Page 78 of Their World

The poor couple was going to get a bonus with a heartfelt apology letter from me.

As soon as the article was posted and pictures shared to our social media accounts, we got a flood of excited comments and reactions. Of course, there were also the negative ones, but there were always trolls to be expected on any positive post.

When we arrived at Nana Jolie’s for the meeting, I was surprised to find a printed and framed photo already hanging in the living room.

“Wow,” I whispered as I looked at it.

Nana Jolie came up behind me and hugged me. “I couldn’t wait to put this up. You look so beautiful, so regal and queen-like. And your men don’t look half bad either.”

“We love you, too,” Kayden teased her.

“Nana, there’s something I have to tell you,” I whispered, feeling nervous.

“Everyone’s finally here,” Grandpa Foxfire said as he joined us. He looked at the picture and smiled at me. “We are very proud of you, kiddo. You got your degree, found mates you love, and you’ve been doing a lot to help figure out the demon war.”

How would he feel once he knew my secret?

We joined the others in the dining room, one of the few places large enough for all of the royals, minus Mom and Dad.

Instead of waiting for them to start talking, I walked to the head of the table and said, “I have something important to discuss.”

“We know you’re mated already,” Grandpa Deryn interrupted. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“No, not that,” I said and sighed. “But thank you.”

“Go on, show them your power,” Kayden ordered me.

“Another new power?” Great Aunt Leona asked.

“Well, the shadow one,” I explained. “I’ve learned more about it.”

I summoned the snake who swirled around my arms and flared her hood proudly. “Armor,” I ordered her.

She flicked her tongue out and then covered my body in shadow scales.

Nana Jolie reached over and tapped her nail against the scales. Her eyes widened. “They’re hard.”

“Hard enough to withstand werewolf claws,” Kayden announced.

Mason turned a glare on him, obviously not forgiving him yet for earlier, which made me smile.

“I can also curse people,” I said after dismissing the powers, “but I don’t want to get into that right now. I just … I wanted to tell you who I am. Who I really am.”

“This is definitely going to be a shock to our people,” Grandpa Rhys commented. “We should keep this out of the news for now. Until the war is over.”

“Speaking of the war, we have something to tell you,” Trey said. He explained what had happened at the stadium and my plan to remove one of the curses so we could get my parents back.

They spent the next four hours arguing over how to organize the fighters and pulled out a map to sort it all out.

I helped Nana Jolie with gathering snacks and meals throughout since we all ate a lot and often.

By the time everything had been decided, I was exhausted.

“Take this,” Nana ordered Mason and thrust a box into his hands.

“What is this, Nana?” I asked.

“Supplies for when you get home. Have a good night and don’t stress too much about the battle, okay?” She kissed my cheek and shooed us out of the house.

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