Page 16

Lilith

M y nerves are shot. I’ve been pulled in every direction today, and I haven’t had a moment to breathe all afternoon. The ceremony starts in a few minutes, and I’m silently freaking out. I am trying to calm down, but the panic won’t stop growing. I am pacing around this small dressing room in a dress that feels too tight. Leli is watching me closely but letting me have my moment.

The door opens, and I know the guys are here, but it doesn’t fully register. “She just keeps walking around mumbling something. Pretty sure she’s driving herself insane,” Leli says.

“Lilith,” Daemon says as he steps into my path and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“Sorry,” I sigh.

“For what?” he asks.

“Being a crazy person, mostly.”

“Well. You can’t help it,” he says with a smirk. My mouth falls open, and I smack his arm, making him chuckle and hug me. “You look beautiful, by the way. I’m definitely fucking you in this dress later.”

“At least untie the corset first,” I say. “Thank you. It’s comfortable, despite strangling my ribs.”

“She’s being dramatic,” Leli says.

“I am. Just ignore me.”

“Stop for a second and close your eyes,” he says. I nod and close my eyes. “Just breathe. Don’t think about anything else.”

“Daemon… Literally a million different things can go wrong. I can’t just…”

“Hush, Lilith. Breathe. That’s it. Nothing else,” he says.

I focus all of my attention on my breathing and get my heart to stop pounding in my chest. I slowly start to relax, and Daemon kisses my forehead.

“Good girl,” he says. “Are you ready, my sweet queen?”

“Yes,” I sigh.

“Let’s do this then,” he smiles.

He offers me his arm, and I happily loop mine with his. We leave the small dressing room and walk toward the main event.

My dress is an elegant white, with a bodice adorned with gemstones and golden leaves. On top of it, I have a fitted, almost sheer, floor-length cape-style shawl. It sits on my shoulders and flows down my back before brushing the floor. My hair is loosely pulled back with clips as it falls to my hips. Daemon, Kael, and Callum are wearing perfectly tailored suits that hug their bodies perfectly. Kael and Callum both have their hair pulled back, while Daemon’s is neatly styled. Their beards are neatly trimmed, as always.

They always look put together, but today they look especially handsome. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be by their side as we walk into the room.

Suddenly, all eyes are on us. Not just us… me. Everyone’s eyes immediately focus on me as they lead me in. Soft music plays through the room while no one talks. We reach the front of the room, and all three men stand in front of me. Leli is acting as the queen’s maiden, so she is standing behind me and slightly off to my right. We don’t really want to call her a maiden, but this way no one will question why she’s close to me all day.

“Lilith,” Daemon says with a smile. “Are you ready?”

“I am,” I reply coolly.

“Do you vow to always put your country first?” he asks.

“I do.”

“Do you vow to respect the crown with honor and dignity?” Kael asks.

“I do.”

“Do you vow to protect the citizens of Grimitara from evil, both known and unknown?” Callum asks.

“I do,” I say with a smile.

“We vow to you to never hold any power over you. You will always be our equal in all things. Do you vow the same?” Daemon asks.

“I vow to never hold power over you; we will be equal in all things,” I say.

“We vow to always protect you to the best of our ability. Do you vow the same?” Kael asks.

“I vow to protect you three to the best of my ability.”

“We vow to love you for as long as we live, no matter the circumstances or distance between us,” Callum says with a soft smile. “Do you vow the same?”

“I vow to love you for as long as I live, no matter the circumstances or distance,” I say with teary eyes.

“Then it is our honor to present to you your crown,” Daemon says as Leli steps forward with the crown, placed atop a small pillow. Daemon gently places the crown on my head before kissing me softly.

“From us to you,” Kael says as he takes a ring from Callum and places it on my finger. “As a reminder that you mean more to us than what that crown symbolizes. You are our mate… Our partner… And we can’t wait to spend forever with you.” Kael kisses me before Callum steps up and follows suit.

All three step back and smile at me. “Presenting Lilith, Queen of Grimitara,” Daemon says as he, Kael, and Callum take a knee and bow to me. Like a chain reaction, everyone in the room bows to me. My mates rise as everyone claps and cheers when they kiss me again, only harder this time.

“You are all welcome to join us in the reception hall to celebrate,” Daemon says.

We go back to the dressing room so I can put my mask on. We decided on a masquerade-themed celebration after the ceremony. The guys thought it could be funny to get me a bunny mask instead of a fox because I’m a small Arctic fox and look like prey. Once I have it on, I turn to see the guys have theirs on that represent them when shifted.

“Our cute little prey,” Daemon says as he kisses me.

“Well, hold off for a while before you hunt me again while shifted,” I laugh.

They lead me out of the room and to the reception hall. Kael sits me at the table at the head of the room between him and Callum. People flood in and sit at the tables throughout the room.

“Was that as bad as you thought?” Kael asks.

“No,” I laugh. “That was amazing.”

“You are amazing,” Callum says as he kisses my cheek.

“You’re just trying to get laid,” I say sweetly.

“Aren’t we always?” Kael asks.

“I’m making you all dance with me and Leli,” I say.

“We would love to,” Kael says.

“You need to eat something first,” Daemon says as he sits a small plate of food in front of me, then Leli.

“Oh, thank you,” I say.

I eat my food, watching everyone else as they do the same while chatting. Lively music is playing throughout the room and keeps the mood upbeat. Today is going a lot smoother than I thought it would go.

“Care to dance, my queen?” Callum asks, offering me his hand.

“I would love to,” I say with a smile. Callum pulls me up and walks me to the dance floor as the music shifts. More people join us as we do the waltz. Soon the room is filled with people dancing and laughing.

“Mind if I cut in?” Kael says as he steals me from Callum.

“I feel like I’m going to get passed around all night,” I laugh.

“Probably,” he chuckles.

We dance through three songs before Daemon whisks me away from Kael.

“How are you enjoying your evening?” Daemon asks.

“I love it!” I say happily. “This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had.”

“You look like you’re having fun,” he remarks. “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile this much before.”

“Good,” he says.

“Can I steal her?” Leli says.

“Certainly. I’ll come steal her back in a second,” Daemon says before kissing me.

“Do you really want to dance, or are you sparing me?” I ask.

“You looked like you needed a break,” she laughs.

“I do, but I’m having so much fun,” I say as she hands me a drink.

“So am I,” she says. “I can’t wait to go home, though.”

“Thank you for what you’ve done. I’m sure you never wanted to come here.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to come here. It’s just that I was afraid to get here and then fail,” she says

“Well, I’d say you definitely succeeded.”

“I don’t succeed until you have landed and are with Mazvyn,” she says, shaking her head.

The lights dim, and the music slows down considerably. I feel Daemon touch my arm. I glance at him, but it’s too dark to really see.

“I’m going to get back to dancing with the guys. We can talk more later, though,” I say.

“Okay. Have fun,” she tells me as she turns to walk toward the drink table.

When I turn back, the lights catch the face of the man who is currently holding my wrist, and it’s not Daemon. It’s Zypher. He immediately pulls me towards the balcony. It’s a short walk for him to shove me on the balcony and pull the door behind him, trapping me between him and the edge of the balcony.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask.

“I thought you and I could talk without anyone bothering us,” he says as he inches closer to me. I’ve backed myself into a corner with nowhere else to go.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I say. “Move.”

“I don’t care what they say, you belong to me,” Zypher growls. “I will have you back, and I will show you what happens when you disobey me.”

“Fuck you,” I snap. “They won’t spare you twice.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to make it count then, huh?” He says as he spins me around and shoves me against the railing of the balcony.

“ Stop ,” I scream at him. When he starts to try and pull the back of my dress up, I panic.

I say a silent prayer for my brain to cooperate as I try to shift. My body instantly responds, and I shift into my small Arctic fox form. I quickly sprint towards the door that is slightly open. I get to the door before he can react and dash into the room that is still flooded with people.

I sniff the air and try to make out where the guys are. There are so many people in here, and they all immediately take notice of a bright white fox running through the room. I weave through random legs until the crowd opens up enough that I see my mates with Leli. Their eyes go wide when they see me sprinting toward them.

I run faster, then jump at the last second so Kael can catch me. I hear a snarl behind me right as Leli puts the shield of protection up around us. When I turn my head, I see that Zypher and a few others have shifted into their wolf form. I am terrified of what Zypher is capable of if he gets to me again. I curl up in Kael’s arms and whimper when Zypher snarls again.

“Fuck. Oh, fuck,” Leli whispers when she realizes she not only just outed herself as a witch but me as well.

“Go. Get her out of here,” Daemon says as he grabs Leli and pushes Kael to the door. They grab my clothes from the dressing room and rush outside. Hushed whispers fill the room as word begins to spread of the queen and her maiden being witches. They didn’t have to see me do magic to know that Leli was protecting us.

As soon as we are in the car and driving away from the event center, I shift back.

“I’m so sorry,” Leli cries. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I fucked up.”

“It’s okay,” I say as I get dressed in the back seat.

“What the fuck happened?” Callum asks.

“It was dark, and we thought it was Daemon who approached me. Leli walked off, and once I realized that it was Zypher. He grabbed me and dragged me out onto the balcony.” I say.

“That son of a bitch,” Daemon growls.

“What else?” Kael asks.

“He said that he owned me, and he would get me back to punish me. I said you guys would not spare him twice, so then he shoved me against the balcony and was trying to pull my dress up. I freaked out and shifted so I could get away from him.”

“You did good, baby,” Kael says as he pulls me into his lap and hugs me tightly.

“This is bad,” Callum says.

“It’s not safe here for her anymore. They know she is a witch. I heard so many people on the way out say it,” Leli says.

“Yeah. I know,” Daemon sighs. “We need to get her to Mazvyn. None of it matters if Zypher gets a hold of her.”

“Let’s get home and pack. I’ll take the girls to the library to get what they need from there, t3 and we will meet you two at the airstrip,” Daemon says. “Just get the plane ready and we won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Kael says, kissing my head.

“Lilith,” Daemon says. “No matter what happens, you and Leli are to get on that plane and get the fuck out of here. Okay?”

“I’m not leaving without you guys,” I say firmly. “You are a part of this just as much as I am.”

“I’m not kidding, Lilith. If something happens, go. We will find our way to you,” he says.

“No,” I say louder. “None of it matters if you guys die. I don’t want to save the world if you’re not in it with me.”

“Lilith,” he sighs.

“No. It’s not up for discussion. I am not going without you. Just do what you need to do to make sure you’re with me on that plane or it doesn’t move,” I say as he pulls past the gate.