Page 24 of Their Princess

Talrinir responded in my stead. “We have been constructing it without her knowledge. This is the first she has heard of it as well. While we would love for you to live here permanently, this residence is also for when you are visiting. I’m sure King Jolmach has no issue providing you a room, but we wanted you to have your own space. It is up to you to determine how often you stay.”

Living here did sound nice. I could be here to continue helping them rebuild and help with the orphans, something I planned to discuss with Jol tomorrow. Plus, with the portals, I could visit my family whenever we wanted to.

But … I had to also take into account Kayden, Mason, and Trey’s desires.

Trey was a prince after all, even if it was unlikely that he would end up ruling.

And living here would mean losing some of our comforts, like videogames. At least until we figured out a way to get them electricity.

“Thank you for letting us know. We will have to discuss it,” Trey said with a polite smile.

She stood, stretched, and smiled. “Great! Well, I’m going to try to sleep. See you tomorrow.”

“It is really peaceful here,” Mason commented and set a hand on me. “I can understand why Lily feels so content.”

“Talrinir is right, it’s late and we should sleep. We can discuss it tomorrow.” Trey stepped away, shifted into his dragon form, and curled up. I also felt him put up a wall through the bond, keeping us from knowing what he was feeling.

“Grumpy,” Kayden muttered before following suit.

Was he grumpy, or was it something else?

ChapterTen

There were several heavy objects on me, wrapped around and between my coils.

Opening my eyes, I was shocked to find four kids between the ages of two and four as those objects.

“You were having a nightmare and suddenly these kids rushed from the houses or places they were sleeping over to you. As soon as they lay with you, you settled,” Talrinir explained with a soft smile.

The kids raised their heads, blinking sleepily, and I recognized one of them as the orphan boy I’d spoken to in the demon city when I’d gone exploring. His name was … Elrith? Yes, Elrith! He had small, thick horns at the top of his head and a tail wrapped around his waist like a belt as he sat with an arm around one of my coils. His skin was covered in scales, similar to that of a dragon, though I noticed they seemed to be a different color and thickness now than the first time I had seen him. They looked stonelike. Was it because he was growing? Had he shed the previous scales to grow the new ones, or did they just change?

Shifting into my human form, I helped the kids brush off the dust and the little boy smiled at me.

“You’re the hornless lady!” he said excitedly. “I thought you smelled familiar.”

“Her name is Princess Liliana,” Talrinir explained.

He gasped. “The one who saved us? Who saved the demons? That was her?”

Talrinir nodded. “That was her.”

I nodded as well and said, “It’s nice to see you again, Elrith.”

His eyes widened, his tail wagged back and forth wildly, and he smiled wide, showing off his thick, vampire-like twin fangs. “You remembered my name!”

“Of course I remember your name, Elrith. Do you live here now?”

He shook his head and said, “I don’t live here. I was passing by and saw the fire, so I came to investigate, then fell asleep at the fire.”

“Have you eaten recently?” I asked as my own stomach grumbled.

His stomach grumbled in reply and he rested a hand on it. “Not for two days.”

Talrinir growled softly, most likely upset to find this out. She looked at me and said, “King Jolmach has requested you meet him at the castle for breakfast. Would you like me to tell him you’ll be bringing a friend?”

I smirked and said, “You two seem much closer. Do you have something to talk to me about?”

She flushed and turned her head. “Later, nosey princess. I’ll just tell him you’re bringing Elrith.”

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