Page 33 of Their World

Standing before my family, I took a breath and tried to gather my thoughts.

“I wasn’t there very long,” I started, “but over the past two weeks?—”

“Weeks?” Mom asked, interrupting me. “Lily, you were theremonths.”

My mouth dropped. “Wh-What?”

Everyone nodded.

“Time must move differently from there to here,” Nana Jolie said.

That explained the trio’s beards.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I said, “Okay, well, there’s a lot you need to know and not much time to tell you.”

It took three hours to explain everything about their world, their people, and the war, plus the plague that had happened to them. When I finished, they stared at me like I had grown a second head. I had left out the part about me being part demon. I felt like that should be shared with my parents first.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” I whispered, “but they aren’t our true enemies. Nana Jolie, Auntie Leona, I’m ninety percent certain the Grand Advisor is a siren in disguise or a hybrid siren and mage, and think the portals are his doing … somehow. And I think he uses the necklace to listen to what the wearer is discussing.”

“Well, fuck,” Great Aunt Leona said and sighed, dropping her head back to look up at the ceiling.

“Do you think it could be another lost brother?” Nana Jolie asked Grandpa Nico.

“I can’t rule it out as a possibility,” he muttered and scowled deeply. It had come to light that Grandpa Nico’s father, who had been King of the Mages then, had had several children outside of his marriage.

“I think we can help them,” I said. “I was able to use my limited elven powers to get one of their plants to grow, so if we had other, more powerful, elves go with me, they could help the rest of their land. We could take some of our crops, get them to grow there, and help them fix their world.”

“Do they want help?” Trey asked. “If the Grand Advisor is right, they will only focus on fighting us.”

“Jol … their king, he wants his people to survive, and if we can give him an option that doesn’t include bloodshed, I’m certain he will take it.” Biting my lip, I admitted, “He is upset that his to-be mate was killed, but I’m certain that I can convince him to?—”

“Wait, you’re planning to goback?” Trey asked, scowling.

“Yes,” I said and nodded. Why was that even a question?

Everyone blinked at me, shocked and upset.

“You’ve been gone for months,” Mason whispered, “but you want to go back to face him? He was hunting us down in full armor and?—”

“He wasn’t hunting me,” I clarified. “He was after Kayden.”

“You think he won’t harm you now that he knows that Kayden is the one who killed his to-be mate?” Great Grandpa Dan asked.

“He won’t,” I said, though, if I was being one hundred percent honest, there was at least a ten percent chance in my mind that he might turn on me. Though, as their long-lost demon princess, a royal from the bloodline he had sworn to protect, I hoped it was really more like a one percent chance.“I am going to bring vegetables back with me that are resilient, plant them in his garden, and nurture them to life to prove he doesn’t need to come to our world. To show him there is another way.”

“No,” Mason growled. “You are not going back there.”

“You don’t make decisions for me,” I snarled.

“It’s out of the question,” Caleb snapped. He had been quiet the entire time, so it shocked me when he spoke so sternly.

“Dad, I can talk to King Jolmach. I can convince him war isn’t the only option. We have a bit of a friendship now and he will listen to me. You have to believe me.” I understood they were worried about my safety, but this was something I had to do.

“You want to risk your life, face off against a demon warrior who could kill you just as easily as listen to you, to convince him to let us regrow crops for him?” Branson asked. He shook his head. “It’s out of the question, Lily. Absolutely not.”

“I am an adult and I am making this decision on my own,” I said with a glare.

“You are an adult, but you are under my power,” Caleb snarled. “You will do as you are ordered and I order younotto go back to that world and risk your life. We will send someone else who?—”

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