She blinked, then looked up. Kristor, of course.

“Ria?” her mother tentatively spoke.

“I’m okay, Mom. Just a little woozy.”

“Your clothes are on the floor.”

And a little bit naked. Thank goodness Kristor had grabbed the throw. She glanced at her father. He looked more dazed than anything.

“I’m sorry, but it was the only way to convince you. As soon as I get dressed, I’ll explain everything, I promise.” She looked at Kristor. “I can walk.” But when he set her on her feet, she wasn’t quite as steady as she had thought. It wasn’t easy going from human to horse, then back again to human.

Ria managed to scoop up her clothes and head for the bathroom, dressing as quickly as she could. She shuddered to think what Kristor was telling her parents. And why the hell would he tell Mom’s friend that she was part alien? His timing was really off the mark.

As soon as she was dressed and had run a brush through her mane—hair—she joined everyone in the living room.

“I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Vickie Jo,” her mom said.

“We’ll think of something, Mom.”

Her mother sucked in a gulp of air and ran to Ria, throwing her arms around her, and pulling her close. “Oh, my poor baby. You’re not losing your mind after all.”

“No, Mom, I’m just part alien, but I’m not sure which is worse.”