Chapter 18

Eighteen

After two days on the train, we were all excited to get onto solid ground and escape the "metal box," as Lily called it. There was a gorgeous estate with four mansions where all of the royals and guards, including us, were staying. Lily had immediately asked to play in the grass in her snake form. I'd shifted into my rabbit form and hopped and jumped around, making her hiss in laughter. After quick showers and a team of people to get us ready, we made it to the location of the Summit.

Lily asked me to carry her while we headed into the stone castle where the first day of the Summit was being held, a banquet. I wore a stylish red dress and Lily wore an adorable, fluffy dress that matched mine in color. Kara called in some favors from designers in the city nearby to get us the dresses in such a short amount of time. I did not want to know what the price tag for them was.

Caleb walked on my left, his stride confident and smooth, but I could feel his unease.

"Settle down, son," Dan whispered in his ear. "Everything is going to be fine."

Caleb exhaled and he nodded once, but his tension did not lessen.

"Sam!" Jolie screeched and raced forward to hug a man I didn't know.

"Jo!" he yelled with a huge smile as he hugged her tight. He pushed her to arm's length and said, "You look great!"

"You do, too. What has it been, ten years?" she asked. She tapped his crown and said, "It looks great on you."

"Your father is inside already, seated as the elder for the sirens," he replied.

Oh! He was the new King of the Sirens, Sam, her childhood friend. I remembered her telling me about him now.

"Sam, please meet Caleb's mate and queen, Ember. Ember, this is Sam," Jolie dragged him by the arm over to us.

I dipped my head. "It's an honor to meet you. Jolie's told me a lot about you."

He smiled and pushed his shoulder against Jolie's. "Don't believe half of it. She's a notorious embellisher."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, you're the one who embellished every story, starting from us being three."

"No, that was Colton," he argued.

They both laughed, but his laughter stopped and turned into a huge smile when Leona walked up to join us.

"Leona!" he gasped and hugged her. "You look great. Being a princess definitely looks good on you."

"Being a king suits you," she replied. "I can rest easy knowing you're in charge."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Stop it, you two."

"Sir, we need to head inside," a guard said.

"Right, see you guys inside," Sam said and waved before following the guard.

We waited until it was our turn to enter. The other kings and queens went first, then it would be us, and then the princes and princesses.

Two guards pushed open the doors to reveal an elegant ballroom full of sparkling people. All eyes turned to us as we entered.

"Smile and don't let them know you're scared," I whispered.

"Okay," Lily said.

"She was talking to herself, actually, cub, but it is good advice for you as well," Caleb said and chuckled softly.

The laughter eased the tension in all of us and we smiled freely as we walked down the middle of the room. To the right were five high-backed chairs where the elders sat. Someday, there would be a sixth seat, one for the hybrid elder.

At the head of the room was a raised dais where ten high-backed chairs sat.

I expected Kara and Katar or Dan to take the center seats, but my eyes widened when I realized they had left the center chairs for Caleb and I.

"Remember, you are going to stay with Branson while we do some quick alpha things?" I asked Lily.

She nodded and looked over my shoulder at him. "Bran Bran." She made grabby hands motions that might as well have been her clutching our hearts. So cute!

Stopping at the stairs to the dais, I turned and let Branson take Lily out of my arms. Caleb took my hand and helped me up the stairs before taking his seat.

I took my seat, still smiling as I faced the room of strangers.

Most of the room was whispering to each other, clearly shocked to see us there.

An elderly man in a suit walked up to the dais, bowed, and when he raised his head, I swore I saw him narrow his eyes at Jolie before smiling. "Welcome, Your Majesties. I am excited that you were all able to join us. Tonight is the kick off to this year's Summit, which will feature two days of business and then everyone's favorite tradition, the tournament! And this year the winner will receive quite an amazing prize."

"I'm surprised they let Amos continue running this," Caleb whispered.

I was as well since I remembered the debacle of him putting Jolie as the prize the first year she had come.

"What's the prize, Amos?" someone shouted in the back.

He tsked. "You know the prize is announced the first day of the tournament."

"Good thing we're already mated," I whispered to Caleb, who chuckled and reached over to intertwine our hands.

"I'd destroy every male in the world to be your mate," he whispered and kissed the back of my hand.

My face heated and I squeezed his hand. "Sweet talker."

He winked at me, but returned to looking at Amos, who was frowning at us.

"Everyone, please enjoy your night of dancing and mingling. Welcome to the Summit!" He raised his hands in the air and the music resumed.

People clapped and some swarmed around him.

"So, do we stay up here on display all night?" I asked.

"Are you hungry?"

I nodded. "Yes, but I didn't see any food?"

"They're about to –"

"Everyone, please head to the next room and take your seats for dinner," Amos announced.

"I see," I said, stifling my laugh at Caleb's explanation getting interrupted.

Lily raced through the people with Riddick right on her heels, scowling.

"Em!" she shouted and jumped up into my arms.

I caught her with a laugh and tapped the tip of her nose. "Hello, Lily."

"I told you not to run off like that," Riddick chastised her.

She frowned. "Rid mean."

Apparently, Riddick's name was harder for her to say, so she shortened it.

"No, he's trying to keep you safe," I explained. "Remember, it's important to stay with your guard, okay? All princesses have to stay with their guards."

She puffed out her cheeks as she nodded. "Okay."

"Come on, let's go eat," Caleb said.

"Nuggets?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "We have to go sit down first."

She made grabby hands at Caleb and his eyes widened, but he immediately took her from my arms. "You're guard, too?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I am one of your guards as well."

She smiled and kicked her legs on either side of him. "Yay."

He returned her smile and finally, relaxed. "Do you think we'll get dessert?" he asked her conspiratorially.

"Yes, please!" she shouted, getting a few looks from others.

Caleb laughed. "Well, we have to eat our meat first, remember?"

She nodded. "Meat then sweets!"

"That's right," he said and nodded.

"May I escort you?" Riddick asked and held out his bent elbow.

I slipped my hand through and smiled wide. "I would love that. Thank you."

"You look stunning in that dress," he commented as we walked. "And your crown definitely suits you."

"Thank you. I quite enjoy seeing you in a suit," I said and stroked a hand down his lapel.

His chest rumbled beneath my fingers as he purred. "Are you suggesting we should dress up more often?"

"I wouldn't be against it," I replied, which made him laugh.

Since there were six of us, we got an entire table to ourselves. Lily sat between Caleb and Branson, doing a little happy dance as she ate a buttered piece of bread. I sat between Caleb and Triston, though I was curious how they'd decided who would sit on either side of me. I'd asked once and they refused to tell me.

Triston buttered a piece and put it on my plate.

"Thank you," I said and had to refrain from shoving the entire thing into my mouth as I was suddenly starving.

Riddick reached across Triston, grabbed my water glass, and filled it.

Being taken care of by them made me smile and allowed me time to look around the room.

Most were talking amongst themselves, but there were a handful of people staring right at our table that had me on edge.

Caleb sat a hand atop my leg and patted. With the dress, he couldn't touch my skin, but the touch put me at ease anyway.

The food came and much to Lily's disappointment, it was not nuggets. It was delicious, and she ended up eating her entire plate without us needing to intervene. Her eyes lit up when she saw them bringing out large pieces of chocolate cake and as she put the first bite into her mouth, she did her happy food dance in her chair again.

I expected us to leave after food or mingle, but they asked everyone to return to the previous room where the daises had been removed, allowing for more room to dance. A small band was positioned in the corner, playing music.

Caleb spun around to face me, bowed, and held his hand out. "May I have this dance, milady?"

I set my hand in it and nodded.

We spun around the dancefloor, smiling and laughing as we teased each other. Jolie and Nico joined us and halfway through the song, Nico and Caleb did a strange synchronized spin that ended with Caleb dancing with Jolie and Nico dancing with me.

"Having fun?" Nico asked.

I nodded, letting him lead me around the room. "It's nice to not be worried about the H.E. and actually enjoy ourselves."

"Yes, but now you have a new issue," he said and then smiled. "Or should I say new blessing?"

Glancing in the direction he was looking; I saw Triston dancing with Lily.

"Yes," I agreed. "Blessing."

"Make sure you enjoy yourself thoroughly tonight as the next two days are going to be full of boring politics and arguments with the elders," he warned, kissed my cheek, and spun me into Caleb's arms.

"Hello, my queen," he purred and kissed me lightly on the lips.

We danced to two more songs before all agreeing it was time to retire for the night. Lily asked to sleep in bed with us and there was no way I could deny her when she looked scared.

I spooned my body around hers while Caleb spooned his body behind mine. "Don't worry, Lily. We will always protect you. You can rest safe with us."

She sniffled and said, "I miss Mama."

Petting her head, I nodded and said, "I know. I miss my mama, too." Or at least the one I'd had when I was her age.

Cuddling closer to me, she rested her head against my chest and her sniffling slowed until she fell into a deep sleep.

Caleb kissed the back of my head and said, "Go to sleep, girls. I will keep you safe."

"We will keep you safe," Triston countered.

I nearly bolted upright, shocked to hear his voice, but didn't so I wouldn't disturb Lily. Instead, I slowly raised my head to find Triston, Branson, and Riddick on the floor around the bed in their animal forms.

Smiling, I rested my head back down and relaxed. Clearly, I wasn't the only one feeling protective of our newest pack member.