Page 8 of Their World (Her Royal Harem: Lily #2)

Chapter

Eight

Lying in the garden in my snake form, I enjoyed the warm sunlight along my scales and tried to figure out why I had such an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Dhun lay near me, his eyes open as he kept guard. Zoman sat in the shade, humming a song that sounded familiar, though I couldn’t place where I knew it from.

Yesterday, the Grand Advisor had come to see me, but when I brought up the “goddess” issue, he had gotten mad and then, strangely, I couldn’t remember much of what we talked about after that. It was even more strange since Zoman claimed we had been in the conference room for over an hour and the Grand Advisor had come out very upset. So upset that he had stormed out of the castle without speaking to Jol or anyone else.

The more time I spent with the Grand Advisor, the less afraid of him I became. He was clearly trying his best to help the people here, though his abilities were limited since he could not help the land or grow things.

I felt the energy shift seconds before someone jumped over the wall, startling Dhun and Zoman to their feet.

“Lily!” a familiar female voice exclaimed.

I shifted to my human form and opened my eyes to find Talrinir squatted before me. Blood dripped down her head, one floppy ear completely coated in blood, and there were cuts all over her arms.

“Talrinir! What happened?” I gasped as I stood and hurried to examine her.

“He knows,” she hissed. “He figured out I knew about you and sent his minions to try to kill me. It’s not safe, you need to go. You need to return to your world.”

“Wait, slow down. What are you talking about?”

“Who knows what?” Zoman demanded as he came up behind me.

She searched my face a moment, brows furrowed, then her eyes widened and she asked, “Did the Grand Advisor come to see you recently?”

“Yes, I met with him yesterday.”

“What did you tell him?” She gripped my arms hard, her claws against my skin, but not piercing. “Princess, what did you tell him?”

“I—I don’t know. I don’t remember much of yesterday, to be honest.”

She growled and said something in a language I didn’t understand.

“Talrinir, what is going on?” Zoman snapped.

“He’s erased her memory,” she whispered and cupped my face. “If I’m right, Grand Advisor now knows that you’re the prophesized one, what your lineage is, and you are in grave danger. I don’t know why he hasn’t killed you already, but you threaten everything he’s done. Come with me now and I’ll?—”

“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Jol growled as he approached us. His aura was dark, billowing around him like a storm.

Talrinir dropped into a low bow, her head on the ground. “Your Majesty.”

“Talrinir, why do you think he’s going to hurt me?” I asked, ignoring Jol for the moment.

“He’s not who he seems. He isn’t a demon,” she whispered. “You threaten to reveal his true identity and to take away everything he’s spent the last decade building.”

“How do you know about this?” Jol asked.

“We females spend our time on the edges of demon society. We watch many things happen that those within the walls don’t see. I think …” she swallowed hard, “… I think he has been brainwashing people and taking or overwriting their memories.” She looked at me and asked, “Do you remember the note I gave you?”

My brows furrowed. “Note? What note?”

She whined. “It’s as I feared. I gave you a note, told you that you were in danger and to meet me today. When I was attacked, I knew I had to come find you.”

“You are making a lot of serious accusations,” Jol said. “What proof do you have?”

“I do not have any proof. It’s impossible to have proof when he changes people’s memories and destroys history books.”

Some part of me felt like she was telling the truth. Some part of my mind, in the dark recesses, felt like I was forgetting something important and that she was right.

“I believe you,” I said and gripped her paws, pulling her upright. “But it is impossible for me to leave without a portal, and the portals are random.”

My hair glowed as fury over her being attacked because of me grew. Why was he doing this? What was his motivation? What did he hope to gain?

No, the portals were not random. Some memory, some knowledge that had been shoved to the back of my mind, struggled through a barrier and into the light.

Gasping, I said, “It’s him. He creates the portals.”

“What?” Jol asked.

Talrinir’s eyes widened. “That makes sense. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

A guard ran into the garden and whispered urgently into Zoman’s ear. Zoman jerked back after hearing what the guard had to say, then both ran out of the garden.

If she was right and the Grand Advisor had altered my memory or messed with my mind, it was possible for me to reverse it. If it was a siren ability he had used, Dad had taught me a few tricks.

Closing my eyes, I pictured my mind, pictured the wall I normally kept up around it, to protect myself from siren attacks.

When I realized the wall was completely gone, I knew Talrinir was telling the truth. To remove the tainted magic within, it would cause me a lot of pain, but I had to do it.

“I might faint, so I’m going to sit down,” I said as I sat cross-legged next to Talrinir.

“What are you doing?” Jol asked, concerned.

“She’s right, there’s magic in my mind, a dark magic that’s altered my mind in some way. I’m going to burn it out, and it’s going to hurt.”

“You can sense it?” she gasped.

I nodded. “My protective walls within my mind are destroyed.”

Jol growled. “You’re certain it’s the Grand Advisor.”

“Yes, it has his aura,” I admitted once I realized it.

Jol growled again.

Taking a deep breath, I used the spell Mom had taught me, a mental fire flash to burn away siren magic.

The pain was so immense that I screamed and fell backwards.

Talrinir threw her arms behind mine so that I fell into her instead of on the ground. “I’ve got you.”

There was so much in my mind. So much manipulation.

“I have to do it again,” I panted. “There’s … so much.”

“I will hold you while you do it,” she promised, “and try to provide you some comfort.”

Using the spell again, I finally cleared away all of it and all of my true memories returned, making me gasp in disbelief. How had I forgotten so much?

Racing up to my room, I grabbed the bag that Dhun normally carried that contained my book, the protection charm I had been given by the shopkeeper, and reached beneath the bed where I had hidden the necklace, wrapped in a towel. I had forgotten about doing that a few days ago, but with all my memories back, I recalled that this necklace was most likely something that the Grand Advisor used to listen in on what I was doing or see who I was talking to. It was also likely how he created portals that I could use. Well, that was my working theory, anyway.

I returned to the garden at the same time as Zoman.

“There’s news I must update you on,” Zoman said urgently. His eyes darted to mine before he looked back at Jol and refused to look at me again.

“Go on,” Jol said.

“This should be given privately,” Zoman whispered, his stance rigid.

What would he not want to say in front of me?

“Is it my family?” I asked, standing and moving towards him. “Did my family go through a portal? Are they here?”

“Out with it,” Jol ordered Zoman.

“The three demon hunters … they’re headed here from the east,” Zoman admitted.

I gasped and Jol glanced at me with a frown.

“The one …” Zoman swallowed hard. “The one you’ve been after is among them.”

Jol growled deep in his chest. “Get my armor ready.”

“Wait!” I snapped and grabbed his arm. “Wait, please. If it is who I think it is, they’re my friends, the ones I’m cour?—”

“The one who took my to-be mate is among them, and his death must be at my hand,” Jol snarled.

“I understand it hurt you immensely to lose her. I can’t bring her back, but killing him won’t bring her back, either. Please, please don’t go after them. He’s my friend. He’s … they’re my courters.”

His brows rose in shock.

“This can all be fixed. We can come to a peace agreement and we can help each other. But only if you give up on revenge. Please, Jol …”

Zoman growled.

For the first time in my life, I bowed my head to another monarch. “Please, King Jolmach. I am begging you to spare his life. We didn’t know your people were sentient. Please! I—I … I love them!”

Jol staggered back a step as though I had physically struck him.

Talrinir and Dhun looked between Jol and I, but stayed silent.

“Your Majesty?” Zoman asked.

Jol’s face hardened. “Fetch my armor, Zoman.” He turned on his heel and headed towards the castle.

My legs gave out and I dropped to my knees. “No,” I whispered. If Jol faced off against the trio, I wasn’t sure who would survive, if any. If he killed one of them …

Getting to my feet, I clenched my hands into fists at my side and shouted at his retreating back, “If you kill them, I won’t help you! I won’t help your plants or your people. Don’t do this, Jol. Think of your people. We can work this out. We can be partners and restore your world.”

Jol continued walking away, ignoring me.

Dhun crouched by me, whining softly.

I couldn’t let this happen. I had to get the guys and leave. I had to prevent them from killing each other.

Putting the bag around my shoulders, I turned to Dhun, set my hand atop his head, and said, “I’m sorry, Dhun. I’m sorry it came to this. Tell Jol …” I swallowed hard. “Tell him that we can still become allies. We can reach an agreement that will prevent war and save both of our worlds. Tell him I promise to find a way to save this world that doesn’t require a battle.”

Dhun whined and canted his head.

Pressing my lips against his snout I whispered, “Stay safe, friend.”

Turning to Talrinir, I said, “You are in danger because of me. Come with me and you can live in my world. I will give you a safe place to live.”

She shook her head. “I cannot. I must stay here to help as many as I can.”

I bowed and said, “I will not forget your friendship.”

Spinning around, I leapt up the wall, caught the top and pulled myself up and over it.

Dhun barked and whined, trying to come after me, but he couldn’t. Talrinir called after me as well, but I ignored them both.

Taking off at a sprint, I headed east, praying to every god or goddess in existence to help me save my friends.