Page 68 of Their Princess

Elrith giggled next to me. “Mama doesn’t like surprises.”

“No, she does not,” Kayden agreed with him. “That’s why we try to give her one at least every few months. Keeps things interesting.”

I growled at him, which earned me laughs from everyone.

We’d walked through a mostly silent area, then through a noisy area full of voices and sounds that I assumed was the city, then to a quiet area again. Were we on the opposite side of the city? I tried to mentally picture the area and the side I thought we were on was just a field.

Trey stopped me and removed the blindfold.

After my eyes adjusted to the bright sun, my hands flew to my mouth as I gasped and tears sprang to my eyes. We stood atop a small hill that allowed us to look over the field below. Only, there wasn’t a field anymore. Over a dozen houses had been built, creating a little suburban area, and there were already demons living in the houses, tending to their yards, which I noticed had not grass and flowers, but crops behind each one.

The reason for the tears was the excitement that my people were getting better housing and that my grandparents and parents had helped with this in secret, but also because every door had a lily with a snake wrapped around it. My symbol that the demons had claimed as a protective symbol, one to ward off danger.

Trey wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “We thought you might like it.”

“Was it Grandpa Rhys?” I asked.

“No, it was Trey,” Mason answered before Trey could even open his mouth.

I looked up at Trey in shock. “You?”

He smiled softly, love seeping down our bond, and said, “Rhys and I have been working together, he’s been training me in architecture and I’ve been learning from the various trades so that I could accomplish this for you. When I saw how sad the desolateness made you, I knew I had to do something. Something to see you smile just like this.” He poked a corner of my mouth and smiled wide. “We have a lot more plans as well. Mason created a map from his flights over the land with Kayden’s help and we’re working with Jol and the Demon Council to develop the area in a way that allows the demons to thrive the best they can. Not like those of Jinla, but in a way that the demons need.”

“Like leaving the mountainous areas alone, so Huk and the other giant demons have space to roam and hunt. We really want to ensure we don’t hurt their food supplies,” Kayden explained.

“We’ve also given the hellhounds a specific route so we can patrol the world to keep it safe and ensure we have all of our hunting grounds and breeding areas,” Dhun said behind me.

I spun around with a smile for my friend and he pulled me away from Trey for a hug. “Dhun!”

“Hello, Lily.”

I’d known Dhun had suggested that the hellhounds act as a patrolling force, but to hear that the routes had been established alreadyandhe had taken into account hunting and breeding showed how much Dhun had matured in such a short time.

“I can’t believe you’ve all accomplished so much in such a short amount of time and without me knowing,” I admitted. “What else have you done behind my back?”

“We also created a training facility so that we have our own protective force,” Dhun answered.

“What?” I gasped.

“They’re called the Demon Guard,” Kora said in a really excited high-pitched voice. “They’ll protect us from invaders.”

Wow. They really had been doing a lot without me realizing it. To be fair, I’d been really focused on my training and the orphanage for the past month.

I hugged each of them, including the kids, and smiled at my family. “Thank you all. Seriously, this makes me so happy to hear and to see. I can’t wait to see how much we can improve the lives here and how well the demons will thrive.”

“Princess!” Zoman called as he ran towards us, a hand in the air.

“Hello, Zoman,” I greeted.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he advised and ran a hand through his hair, between his horns, smoothing down the wild locks. “The farmers are asking for you to visit the crops again. The field on the east side.”

“Oh? Is something wrong?” I asked and immediately started heading in that direction. Mason and Kayden flanked me while Trey picked up Elrith and Dhun picked up Kora to follow.

“You’ll see,” he said cryptically.

“How goes your search for a mate?” I asked with a sideways glance at him as we walked.

His cheeks flushed, and he looked away from me. “Fine.”

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