I held out my hand. “Come on, Prince Elrith. Let me take you to my world and introduce you to my family.”
He took my hand and looked at Trey, Mason, and Kayden, who stood near the exit. “Does that mean they’re my new fathers?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“You teach me to fight so I can help protect new mom?” he asked.
My eyes widened. He wanted to learn to fight to protect me? Not himself?
Understanding hit me in the gut, making tears well in my eyes. If he lost his parents to a hellhound, had to watch his mother die, perhaps that was why he didn’t like Dhun and why he wanted to protect me.
All three of my mates nodded in answer to his question.
“Yes, we will train you to be the strongest you can be,” Trey answered. “To protect yourself and those you love.”
“Yay!” he shouted.
“I’ll see you tonight, right?” Jol asked as he walked with us out of the garden.
“Yes, we’ll return with my parents for the meeting,” I agreed.
“Elrith, do you have any belongings?” Mason asked. “Anything you want us to get before we leave?”
Elrith nodded. “One bag.”
“Can you lead us to it?” Mason requested.
“Okay,” he agreed. He looked up at me and asked, “Can you fly?”
Was his bag up high somewhere? “No, I don’t have the ability to fly, but Trey and Mason can fly, and I can ride Trey.”
Elrith nodded and started running, pulling me along behind him. “Not too far,” he called over his shoulder.
We ran away from the castle, towards the mountains. At the base of the mountains, Elrith looked all around before he shifted and used his wings to fly up into the air.
Mason shifted into his raven form and followed after him.
Trey shifted and bent down so Kayden and I could climb on his back.
“I can’t remember the last time I rode a dragon,” I commented.
“It was just two nights ago,” Trey said mentally through our bond.
My head fell back as I laughed. “I didn’t meanthatkind of riding. Dirty dragon.”
Elrith led us to a small outcropping on the mountain that was barely big enough for Trey to land as a dragon, so he immediately shifted after landing.
Elrith climbed inside of a tiny hole, barely large enough for me to fit, and climbed back out with a small bag in front of him. “Okay. Ready.”
“You sure there’s nothing else?” Kayden asked.
Elrith nodded. “Just this.”
We were all staring at the bag, curiosity circulating through our bond. What was in the bag?
“Alright!” I said with a wide smile. “Let’s head to the portal.”
“You sure I can go through?” Elrith asked and fidgeted with the bag in his hands.