Page 91 of Their Promise

Riddick stood with a serious expression, like he almost always was. His smiles were rare and awesome.

“Yes,” I said with a nod.

“Do we need to stop for snack supplies?” Riddick asked.

“Yes,” Maya said and nodded emphatically.

“We don’t need snacks. We have everything at home,” I told her and shook my head. “Have you forgotten who I live with? There’s always an abundance of snacks.”

“Oh, right,” she said.

Exiting the club, we were blinded by camera flashes and deafened by shouted questions and names being called.

“Princess! Is it true you’re assisting with the demon research?” someone yelled.

“Is it true that you’ve been courting mates and rejected Prince Liam?” another asked.

The urge to answer that question was strong, but Riddick stepped between the person and I and said, “No comments at this time.”

How did they find out about Liam already?

Triston opened the door for us with a flourish. “Ladies.”

The drive home was uneventful, but full of Triston and Maya gossiping, which gave me time to think about what she’d said.

The trio were always there for me and the misunderstanding had been partially my fault. I had been harboring feelings for them since I was a teenager. I’d hidden it when we were in high school as much as I could, but it was so much harder now.

And maybe Maya was right. Maybe I needed to stop acting like the main character in a novel and just admit my feelings to them.

Choosing your mates was a huge deal and not done lightly. So, perhaps it was time to at least take the next step and court them exclusively.

That would give them time to confirm that they did love me, without the power, and to confirm we were ideal mates.

Walking into the house, laughing and smiling, we headed straight for the kitchen.

“Where is everyone?” Riddick asked.

I paused in taking the ice cream out of the freezer and listened. There were no other sounds aside from the ones we were making. “Did they message you?”

Maya grabbed a bowl and started scooping out her ice cream. “They’re probably dealing with the blowout from Liam or something. There’s always some issue for the royals to handle.”

Riddick tried to call someone, but they obviously didn’t answer by the growl he released and the immediate next dial.

Triston tried to call someone next.

Heading to the TV, I turned it on to the local news station, hoping my gut feeling was wrong.

“A giant portal has opened in the center of the downtown park,” the newscaster declared.

“Well, I found them,” I announced loud enough for Riddick, Triston, and Maya to hear.

They all ran into the living room to look at the TV where most of my family and the trio were being videoed at the scene.

“Let’s go,” Riddick growled.

“Let me throw on sweats!” I shouted and ran up the stairs, changing as quickly as I could and grabbing a pair for Maya to change into in the car.

Riddick drove, being the better driver of the four of us, but that also gave Maya time to change and me time to put my hair up and slip on socks and tennis shoes.

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