Eye on Orion by Laura D. Bastian Page A

and the lives of the people moved on as they always had.”
    â€œDo you think Shander is in control now?” I asked.
    â€œI do not know.” Jai sounded so defeated. “There is no way to communicate with them without someone coming here. We were to search for more Traveling ore and make the best life we could while we waited for them to solve things on that end. Her father wanted her to have a chance to learn as much as possible from your planet and culture. That is part of the reason we came to the United States. We wanted to see how the people in the most powerful nation on your planet lived. See what might be good for our planet and see what we do better.”
    â€œAnd you picked Utah?” I couldn’t believe they’d try to learn about the US by coming here.
    â€œThe Salt Flats are a perfect place to leave Earth from. We will have to be ready to leave immediately when the time comes.”
    â€œYou can’t just Travel from wherever you are?”
    â€œThe magnetic field around Earth has waves and flows that alternate in a rhythm. With the mountain ranges around here and that huge flat area in the Salt Flats, the interference is less than in most other places.”
    â€œWow.” I didn’t know what to say. They could leave Earth within hours. My eyes started stinging, and I breathed slowly to stop the tears. I hadn’t felt as sad when Celia moved away as I did with this information. Of course I could still e-mail and call her whenever I wanted, but when they left, it would be impossible to communicate with them.
    â€œKing Chark felt that if Amira was not home, he could focus on solving the problem with Shander,” Jai said. “He didn’t want to worry about Shander finding her and holding her for ransom or marrying her against her will. With her previous Visions, we felt hopeful it would be over soon, but now who knows how long it will be before she can return to her father.”
    â€œWhat about your mother?” I asked. “You’ve never mentioned her.”
    â€œShe died when I was young. I hardly remember her.” Amira’s voice was low.
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    â€œThank you.” Amira placed her hand on my arm and squeezed gently.
    â€œWhat about your family, Jai?” I asked.
    â€œMy father was Amira’s mother’s brother. I was raised on an estate near the palace until I turned ten.” He paused for a moment. “When my parents died, I went to live at the palace with Amira. I learned how to fight and protect her. I became her personal bodyguard after her other bodyguard was killed.”
    â€œI’m sorry you lost your parents,” I said, longing to comfort him somehow, but having no clue what to say. “I can’t imagine how hard that would be. And then to have to leave your home and come to a place across the universe.” I shook my head as I thought about it. And how dangerous was it to be a bodyguard to a princess? Would Jai be killed too?
    â€œIt has been hard, but King Chark has become like a father to me. Amira is a better little sister than I imagined I could have.”
    Amira snorted in a delicate way that only she could manage. “And you, Jai, have been a typical brother.”
    â€œHow old are you guys?” I asked.
    â€œSeventeen,” he answered.
    â€œSeventeen,” Amira said.
    â€œAre your years the same as ours?”
    â€œPretty close, it may be off by a few days. I haven’t really studied it.”
    I wasn’t sure why I felt so relieved he wasn’t older than me. Considering he came from another planet, what would it matter how old he was? But now my parents couldn’t object too much to me seeing him, based on his age. And if I wasn’t grounded until the end of summer for getting home late tonight, I planned to see him every day.
    â€œHow did you know where to land here on Earth?” I asked.
    â€œWe came to Scotland where Ramal