Page 12

Chapter Twelve

Dhun raced into the garden, his spines rattling as he slid to a stop before me. He yipped loudly and pranced around me in a circle.

“Dhun!” I gasped and dropped to my knees to hug him. “You’re so big now!” He was even larger than when I’d seen him at the battle. “Are you ever going to stop growing?”

“He’s the largest hellhound we have record of,” Jol commented. “Druth couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw him.”

Elrith ran over and stood between Dhun and I. “Get back!” he shouted and growled. He pushed me with his tail, trying to get me to back up.

Dhun’s ears lowered, and he backed up a step, whining.

“It’s okay, Elrith. Dhun is my friend.”

“Hellhounds aren’t friends!” he growled. Black smoke began to seep from his feet and swirl up his legs.

“Elrith,” I whispered and set a hand on his back, “you can’t judge all hellhounds based on a few bad ones.”

“They’re evil,” he growled. His tail lashed back and forth behind him, and I could feel him shaking beneath my hand.

I wasn’t certain what trauma he’d faced from hellhounds, but it was clearly bad.

Jol squatted down beside Dhun and set a hand on him while keeping eye contact with Elrith. “I understand your desire to protect Princess Lily, but Dhun is not her enemy. Dhun and she are friends. Dhun protected her during the battle.”

“He saved us,” I agreed with a nod.

Elrith’s eyes darted up to mine before he focused back on Dhun. “S-Saved you, Princess?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Saved us all. Without Dhun’s help, we might not have defeated the Grand Advisor or saved our worlds. I would have died.”

The black smoke disappeared and Elrith took a step back so he was beside me instead of in front of me. “I see.”

Dhun canted his head and whined.

“Elrith, can you help me water these plants?” Jol requested as he stood and moved towards a set of planter boxes.

“You okay here?” Elrith asked me.

I smiled and nodded. “Go help King Jolmach. I’ll be fine.”

He gave one last look at Dhun before jogging after Jol.

“Don’t be too upset with him,” I whispered to Dhun. “He’s had a rough time.”

Dhun huffed and sat before me.

I stroked between his ears and laughed softly. “Thanks for being understanding, friend.”

“We should head back soon,” Trey said as he stood beside me. “I need to meet with my father.”

“Right.” I stood and walked over to Elrith, who was sprinkling water from a watering can onto a pot with strawberry plants. “Elrith, I have a proposition for you.”

He set the can down and tilted his head up to look at me. “Prop-i-shun?”

“A proposition is an offer,” I explained. “You told me when I met you that your parents are dead now and that you’re living on your own.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“My mates and I don’t like that idea. You see, we’re fond of you and we would like to offer to adopt you. Would you like to come live with us? You’ll always have food, a comfortable place to sleep, and we will protect you. You would become part of our family. How does that sound?”

His eyes widened. “You become my family?”

I squatted down so we could be eye level and nodded. “Yes. We would be your new family.”

“What price?” he asked and took an uncertain step back.

“No price,” I said, understanding his hesitation. “I was an orphan like you once, too. I was adopted and I want to give you that opportunity as well. You don’t have to accept, though I want you to. We are going to open an orphanage here, a place for all of the other kids without parents. If you don’t want to live with us, you could live with the other orphans in the orphanage instead. It’s up to you, and we will respect whatever choice you make.”

He looked at Jol who stood nearby watering other plants. “King?”

Jol set his can down and faced Elrith. “Yes?” I loved that he gave him his full attention, not belittling him or treating him differently. That was part of why I knew Jol was the perfect king.

“Is it okay to be adopted by Princess?” Elrith asked softly.

Jol smiled. “It is a great honor to be offered to be adopted by the princess, to become her son. I would accept if I were you.”

Elrith turned with wide eyes. “I would be your son? I accept!”

I pulled him into a hug and he giggled as I rubbed my face against his. “I’m so happy!” Warmth spread throughout my body and I felt true joy at his acceptance.

“Also, since you agreed, you will become prince,” Jol added as I released Elrith.

His eyes widened. “I agree again!”

We all laughed, including Dhun.

I held out my hand. “Come on, Prince Elrith. Let me take you to my world and introduce you to my family.”

He took my hand and looked at Trey, Mason, and Kayden, who stood near the exit. “Does that mean they’re my new fathers?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You teach me to fight so I can help protect new mom?” he asked.

My eyes widened. He wanted to learn to fight to protect me? Not himself?

Understanding hit me in the gut, making tears well in my eyes. If he lost his parents to a hellhound, had to watch his mother die, perhaps that was why he didn’t like Dhun and why he wanted to protect me.

All three of my mates nodded in answer to his question.

“Yes, we will train you to be the strongest you can be,” Trey answered. “To protect yourself and those you love.”

“Yay!” he shouted.

“I’ll see you tonight, right?” Jol asked as he walked with us out of the garden.

“Yes, we’ll return with my parents for the meeting,” I agreed.

“Elrith, do you have any belongings?” Mason asked. “Anything you want us to get before we leave?”

Elrith nodded. “One bag.”

“Can you lead us to it?” Mason requested.

“Okay,” he agreed. He looked up at me and asked, “Can you fly?”

Was his bag up high somewhere? “No, I don’t have the ability to fly, but Trey and Mason can fly, and I can ride Trey.”

Elrith nodded and started running, pulling me along behind him. “Not too far,” he called over his shoulder.

We ran away from the castle, towards the mountains. At the base of the mountains, Elrith looked all around before he shifted and used his wings to fly up into the air.

Mason shifted into his raven form and followed after him.

Trey shifted and bent down so Kayden and I could climb on his back.

“I can’t remember the last time I rode a dragon,” I commented.

“ It was just two nights ago, ” Trey said mentally through our bond.

My head fell back as I laughed. “I didn’t mean that kind of riding. Dirty dragon.”

Elrith led us to a small outcropping on the mountain that was barely big enough for Trey to land as a dragon, so he immediately shifted after landing.

Elrith climbed inside of a tiny hole, barely large enough for me to fit, and climbed back out with a small bag in front of him. “Okay. Ready.”

“You sure there’s nothing else?” Kayden asked.

Elrith nodded. “Just this.”

We were all staring at the bag, curiosity circulating through our bond. What was in the bag?

“Alright!” I said with a wide smile. “Let’s head to the portal.”

“You sure I can go through?” Elrith asked and fidgeted with the bag in his hands.

“I’m Princess of both worlds, remember? And as my son, you are welcome in both worlds as well. Just be sure you only go through the portal with one of us, or my family, okay?”

He nodded. “’kay.”