Page 21 of Their World (Her Royal Harem: Lily #2)

Chapter

Twenty-One

“Princess!” two dozen little voices cried out when I entered the main hall of the orphanage.

It was lunchtime, so all of the kids and the adults who take care of them were seated at tables eating. I chose lunchtime because I knew I could find them all in one place.

The director, Ms. Brown, hurried over and gave me a tight hug. “Princess Liliana! We are so happy to see you again. Congratulations on your mating! We were all so thrilled to hear you have found your mates.”

“Thank you, Ms. Brown.” I smiled warmly at the sweet werewolf who ran the orphanage. She was highly recommended from Great Grandpa Dan, and when I witnessed her protecting the children from a hellhound, I knew he was right.

Turning to the children who were gathered in the aisleway, I said, “Hello, cubs. I’ve got a surprise for you all.”

The children ranged from toddlers to teenagers, though the two teenagers hung back, letting the young ones get closest to me.

“Presents?” Molly, an adorable six-year-old elf girl asked hopefully.

Mason and Piper walked in behind me carrying two totes each filled with presents.

“Presents!” I shouted. The children cheered. “Everyone be patient while we hand out the presents.”

“Is he one of your mates?” Leslie, a twelve-year-old werewolf girl asked me, her cheeks tinged pink as she looked at Mason.

Ah, the cute little thing had a crush on him.

“Yes, that’s Mason. He’s a hybrid shifter who can turn into a raven.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that why his hair is that color? Because it’s like his wings?”

Smart girl. “Exactly.”

Antoine, a thirteen-year-old hybrid orphan, stood to the side, his focus on Piper. He had eyes only for Piper even as we handed out presents, which made me smile even wider.

I walked over to help pass out the presents since Mason and Piper didn’t know the kids’ names.

It had taken me an hour to wrap all the presents, and only ten minutes to pass them out and watch them open them, but the smiles, excited squeals, and hugs were all worth it.

Nessa, one of the two teenagers, a dragon shifter, sat by me and asked, “Did the demons hurt you when you were in their world?”

I looked at her in surprise. No one knew I went to the demon world except my family.

She flushed and whispered, “I had a dream about it. I have them sometimes.”

“Have you told Director Brown that you have visions?” It was pretty rare for dragons to have premonitions.

She shook her head while looking at her lap.

“Why not?”

“What if it makes me even less adoptable?” she whispered.

The older you were, the harder it was to get adopted and once you became a teenager, it was very unlikely to get adopted instead of aging out.

I set my hand on her shoulder and said, “Having premonitions is a very unique power and one that is highly sought after. I think you should tell her, so that she can notify the dragons.” I could see Grandpa Rhys wanting to have someone with her powers on their payroll for sure.

“What if I’m a hybrid?” she asked.

“Then my parents will be excited to know we have another powerful hybrid to join our clan. We can have you tested, if you want? I know there are a few hybrid families looking to adopt, and I know what a good student you are and can vouch for you.”

The kids didn’t know it, but I often reached out to families to try to find them homes and recommended specific children I knew would fit their dynamic. I also had extensive backgrounds run on families trying to adopt to ensure they didn’t go to bad homes. One incident was enough to make sure I never made that mistake again. Luckily, the child had called me and with Dad at my side, we’d rescued her and the adoptive parents had been dealt with.

“What does the test involve?” she asked, her hands fisting in her lap.

“Oh, it doesn’t hurt at all, Nessa. My dad is away … on business right now, but when he comes back, I can ask him to come test you. It only involves him smelling you.”

Her eyes widened. “King Caleb can smell if you’re a hybrid?”

I nodded. “And he can tell you what mixture you are.”

“Whoa, he’s even more incredible than I realized,” she breathed.

He was, and right now, he was in danger.

What was going to happen if the Grand Advisor realized I didn’t remove both curses?

“What was your vision of?” I asked.

“You were in a strange castle with a hellhound and a man with horns.” She paused before adding, “You hugged the horned man.”

“Ah, that would be King Jolmach, King of the Demons. He and I became friends while I was there,” I explained.

She tensed. “Friends? With a demon?”

“They aren’t the bad guys we thought they were,” I explained. “I’m not really supposed to say more, but I trust you’ll keep my secret.”

She mimed zipping her lips. “Always for you, Princess.”

I one-arm hugged her. “Thanks, Nessa.”

“Princess! I have a gift for you, too!” Molly shouted and waved me after her as she ran out of the hall.

“She’s been drawing almost non-stop the past few weeks,” Nessa said. “You’re probably going to be stuck looking at a thousand drawings.”

I stood and smoothed down my dress. “That’s okay. If I came more frequently, she wouldn’t have to go through so many, so I can only blame myself.”

Nessa laughed and headed over to finish eating her lunch.

After waving to Mason so he knew I was leaving the room, I motioned for Piper to follow me.

“Where are we headed?” Piper asked, practically skipping at my side. It was clear she enjoyed being around children and was great with them, a side effect of being a werewolf who was part of a big pack.

“Molly wants to show me some of her drawings,” I explained. “Her room is in an adjoining building, so I figured I should bring you with me.”

“Look at you being smart,” she teased.

We exited the building the hall was in and I had to shield my eyes against the bright sun for a moment. “Too bright,” I whined.

Piper pushed me forward. “She’s vibrating inside the doorway of the next building. I think she might explode if you keep her waiting any longer.”

My eyes finally adjusted and I saw Molly dancing from foot to foot anxiously with a big smile on her face. “I think you might be right,” I said with a soft laugh.

Once we were close enough, Molly spun around and raced inside and two doors down to her room.

We followed and my mouth dropped when I saw the walls covered in drawings. Molly had always enjoyed drawing and coloring, but this was an unusual amount for her.

Even more unusual were what the drawings depicted.

Stepping forward, I rested my fingers against a perfect drawing of Azgon.

“Do you like them?” Molly asked. “I keep getting these ideas and dreams and just have to draw them.”

Piper turned with a drawing in her hand and showed me it. “Is that you?”

The drawing was of me in the demon world, standing inside the store talking to the store owner. That was when I’d asked him about the prophecy.

“Piper, go get Mason,” I whispered urgently.

She spun and ran out of the room.

Molly’s face fell. “You … you don’t like them?”

“Molly, these are amazing,” I said honestly, and smiled wide despite the fear beginning to grow within me. “You are so talented to be able to draw so well.”

Her smile and energy returned. “Thank you!”

I picked up one showing three large black portals in the park with me, my mates, and Tony facing the Grand Advisor and my parents, who were on their knees. The Grand Advisor didn’t have horns and had slightly pointed ears though. His true appearance.

This hadn’t happened yet. She was having visions, too!

What could cause two children in the same orphanage to suddenly start having visions?

“Can I take some of these?” I asked her softly as I stroked my finger across Mom and Dad kneeling.

She nodded. “That’s what they’re for! I drew them for you, silly! Oh, the most important one is this.” Crawling on her belly, she slid beneath her bed and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it several times, she showed me a piece of paper three times the size of the other, and this one depicted me, standing with my hand in Jol’s, our other hands outstretched towards the Grand Advisor who was on his knees, head back with red light coming out of his mouth and eyes.

“Why is this the most important?” I asked her gently. She was only six-years-old, so I didn’t want to frighten her.

“Because this was how you defeated the bad man. You and the horned king made him give back the power he stole.”

“How did we do that?” I asked. I had absolutely no idea how to do that.

She shrugged. “You held hands and did it. Oh, but also this. It’s a little scary.” She handed me another piece of paper, this one she had hidden in her side table.

Jol stood over me while I lay on the ground bleeding, my hand outstretched for the portal nearest me.

“Can you tell me what happened here?” I asked her breathlessly.

“You and him were fighting. Then you got hurt by magic and crawled towards the portal. I … I don’t know what happened after that.” She frowned.

Mason and Piper returned and he spun in a slow circle as he took everything in.

“Piper, please gather the drawings,” I said softly. I folded the one in my hands, the one that showed me hurt at Jol’s feet, into a tiny square and shoved it into my front pocket.

Molly folded the big picture and handed it to Mason. “You should hold onto this.”

I hugged Molly and whispered, “Thank you for drawing these for me. If you get the urge to draw more, can you have Nessa send me the pictures by cell phone?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Okay!”

Once we had all of the drawings, we headed to Director Brown’s office.

She sat behind her desk and frowned when she saw the stack of drawings. “She’s never drawn pictures like that before.”

“She’s having visions,” I explained. “Nessa is having them as well,” I admitted to her as I sat across from her.

The office was small, a single desk with three chairs in front of it, a couch to the side, and a wall of cabinets for records on the children. We’d offered to build her a larger office, but she said she would rather the extra space go to the children. She had very few decorations, but there were several photos of children on their adoption days. Seeing so many of those photos made my heart soar.

Her eyes widened at my statements. “Visions? Both of them? What are the odds of that?”

“Very low,” Mason said as he continued to flip through the drawings.

“I’ve asked Molly to have Nessa send me the pictures by phone if she draws anymore.”

Director Brown nodded. “I’ll make sure Nessa contacts you with any visions she has as well.”

“I have to warn you, there is going to be a big battle in a few days, judging by the drawings, at the park. The orphanage is quite a distance from the park, but I would feel better if you took the children to the hybrid lands instead.”

She took a deep breath and looked out the window at a few of the children playing on the grass outside. “They don’t do well with change.”

“I know, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop the demons from invading. It’s all very complicated and I can’t get into it right now, but if you take them to my clan, I can promise to have guards there to protect them as they’re going to be protecting those that aren’t fighting as well.”

She nodded. “Very well. When should we leave?”

“The battle is in three days,” Mason answered. “I would take them the evening two days from now. I will ensure there is appropriate lodging available for all of them and you as well.”

I stood as did she and we hugged.

“Keep yourself safe, Princess. These children look up to you and it would hurt them should anything happen to you.”

“I will do my best,” I promised.

As we drove away from the orphanage, I remembered the child in the demon world. No matter what, I would open an orphanage in the demon world. I would make sure that none of those children had to scavenge for food in the future.

I just had to take down the Grand Advisor and un-brainwash Jol while keeping my family and friends safe.

Easy.