Page 10 of Their World (Her Royal Harem: Lily #2)

Chapter

Ten

Getting so many strong-willed, alpha male, growly kings to agree on anything was like herding cats.

When they were as stubborn as I was, that meant that we were at a stalemate. My hair had been glowing for hours now and I constantly oozed black smoke, though the snake stayed inside, thankfully.

“Ordering me or forbidding me from going won’t stop me,” I said sternly.

“You can’t just admit to your king that you’re going to defy him,” Great Nana Kara said and tsked.

“When he’s being unreasonable and won’t listen to reason, he should know the order is stupid and shouldn’t be given in the first place,” I said and hissed.

“You don’t need to go,” Riddick said. “We can send someone else who is more powerful to?—”

“More powerful? Why would you need someone more powerful? Unless …” My eyes widened. “You’re planning to attack him? You can’t! He is not our enemy. How many times do I have to explain everything to you?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you aren’t going?” Caleb growled. His eyes were glowing, which meant he was pissed because he had really good control of his emotions … most of the time.

I was pissed, too. Even after everything I had told them last night, he was still trying to forbid me from going back.

“We’re getting nowhere arguing about this,” I said sternly. “None of you can access the portals, which means you can’t go there or come back.”

“We can when you give us the necklace,” Branson said.

My hand shot up to where the necklace normally was, but it was hidden outside. I hissed at them, “No! Giving you the necklace won’t help you get there. Did you not listen to what I said about it?”

“Okay, everyone, let’s take a deep breath,” Great Aunt Leona said and used her powers to send a wave of calmness to all around the room.

The calmness reminded me of something Jol had said, that they had seen me before I came.

I said, “The Grand Advisor was using the necklace to spy on us. I feel a thousand times lighter when I’m not wearing it.”

“I knew we should have forced her to remove it sooner, before she was teleported,” Branson said, and growled.

“I know you all view me as the little girl that you adopted,” I whispered as I looked at my adoptive parents. “But I’m not a scared little hybrid child. This is something that needs to be done. We have to help them. There are orphaned children starving there,” I said softly. “They need help. I need to help them.”

“Why does it have to be you?” Great Aunt Leona asked gently.

“Let me do this,” I begged.

“Tell us why it’s so important to you, Lily,” Nana Jolie urged.

“Why do you need to help them?” Great Grandpa Dan asked.

Taking a breath, I knew the only way to convince them was to bare my soul and admit what I barely acknowledged myself. “What’s the point of being a princess, of being adopted into this family of powerful royals, if I’m useless? What have I accomplished in this life so far? Besides …” I might as well admit it to the rest of my family, though I worried what the trio would think. After a big breath, I blurted, “I’m not just a hybrid and princess of our world. I’m a hybrid and princess of both worlds. I’m the Demon Princess.”

If a butterfly flapped its wings, it would have sounded like an explosion in the silence.

Grandpa Nico stood slowly with his eyes fixed on me. “Say that again.”

“Nico,” Nana Jolie warned.

“My grandmother was the Queen of Demons, the ruler before Jol. They call her Third to Reign. She had premonitions and could use the shadow powers like I can. My parents took me from the demon world and hid me here. I think … I think to get me away from the Grand Advisor.”

“You’re a demon?” Great Grandpa Dan asked.

“Part, yes.”

Mason walked around the table opposite Grandpa Nico, focused on him and his movements.

I was also focused on him, not sure why he was walking towards me.

“I found out while I was there. I felt a kinship to them, a draw, like I do hybrids, and thought perhaps they were part hybrid, but it is because I’m part demon. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all sooner, but I was worried what you might think and?—”

Grandpa Nico stopped next to me, Mason on my other side, body tensed. Grandpa Nico looked down at me, a deep scowl on his face a moment before he smiled and hugged me, patting the back of my head. “My sweet Lily-poo. Were you really worried we would disown you or hate you? Such nonsense going through your head.”

“Y-You don’t?” I stammered, stunned.

“We don’t care if you’re a warthog,” Great Grandpa Dan said. I looked over at him and he smiled. “You are our family and family doesn’t care if you’re a princess or a pauper. We love you and always will.”

Tears sprang to my eyes and dripped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

Nana Jolie and Great Aunt Leona rushed out of their chairs and around the table to take me from Grandpa Nico and hug me.

“It’s alright,” Great Aunt Leona crooned, her powers easing some of my anxiety. “We love you, silly Lily. You could be a hellhound and we’d still love you.”

“That hellhound friend of yours was pretty adorable,” Nana Jolie said as she stroked a hand down my hair.

Once back in their seats, I said, “Now you understand. I am more than a hybrid of our world; I’m part demon and they are my people as well. I can do this. Let me do this. I must do this.”

Dad stood so quickly that his chair flew backwards and shattered against the wall behind him. He turned and stomped out of the house.

Great Grandpa Dan stood slowly and said, “I’ll go speak to him.”

“I’ll come, too,” Grandpa Foxfire said and followed.

“You’re … part demon?” Trey asked.

I nodded, afraid to look at them.

“So that darkness, that smoky power wasn’t from the spell that hit you?” Nana Jolie asked.

“No, it seems that spell just unlocked my demonic powers. Powers that come from their third monarch, the one who wrote the prophecy about me, my biological grandmother,” I explained.

After filling them all in on the additional information, it was incredibly quiet.

Mason, Kayden, and Trey left the house together, making my chest ache.

“Let’s get back to our list,” Great Nana Kara said. “We decided on the first few plants to see if they can survive. My concern is water. Did they have a water source?”

“I didn’t see any, but I didn’t get to travel very far. They claim their water sources weren’t ruined, but that they are underground and they have to haul it up.” Turning to Great Aunt Leona I asked, “Is it possible for a siren to cause a mass hallucination that lasts for years and effects those who newly enter the world?”

“A spell of that magnitude seems impossible,” she whispered. “I can’t see how they could do it to brand new people who haven’t met them yet and have it spread all across the entire world. To be that powerful would be unheard of.”

Mason, Trey, and Kayden returned, standing by the wall instead of sitting near me again. Was this their answer? Were they going to stop courting me now?

“What if the world really is burnt,” Mason whispered.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Think about the more logical explanation for this,” he said and started pacing across the room. “If he planted a false memory into their minds, of the war and plague, but then he burned everything to line up with that story, he wouldn’t need to alter any newcomer’s minds.”

“Why not make himself king then?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be more likely that he’d use those powers to become the ruler?”

“Being a ruler isn’t always fun. Being the advisor who tells the king what to do is a far better position,” Nana Jolie said.

Shit, that did seem more logical.

Rubbing my temples, I asked, “So, he implanted false memories, including putting himself as Grand Advisor, destroyed the world, all for what end game?”

Grandpa Nico said, “To take over our world. Once the demons wreak havoc here and take over, he will be one of the most powerful beings with no one to tell him what to do. Even if the demons get wiped out, he’s still safe and can rule in that world or come here and assume a new identity.”

“If he is this powerful, then he could take any form he wanted,” Great Aunt Leona said and stared into my eyes. “He could assume the king’s form to deceive you.”

“How does the necklace play into it?” Mason asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Grandpa Nico said. “If he used the gem as a window of sorts, a looking stone, he could see what you’re seeing, which means when you were looking for a portal, he could have opened that one in front of you when you were fleeing.”

“Portals can only be opened to places you’ve been before,” Mom said and looked at Grandpa Nico for confirmation. He nodded. “That means, the Grand Advisor has to be from our world.”

“And had traveled all across it,” Kayden said. “The portals have opened all over the world, not just in Jinla.”

My eyes widened. “He was able to open the portal in our lands because he saw it through the necklace.”

Branson, Triston, and Riddick growled at the realization.

“He is determined to start a war,” I whispered. “So, what can I do to stop him?”

“We,” Mason said. “What can we do to stop him?”

“If too many of us go, King Jolmach is going to assume it’s to fight,” Nana Jolie said. “It’s better if we only send a couple people.”

“I don’t think you three should go,” Mom said softly to Mason, Trey, and Kayden. “You’ve been the main ones killing their people and I doubt they’re so quick to forgive.”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right.

“Kayden can’t go back,” I reminded them. “Jol wants revenge still.”

“What if that didn’t even happen?” Nana Jolie asked. “What if that is a planted memory, too?”

“I have to convince Jol he has a false memory in order for him to get rid of the false memories?” I asked.

Great Aunt Leona nodded. “It’s not easy to remove planted memories. Most of the time it’s only possible when the person with the false memories finds the crack in the spell that’s wrapped around their mind and breaks it. At least that’s how Jolie and I did it when it happened to us. Or using the spell I taught you to burn it all out. It can be done by someone else, if they are powerful enough, but most times it must be done by themselves.”

There was a way, though, I just had to convince Jol to look at his mind and memories to see if they truly were planted.

“I need some air,” I said and hurried out of the house. Heading to the barn, I shifted and slid into my pool, closing my eyes and holding my breath as I lay along the bottom of the shallow water.

This was all too much. I wasn’t strong enough or had the right powers to fight a siren-mage hybrid. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed at least Dad to go with me.

When Jol felt his power, I was certain he would simply attack him and not listen to me.

If I talked to Jol first, before we involved the others, perhaps that could work. I would avoid the Grand Advisor, speak to Jol, and return. Wait, I couldn’t return without the Grand Advisor opening a portal for me.

Mom was better at portals than Dad, but she didn’t have powers as strong as Dad when it came to siren and mage abilities. The perks of him being a true hybrid.

They couldn’t open a portal to the demon world because they’d never been there, but there might be a way with one of my powers.

Shifting into my human form, I sat on my heat rock and remembered all the times I’d watched Grandpa Nico training Mom and Dad on portals. I was part mage, so it was possible that I could do it.

Closing my eyes, I pictured the bedroom I’d used. Drawing on my powers, I started drawing a circle in the air, imagining it opening to the bedroom.

When I opened my eyes, I found no portal.

I did find a scowling Mason.

“Were you just trying to create a portal?” he asked and folded his arms across his chest.

“I was seeing if I could do it.” I shrugged nonchalantly, like he hadn’t just caught me. “Turns out I cannot.”

“You were going to leave without me,” he accused.

“No, I was seeing if I could create the portal,” I countered.

“And what if it worked? Would you have called me for to come or would you have stepped through?”

I was not answering that.

“I think I have a plan,” I said as I walked by him and toward the barn’s door. “I’ve just got to convince our dear king to it.”

Mason grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Do you swear you aren’t interested in him?”

“Who?”

“You know who,” Mason whispered.

Turning to face him, I set my hands on either side of his face and said, “I am not interested in King Jolmach in a romantic or sexual way.”

“I know I will share you with my packmates, with Trey and Kayden, but I do not want to share you with others,” Mason whispered.

Squishing his cheeks, I said, “Silly, birdie, I don’t want others.” Spinning on my heel, I skipped out of the barn, looked over my shoulder and said, “Come on, I’ve got to tell them my plan.”

When we returned to the house, I was glad to see everyone present.

“I have an idea,” I said to get everyone’s attention.

“Besides creating portals on your own?” Mason taunted.

Mom and Dad’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t?” Mom gasped.

“I can’t create portals,” I said and waved my hand dismissively. “Listen. Here’s the plan. Mom and Dad are going to go with me to the demon world, straight to the castle to speak to Jol … King Jolmach. We’re going to explain everything to him. Then, we’re going to come back, get the necklace, and go back to him, pretending it’s our first time talking to him and Jol is going to threaten us and fight Mom and Dad, convincing the Grand Advisor, who will be watching through the necklace, that the war is still on. Jol will continue to play along with the farce, but when we face off on the day of the war, we will instead work together to defeat the Grand Advisor. Once he is out of the way, then we can help with their world’s regrowth.”

“Why Caleb and Ember?” Grandpa Nico asked.

“Mom can create portals to take us to and from their world. Dad can fight the best and is the most resistant to siren abilities. And I will play the pathetic little princess bringing not just her king and queen, but her mommy and daddy to talk to Jol to try to keep the peace.”

“I’m going,” Mason snapped. “You promised.”

“You’ll have to stay in bird form,” I said.

He nodded. “Fine.”

“There are so many ways this could go wrong,” Riddick said. “I don’t like you three going without more backup.”

“More backup will look like an invasion,” I countered.

“How are you going to get there first?” Grandpa Nico asked. “Neither of them has been there to be able to create a portal.”

“I’ve been there and I can share that memory with Mom.”

“Wait, what?” Great Aunt Leona asked.

“Yeah, what?” Mom asked.

Looking down at the table I said, “That’s one of my other new powers.”

“Speak up, brat, we can’t hear you,” Great Nana Kara said.

“It’s one of my other powers,” I said louder and raised my head. “I can share memories directly to another person’s mind.”

“How many other powers are there that you haven’t told us about?” Dad asked and folded his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know, a few.”

“Ticks on a tortoise, Lily. Why haven’t you told us about this before now?” Mom asked.

“There are some things that happened while I was at college that I don’t want to relive, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay,” Kayden said and narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re supposed to tell us?—”

“I handled it on my own and everything’s fine. Look, I got the shadow power under control, too.” Summoning the power, the smoky snake swirled around my arm and transformed into a cobra shape, hood flared as it showed off. Sending it back, I said, “Back to the topic at hand. What do you think?”

“I think you should tell us what other powers you have,” Trey muttered.

“I think it’s a good option,” Dad said, “but if I were to have a powerful alpha show up unannounced at my house, I definitely wouldn’t be up for tea and cookies.”

“That’s why you’re going as a wolf while hiding your alpha presence and Mom’s going as a rabbit until I can explain enough to him that he won’t freak out.”

“It sounds simple, but there are so many things that could go wrong,” Nana Jolie whispered.

“That’s why we’ll have a backup plan,” Dad said. “Especially considering the timeframe difference for their world and ours.”

“And what does this backup plan entail?” Mom asked.

“Well, it starts with the necklace,” he began.