Page 12 of Their World (Her Royal Harem: Lily #2)

Chapter

Twelve

“We mean you no harm,” I said and raised my hands to show her they were empty. “I’m here to help. I’m one of you, remember? King Jolmach is protecting me and I’m part demon.”

She growled louder.

“Oh, Princess Thief!” Azgon shouted as she stepped out from the back of the group.

“Princess Azgon,” I greeted.

“Princess?” the demon in front of us asked.

Azgon tittered. “You were gone so long. We thought you dead.”

“So long?” I asked. “How long do you think I was gone?”

“Weeks,” she said. “It’s three weeks since Azgon saw you in the garden.”

Why did time not move consistently?

“I need to speak with Jo … King Jolmach.”

“Oh, he’s at the castle. Um, you should hurry. The rabbit lady is in trouble, going to be killed I think.” She pointed in the direction of the castle.

Gasping, I spun and started running. Mom. Mom had to be the rabbit lady she mentioned.

Mason kept pace with me, silent as he let me lead the way.

“You should shift into your raven form,” I said as we neared the castle. “I don’t want him to know you’re a shifter yet if we can help it.”

He huffed out a breath, but gave me the bag, shifted, and landed on my shoulder.

In front of the castle, at the edge where the city and castle grounds met, a platform had been built and atop it stood Jol and Mom. Mom was tied up with a blindfold on and a gag in her mouth.

Jol stood beside her, his spiked mace in his hand, a dark aura swirling around him.

“Wait!” I screamed as I charged forward.

Jol’s head whipped up, eyes narrowed on me as I approached.

“Little Queen,” he spat, fury etched across his face.

“Wait,” I panted. “Please, listen to me.”

“You sent them,” he accused. “You sent powerful magic users to my castle!”

I shook my head. “I was coming back, I was working with them to get food and crops to bring you and your people.”

“You’ve been gone weeks!” he bellowed.

Mom started struggling against her bindings and yelling, but her words weren’t discernible. She was likely telling me to run, to flee, but I wouldn’t. Not when she was in trouble. There must have been a spell on her as well to prevent her from communicating mentally with me.

It worried me even more that Dad was nowhere to be seen.

Hopping up onto the platform, I held out my hand placatingly to Jol. “Time moves differently between our realms,” I explained. “I swear, I was only gone a few days in my world and I spent those days arguing with my overprotective family. They locked me up and prevented me from coming back here.”

Jol’s fury turned into confusion. “Locked you up?”

I nodded. “They put me in a magical prison that I couldn’t escape from. They were worried that you would hurt me if I came back. I tried to tell them that you wouldn’t, that you would let me explain, but they didn’t want to risk it. Please, please let me explain everything to you.” Opening the bag, I pulled out a small pot with a sprout in it. “I’ve brought plants to try. I swear, Jol. I swear to you on my soul that I was coming back and would have been back sooner if I could have. Please, give me five minutes.”

He growled and said, “Follow me.” Turning to Zoman, who stood to his side, he ordered, “Take the woman to her cell.”

Zoman nodded and grabbed Mom by the arm.

Remembering the necklace was around my neck, I unclasped it, which was much easier this time, and held the chain out to Mason. “Fly this away,” I ordered him.

“No,” he croaked.

Sighing, I stopped at the doorway to the castle. “Jol, one second,” I called.

He turned to watch me.

Taking the necklace, I set it on the ground just outside the door, turned, and walked inside.

He opened his mouth, but I held my finger up to my lips and waved him forward.

His scowl deepened, but he turned and led me to his room.

Once inside with the door shut, Jol jerked me forward. The sudden jerk caused Mason to fall off my shoulder with a startled caw.

Jol pulled me into his chest and hugged me tightly. “You foolish female. Are you injured?”

I hugged him back despite my shock and shook my head. “I’m uninjured.”

Pushing me back, he looked down into my face and said, “I thought you had abandoned me.”

Smiling, I said, “You silly demon king, I never abandon my friends or my people, and you are both.”

“You shouldn’t have come,” he whispered. “We’ve been working out a plan to get the Grand Advisor to show his true colors. You were safe at home, even if I didn’t want you to be away.” He paused and rested his hand against my cheek. “I am happy to see you.”

“Was it you who thrashed my room?”

He smiled and shook his head. “That was Dhun.”

My eyes widened. “Dhun?” Looking around I asked, “Where is he?”

“With your king,” he said.

Mason shifted, pulled me back, out of Jol’s arms, and wrapped his arms around my upper chest. “Mine,” he growled and bared his teeth.

Jol froze and looked down at me. “Who is this?”

“This is Mason, my to-be mate, one of them,” I explained. “I promised him he could come this time. Please, don’t hurt him. He isn’t your enemy.”

Jol relaxed a bit. “You better keep her safe.”

Mason scoffed. “Have you met her? Do you know how difficult that is when she runs into the arms of demon kings?”

Jol laughed and Mason relaxed against me, but kept his arm around my chest.

“The necklace,” I explained, “we think the Grand Advisor is using it as a mirror of sorts, a way to listen and or watch me. That’s why I left it outside.”

“Oh, that’s what your parents meant,” he said and nodded.

“It’s possible there are other items, but I can’t sense them or tell you what to look for.”

“I will try to search on my own, thank you for the knowledge,” he said.

“Where is my dad?” I asked.

“He and Dhun are exploring the world, trying to find other water sources and anything to expose the lies the Grand Advisor has been feeding us,” he explained. “Don’t worry about your mom, she’s not in a real cell, but we’ve got to keep up appearances for the ruse we’re playing. I had her on the platform to rally my people a bit, to keep them and the Grand Advisor thinking we’re still going to have the battle.”

“Should I go back?” I asked. “Back to my world?”

He reached out and took my hand. “I would prefer you to stay.”

Mason growled again and the deep rumble vibrated against my back, making me smirk.

“How can I help with the ruse?” I asked.

“He’ll need to pretend to be a true bird,” Jol said and tilted his chin at my shoulder at Mason. “You’ll have to become my prisoner.”

Mason growled again.

Turning to look at him over my shoulder, I said, “You sure have been growling a lot lately.”

“Says the woman doing things to make him growl.” Jol laughed and released my hand. With a sigh he said, “It would be better for you to return to your world, even if I would rather you be here.”

“I’m worried about the time differences,” I said. “I think it has something to do with the Grand Advisor’s memory altering.”

“That could be,” Jol said with a nod.

“How will we know when to come back if we leave?” I whispered. “What if we stayed hidden, in our animal forms, instead?”

He shook his head. “We believe he is able to use something to enhance his abilities and anyone who is here is affected, whether he speaks to them or not.”

Sighing, I ran a hand down my face. “Of course it’s not that simple.”

“Doesn’t that mean he knows we’re here now?” Mason asked. “Should we leave before he comes here?”

“Let me show you what we brought,” I said and set the bag on the coffee table and opened it fully.

Mason helped me pull the items out and set them on his dresser next to the items his people had given him.

My eyes widened when I saw the candy bar inside.

Mason muttered, “It used to be your favorite candy bar.”

Kissing his cheek I said, “It still is.” Taking it, I held it out to Jol, and showed him how to open it. “This is a type of dessert, it’s called a candy bar.”

Jol’s eyes widened and he took it, popping the entire thing in his mouth. His eyes grew the widest I had ever seen them as he chewed it and swallowed. “That’s delicious!” he exclaimed.

“When we come to our peace agreement, and you come visit my world, I’ll take you to try all the best desserts and foods we have.”

“You are a good friend,” he said with a nod. His eyes narrowed and he said, “Unlike the Grand Advisor, who I had thought was my friend.”

“Are you sure you want us to leave?”

He nodded. “I want you to be safe and you are safest in your world.” Reaching over, he grabbed a communication stone. “I’m not sure if this will work in your world, but I will try to contact you with it if something happens. And you can use it to check in with me, since we aren’t sure about the time differences.”

I put it in my pocket and hugged him. “Please keep my family and yourself safe.”

He hugged me back and said, “I will do my best. And I’ll let your mom know you’re safe.”

I stepped back and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“To keep with our plan, you’ll need to flee from the castle and I’ll have to run after you like I’m hunting you,” he said. His brows furrowed a moment. “Let’s hope a portal appears for you to escape through.”

It was possible he wouldn’t create a portal, but I had a feeling he would. The less outsiders here, the more likely Jol would follow through on his plan.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Jol said and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Your mom thought you might find a way here, or one of your friends, so she wrote something for you. I didn’t read it, so not sure what it contains.”

“Thanks,” I said and put it in my pocket. Turning to Mason, I tapped my shoulder. “Time to go.”

He sighed, shifted, and landed on my shoulder, nipping my hair in his beak.

We headed out of Jol’s room and out the front door. I grabbed the necklace, put it on, and started running, imagining Jol after me and wanting to kill me.

Jol roared in the castle, the sound startled me and made me gasp. I increased my speed as true terror filled me for a moment.

“I will find you, Little Queen!” he bellowed.

Gripping the necklace, I whispered, “Please give me a portal. Please. I can’t let him catch me!” The terror in my voice was only slightly faked since I could imagine what he would do, had we truly been enemies.

As I ran, I saw the Grand Advisor and a few other demons heading towards the palace. His eyes widened at the sight of me.

“I just want to go home!” I screamed and altered my trajectory so I wouldn’t go near him.

Mason turned on my shoulder to face behind me.

A few seconds later, a portal opened in front of me, opening directly in front of my house.

I ran through and turned, watching as it started to close.

The Grand Advisor lowered his hand and gave me a bone-chilling smile and a little wave of his fingers before the portal closed. An awful feeling slithered down my spine, almost like a premonition in and of itself. Something awful was going to happen. He was going to do something truly despicable, but there was nothing I could do.

Taking the necklace off, I wrapped it in the towel again and put it back in the spot outside that I’d stored it last time.

Mason shifted, but stayed silent as we headed into the house.

Riddick, Branson, Triston, Grandpa Nico, Trey, and Kayden spun from their seats in the living room to look at us as we entered.

“I’ve confirmed the Grand Advisor is creating the portals,” I said and headed towards the stairs. “Mason can fill you in more. I need a shower.”

“Did you see your parents?” Grandpa Nico asked.

“Yes, they’re working with Jol. Jol told me to come home to avoid getting entangled in the plan and any potential fight with the Grand Advisor.”

“He didn’t want you to leave at first,” Mason mumbled.

I waved my hand. “Fill them in, please.”

“Lily,” Grandpa Nico called.

Turning, I said, “I’m not ready to talk to you yet.” Looking at each of my fathers and Trey, I said, “Any of you.”

The shower felt amazing and as I leaned my forehead against the cold tile, I thought over everything that had happened the past two weeks. So much had happened. So much had changed in such a short time.

Cleaned and refreshed, I dressed and grabbed the communication stone. Holding it tightly in my hand, I pictured Jol’s face and asked, “Can you hear me?”

“Little Queen,” Jol responded.

Sighing in relief, I flopped backwards onto my bed, still holding the stone. “At least this works.”

“You made it safe?”

“Yes. I saw the Grand Advisor heading to you.”

“Yes, he was trying to convince me to kill your queen, but I convinced him we need her for the battle.”

“Please make sure you contact me if anything happens or you need me, okay?” Knowing they were there, and it was difficult for me to get there on my own worried me. If the Grand Advisor figured out that Jol had learned his secret, he could try to brainwash him again.

“I will do my best to be safe,” he promised. “I have to go speak to my council.”

“Bye, Jol.”

“Bye, Little Queen.”

I let the stone fall out of my hand, but then realized I could use it to communicate with Mom and Dad.

Picking it back up, I pictured Mom. “Mom, it’s Lily. I just want you to know I’m back home and safe.”

“Lily? How are you talking to me telepathically?”

“A communication stone Jol gave me.”

“I’m sorry we locked you up. It wasn’t my idea. I was very much against it.”

“Time doesn’t move consistently,” I said, ignoring the statement. “I’m going to reach out to you guys every now and then to check in.”

“Check in with your father. He and the pup are running around.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Lily.”

“Love you, too, Mama.”

Picturing Caleb next, I whispered, “Dad? Can you hear me?”

“Lily?”

“I’m using a communication stone. I escaped and went to Jol, but he filled me in on your plan and I’m back home now.”

“Of course you escaped and came here,” he said.

“Have you found anything?”

“Yes, there is an entire section of their world that isn’t destroyed. It’s a beautiful oasis with thriving plant and animal life. The Grand Advisor put wards around it, so I didn’t go in, and that’s likely why their people don’t know about it, but it exists.”

“I knew there had to be something,” I whispered.

“Tell my mom and Aunt Leona that we need them to defeat this guy. He’s one hundred percent a hybrid of siren and mage. The scale with which he can use spells is astronomical. I don’t think your mother and I can defeat him alone. I think he’s using mana stones with stored magical energy to help boost his powers and spread the hallucination across the world.”

I gasped. “That makes sense! There are mana stones all over the city and in the castle. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to continue with the war plan, have Jol bring your mother and I as captives, and when we’re about to face off, everyone will turn on the Grand Advisor instead.”

“How are you going to get him to go to the battle? He stays in his tower, away from everyone.”

“Jol’s working on that plan now. Don’t worry.”

“What do you want me to do here?”

“I will try to let you know the day the battle will happen. We’ll need to evacuate Jinla, have all our strongest fighters gather in the main park, and prepare just in case things don’t go the way we plan. I don’t want to kill these people, but I won’t let our people be massacred either.”

“Okay.”

“Stay safe, cub.”

“You, too, Dad.”

I sent a text to Maya to let her know I was out of the prison, safe, and would fill her in more tomorrow. She sent back a heart emoji, so I knew she wasn’t mad at least. I needed to find time to reconnect with her.

Someone knocked on my door and I sighed softly. I should have known one of them would come up eventually.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Me,” Trey said.

“I’m not ready to talk to you.”

“Too bad,” he said and pushed open my door.