Page 32 of Their Princess

“I’m Princess of both worlds, remember? And as my son, you are welcome in both worlds as well. Just be sure you only go through the portal with one of us, or my family, okay?”

He nodded. “’kay.”

ChapterThirteen

As soon as we stepped through the portal, Dad teleported to us.

His scowl turned into a smile when he saw us. “Welcome home!” He pulled me into a hug and I returned it, squeezing him tight.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Did you think we were unauthorized demons entering?” Trey asked.

Dad nodded. “We left it open so you could come home, but we had a couple more animalistic demons come through that we had to send back. After discussing with Jol, we decided that we would need to lock the portal except for authorized entries until we finalize how we’re going to handle things. A topic for tonight’s meeting.”

“We’ll be attending the meeting as well, at Jol’s request,” I explained.

He nodded, then drew in a deep breath and pushed me gently to the side to look behind me. “Who is this?”

Elrith hid behind Mason, the top of his head and his eyes peeking out from behind Mason’s leg.

I held out my hand and Elrith walked forward to take it, his tail wrapped around his waist, something I was beginning to understand was a sign of unease.

I picked him up and held him on my hip so he was higher and felt him relax a little with my arm around him. “Elrith, I would like you to meet my adoptive father. This is Caleb, King of the Hybrids.”

“King?” Elrith asked in a whisper.

I nodded. Looking at Dad, I said, “Dad, meet your grandson, Elrith.”

Dad’s eyes widened a second before immediately sparkling. A huge smile split his face. “Hello, cub. I’m excited to meet you!” He held out his hand and Elrith shook it.

“You want to know something fun?” I asked Elrith.

He nodded.

“Your new grandfather here can shift intolotsof forms.”

“He shifts, too?” Elrith gasped.

Dad’s eyes widened as he looked from Elrith to me.

“Dad, can you show him your dragon form?” I requested.

He immediately shifted into his full dragon form and Elrith squealed in delight. “Scales! Like me!”

“Elrith, can you show Grandpa Caleb your form?” I requested.

He hesitated, but nodded. “Okay, Mama.”

A zing of such powerful joy shot through me that I nearly dropped him as I was setting him down at hearing him call me that. I’d thought it would take him a while to refer to me that way, so it was unexpected to hear it so soon. Perhaps being alone for so long had made him desperate for a family again. Being so young, I could understand.

Once on his feet, Elrith took a breath and the smoke curled around him as he shifted.

Dad shifted from his dragon form to his human form and knelt in front of Elrith, examining him. “You are amazing,” he praised. “Your scales are harder than mine!” He poked a fingernail against one of the scales, smiling wide.

Elrith beamed with pride.

“Why don’t we go meet your other grandfathers and grandmother?” I suggested. “I’m sure they’ve got some yummy snacks inside.”

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