Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

Two weeks in the demon world and I felt as good as I had before I’d unlocked my other shadow powers.

Elrith and Kora were a full-time job, both so full of energy and the desire for knowledge that we’d hired private tutors, one from each world, since the demon world’s school wasn’t quite ready yet.

They were both being spoiled to an extreme level by my family, but I was okay with it. They deserved to be spoiled and shown what it was like to have a family like I was fortunate enough to find. Nana Jolie and Great Aunt Leona were the worst perpetrators, finding an excuse at least every other day to meet up to spend time with them.

Maya had been extra busy with courting my brother Tony, elf Tony, and Jaeden. Things were going well, though, and it helped ease my worry that I was neglecting our friendship. We did schedule a monthly girls’ night with Piper, Maya, and I as well, swapping between worlds each month to keep our friendships stronger.

Azgon had volunteered to run the demon orphanage with the help of a few other females as staff. Jol had assured us she was a great choice because she was hard to rile up, making her perfect to handle children, and she was a strong fighter, so she could protect them as well. I still wanted to find and hire a few guards, which was on my to-do list when we returned.

Dad had called me back to Jinla to be part of a press conference to announce the identification process was going live for the demons and next week, visitations between worlds would be allowed.

I sat beside Mom, Jol on my other side, wearing a business suit with my hair tied back and light makeup on. My smile stayed in place as pictures and videos were being taken during the press conference.

Trey was at the dragons, dealing with some more drama from his cousins since Grandpa Rhys was here with us.

I looked down the line of my adoptive family at the table and my smile turned into a true one. It still astonished me that they had so easily accepted me being part demon and so quickly moved to unify us.

“We will take questions now,” Grandpa Rhys announced.

Dozens of reporters’ hands shot up into the air.

He chose one, but before the reporter could ask a question, a woman stood, anger contorting her face, and clapped her hands together.

A large fireball shot towards me, but I didn’t even blink.

Grandpa Nico sighed, made a barrier, and the fireball sputtered out against it immediately.

Guards grabbed the woman, binding her, and escorted her from the room.

Five more people, three men and two women, stood, chanting as they began to attack.

Thankfully, most of the reporters present had been to press conferences with us before, so they knew to stay seated and let the guards and us handle things.

Mason, who had been leaning against the wall on the side of the room, drew his sword and leapt into action, taking down two of them while other guards took out the remaining three.

I arched a brow at him, but he ignored me.

“Seems like someone doesn’t like you getting so much attention,” Dad teased.

“I think he’s just happy to get to fight something,” I commented with a shrug.

Kayden tapped my bond, so I turned around to look at him where he stood against the back wall, holding Elrith, Kora at his side.

Elrith’s eyes were glossy with unshed tears and he made a grabbing motion with one hand at me.

I nodded once to let Kayden know it was okay.

Kayden set Elrith on his feet and he immediately rushed onto the stage and to me.

I picked him up and set him on my lap, resting my chin atop his head, between his horns.

“Your mama is safe, promise,” Mom cooed and stroked his back. “Her grandpas won’t let anything happen to her.”

I opened my mouth to reassure him when chains burst from the floor to wrap around my legs.

Dad leapt to his feet, snarling, and yelled, “Enough!”

The chains disappeared and a man in the crowd cried out in pain.

Lifting my eyes, I saw Mason standing behind a male mage, the tip of his sword dripping with blood poked out the front of the man’s chest.

“These attacks will not be tolerated!” Grandpa Nico yelled, his voice and power making the room quake.

Elrith turned and growled at the audience, baring his fangs.

I stroked his hair and whispered, “It’s alright, imp. The chains just startled me. No pain.”

Dad had reacted so quickly that I’d only had time to notice them before they were gone.

“I knew there would be opposition, and you’d told me before that you’ve been attacked, but seeing this…” Jol paused and shook his head. “…it’s no wonder you chose our world to live in.”

“It’s the life of a royal here,” Mom said, a deep frown on her face. “People think that they can change things with our deaths, but all they do is forge our bonds stronger.”

The attacks ceased and the kings answered a few questions. Once the time limit was up for questions, we made our way to the main hall. Jol, Elrith, and I would be the first demons to get ID cards.

Jol went first, taking a picture and waiting for the card to be printed.

Elrith went next, then me. The three of us stood together, holding our cards, and smiled for photos.

Once the reporters left, Kayden brought Kora over to get her ID as well.

Kora linked hands with Elrith and asked, “You okay?”

Elrith nodded. “Mad people tried to hurt Mama,” he whispered.

Jol set his hand on Elrith’s shoulder and said, “It’s a good thing she has such a strong family and mates, right?”

Elrith nodded, but said, “Why do they hate her and us? Mama is nice.”

Dad squatted down to look in Elrith and Kora’s eyes and explained, “People are scared of things they do not understand and things that are different. It wasn’t long ago that hybrids were the ones being attacked. It will take time, but eventually, they will see how great this change is and how great you are.”

“They will?” Kor asked, hope in her eyes.

Dad nodded. “Yes, they will.”

Well, many of them would. No matter what, there would always be people who hated others just because they were different.

“Come on, Grandma Ember and I are going to take you out for ice cream!” Dad announced.

Mom hugged me and said, “We’ll see you at the house when you’re ready to head back.”

I squeezed her and nodded. “We’re just packing up a few last items and getting our month’s food supply.”

“We need to stop at the clothing store to pick up Kora and Elrith’s new wardrobes as well,” Mason reminded me.

“New clothes?” Kora gasped.

I nodded, smiling down at her and said, “Including some dresses I saw you looking at.”

She squealed and hugged me around the hips, the highest point she could reach. “Thank you, Princess!”

I tsked.

“Auntie,” she quickly amended.

It felt too weird for her to call me by my title, so we had settled on me being her aunt.

“Have fun with your grandparents,” I called as they, with Jol, walked towards the elevator to go to the garage where their vehicles waited.

“Are you ready, Princess?” Jeremy asked.

Since we were in Jinla, my family had forced guards on us, including the new mage, Jeremy, facing me now. After today’s attacks, I was okay with the backup.

I nodded. “The car?”

“Out front,” he confirmed. “Security has a path ready.”

Mason set a hand on my lower back and said, “Deep breath. You’re vibrating with nervous energy.”

The nervousness wouldn’t leave me, but I couldn’t really explain it either. I obeyed, taking a deep breath and letting it out before we made our way out of the building and down the lane the security had made for us.

Reporters and people shouted at us, cameras flashed, blindingly, but we continued forward until we were inside the vehicle and secured.

Kayden directed Piper where to go and we moved off at a comfortable place.

“How does it feel to be one of the first demons with access to this world?” Piper asked, glancing up in the rearview mirror with a smirk.

“Same as it did yesterday,” I replied, and shrugged.

She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t envy the amount of work that Trey’s PR people are putting in on your social media accounts. People can be awful shitbags.”

“That’s an understatement,” Mason grumbled.

“You can’t kill everyone just because they don’t like that your mate is a demon,” Piper said.

“Watch me,” Mason snapped.

I set a hand on his leg, and he exhaled harshly. “You okay?”

“I’m frustrated that I had to protect you today. You were giving a press conference with our son there and they still attacked you. They would have killed you without hesitation. Just because you’re part demon. Even though you fucking saved all of us from becoming enslaved to that douchebag hybrid advisor.”

“Saving the world doesn’t give you an automatic pass,” I said and shrugged.

“Just look at Jolie. She’s been attacked a lot, as well as King Caleb. Shitty people are just going to be shitty,” Piper said.

Still, something didn’t feel right, but I couldn’t put a finger on what it was to let anyone know.

Kayden sensed my unease and set a hand on my leg. “We’re here. It’s okay.”

For now… I just felt like we were going to be attacked at any moment.

“We’re going to go to the store first to pick up the items. Are you sure you want to go in?” Piper asked. “You can wait in the car while one of us goes to get them instead.”

“That might be better,” I agreed with a nod, leaned my head back against the seat, and closed my eyes. “I can’t stop feeling nervous or like we’re about to engage in battle. I don’t want to go into public any more than I have to right now.”

“Understood,” she said and nodded once.

I smiled at my friend and how professional she was being. Though, when it came to my safety, she was always top notch.

“Look,” Kayden whispered and showed me pictures of Kora and Elrith eating a huge four scoop ice cream cone.

Their eyes were shining with such genuine joy that it made me smile and relax a bit. While I didn’t like being away from them, I knew my mom and dad were the best protection they could have.

We parked in the garage of the mall and waited while they retrieved the kids’ wardrobes. Once those were obtained, we resumed our drive towards home.

My body started to relax the closer to home we go. Clearly, it had all just been unnecessary worry on my part.

As we rounded the bend to enter our neighborhood, a loud beep sounded and the next thing I knew, we were engulfed in fire and airborne.