Page 85 of Their Promise

“It’s in our shared cloud server,” I informed them.

They all looked over at me.

“You thought something was going to happen to you?” Mom guessed.

“Approaching demon portals is never safe,” I whispered and looked down at my lap.

“You weren’t scared of the demons,” Mom whispered. “You were worried about the audience, weren’t you?”

“That’s why I was glad it was in the warehouse area, but apparently someone still videoed us.” I sighed and leaned back on the couch, closing my eyes. “I try so hard to do things right, like I’m supposed to, but somehow they always get muddled up no matter how hard I try.”

Mason set a hand on my leg and squeezed. “It’s not the end of the world, Lily.”

“I have a potential solution,” Trey said.

“Let’s hear it,” Caleb replied.

I sat up and opened my eyes, eager to hear his suggestion.

“Everyone knows we’re on special assignment to hunt demons. Everyone also knows that we’ve been friends with and recently started courting Lily. We can explain that this was her working with us, conducting an experiment, and share a single, image from the video.” He held up his hand before anyone could comment. “Not an image of the humanoid or even the hounds, but one of the valley, minus the spire since that might incite panic. We already know the demons are coming from another place and this image will just give them that confirmation. Yes, it’s going to open up the floodgates for them to want to know what our next steps are, and honestly, I think we should call a Summit to discuss it with everyone to make a determination. I definitely don’t feel like my trio should make that decision.”

“It is a good solution,” Tony commented.

“Let’s hold an emergency meeting with my parents to get their approval first,” Caleb said. Looking at me, he said, “You’re coming, too, cub.”

“Okay,” I agreed, feeling microscopically small.

Looking down, I realized Mason still had his hand on my leg.

A small smile formed, but I quickly stuffed it away. Now was not the time to gloat that he cared still.

“Mom? We have a situation. Where are my dads?” Caleb asked with his phone up to his ear.

“We should bring in the former royals, too,” Mom suggested. “They’ve been dealing with the public and demon attacks longer than we’ve been alive.”

Caleb nodded and continued talking to Nana Jolie.

“Are you hungry?” Mason asked.

“I am,” I said. “I bet you are, too. I’ll make something for everyone.”

Standing, I hated the loss of his hand on my leg, his touch, but hurried to the kitchen to make something to eat.

Kayden followed me, but stayed a bit back, giving me some space. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” I said and turned my back on him.

“I also shouldn’t have ignored you the past couple of days.” He sighed loudly. “I keep ruining things and I don’t know how to stop. I’m just always worried about you, terrified that something bad is going to happen to you and I won’t be there to protect you.”

“You’ll never be around me all the time,” I said. “You have to learn to let me protect myself or accept that your brothers will keep me safe.”

When he realized what I was making, he started pulling the other items necessary out to help me finish it. It was a simple enough dish, cook meat, add veggies, add water, simmer for fifteen minutes, add spices and herbs for the sauce, and let it stand so the sauce thickens. I made rice while it simmered, so it was ready in time to eat.

It was a common dish for us growing up because it could easily be doubled or tripled and kept for a week in the fridge.

“Oh, chicken curry!” Triston exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen. “I haven’t had that in a while.”

“Food’s ready!” I called out and handed Triston a bowl. “Here, Tris.”

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