Epilogue

**Aileen POV**

It was hard to believe two years had already passed since Kuzon brought us back. Things were going exceptionally well. Father and I were welcomed back in a full celebration. All in the streets for well over a month, the citizens celebrated their missing princess being found. They also cheered the new Lord of Vernen and our son Shion.
A small part of my brain worried about how smoothly things were running. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned in life. Devon complained about me having to relax more. There was enough on our plate without me stressing over the uncontrollable and what ifs. He assured me whatever was to come, we would fight it together, so no use wasting my energy on it now.
I had more important items on my list anyway. The public school I founded here in Vernen was doing well. Many young men flocked to the building to learn basic math, reading, writing, and a trade. We had two buildings. One for basic education and one to learn a skill/career. To my disappointment, not too many peasant girls were in either building. Unless you were born in a noble or royal family, girls typically stayed illiterate. A mix of fear and parental judgment kept young girls from learning. As of yesterday, the scholars reported only having two girls attending classes. Hopefully that would change in time. I had a brilliant woman from the Lutz inner city coming to teach. Father 'loaned' her to me. Little did he know, he wasn't getting her back.
Speaking of the royal family, Father assigned Devon several advisors. With their tutelage Devon is shaping up into a beloved Lord. He is strong, fair, and smart. At first giving orders was difficult for him. He was too concerned with being liked. The high class were taking advantage of him. I had a little 'talk' with my husband after one of their meetings. I also had a small 'discussion' with his advisors about letting that happen. Now he is stern and in charge of his land. And despite getting stricter, he is still well liked by his people! In fact, they respect and love him more. Vernen is thriving between Devon's rule and some modern ideals stolen from another dimension.
If all that wasn't enough to keep us busy; Devon, Trevor, and I trained everyday. Little Shion had a few sessions a week with Trevor as well. Proceeding each lesson, Trevor had to write out a full report. (Which he complained about daily.) This week Shion was learning how not to burn down the mansion when throwing a tantrum. Keeping his powers a secret was becoming increasingly difficult. New abilities kept surfacing while we battled with a different one.
I had seen during my trip back to Lutz castle; Father had started introducing 'gifted' individuals. The King declared them an asset to the kingdom. Anyone who dares go against them will be labeled a traitor to Lutz and publicly executed. Sekai informed my family here that no one is to know they are demons. Devon, Trevor, and Shion are to continue hiding their power and train in secret until further notice. If all goes well, the demon's abilities will be helpful to the community and they will be accepted without Father's looming threat. My family will come out after. I was optimistic Shion could show off his powers by the time he turned ten. He should have control over himself by then.
"WwAhhhh!" My angry newborn fussed from his crib near my bed. Our newest member came into the world this morning. Devon and I had yet to name him.
Lord Devon stirred next to me in bed. Sleep dust clung to the corners of his eyes. "I'm up! I didn't fall asleep!"
I chuckled to myself. Devon had been running himself ragged today. The man had two council meetings, a two year old to corral, and a wife to hold while she pushed out his child. Let the record say, giving birth here was a hell of a lot more painful than in the other dimension. I really was prepared to rip Trevor's balls off the time he checked in on me. Trevor hadn't returned until word got around a new prince was born. Once he was certain his manhood was safe, he came to visit his newest nephew and favorite sister.
Devon stood up and limped over to the crib to retrieve our child. I stretched out my arms to receive my hungry demon. To my annoyance, Devon laid back down in the bed. The baby forgot his scream while he gummed on his Dad's finger aggressively. The two of them looked damn near identical. The baby had strands of blonde hair, Devon's cheeks, lips, and nose. Had I not just given birth to him, I may have doubted the child was mine. He got none of my features. The only trait I was unsure of was his eye color; the one attribute I hoped he got from his Dad. I adored his piercing eyes.
While my husband was half asleep staring at his son, I stole a kiss from his addicting lips. As I melted into him our newborn spat out Devon's finger. "Great, he's going to be a cock block just like his brother." Devon whined.
"You heard my midwives. They insisted their Lord have mercy on his wife and refrain from sexual activity for the next few weeks."
He wiggled his eyebrows as I exposed my breast. "Come on, I already had to suffer the two weeks you visited your Father."
"Speaking of which, a feast will need to be prepared soon. The King of Lutz will be here in a few days. It's expected that the Lord welcome the King to his home correctly."
Devon hung his head low, "another obstacle."
A mischievous glint entered Devon's eyes while he leered at my chest. Lust burned in his gaze. "No."
He slipped his hand under my covered breast and teased my nipple lightly. "I'm getting jealous. I like these too. And I am your Lord..."
"Off!" I ordered.
He gave a puppy dog whimper, but released my nipple. The perverted demon unintentionally sprayed milk all over our bed.
"So... I've picked a name finally..." Devon grinned very proud of himself.
I scowled. "I'm not naming him after a comic book character." I had given the right to name our child to Devon. When Shion was born, I used the name Shiuku had picked. It only felt right to let Devon decide this one's name. Of course my smart ass brother joked about naming him Hulk. My brother must have been spending too much time with my husband. The next day, Devon came up with a list of ridiculous names. Two years ago when I yearned for them to get along, I was wrong. They were bad influences on each other.
"So no Bruce Wayne?"
"A real name! I don't know who the feck that is, but he sounds fictional! That was my only rule!" I relaxed my body. Baby boy was getting upset. In a hushed tone I angrily whispered, "One more joke like that and you can share a bed with Trevor all week."
He held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, but I really have thought of a name. I don't want to hear a word against it. This is your Lord's choice."
Oh God, what the hell had he chosen?
"Kalum."
My ears were deceiving me. "What?"
"His name is Kalum. End of discussion."
Devon really was a blessing. "I love it. Thank you Dev."
Are you watching Kalum? Are you proud of your little family? Your princess? "Hey, no sad eyes. This is the birth of our second child. I only want to see you smile." The idiot! See him try to shove an eight pound baby out of his dick and we'll see how emotionally stable he is after!
On my chest, Kalum dozed off. Milk dribbled from the corners of his pouty lips. Sleepy and content, our son nuzzled his head at my heart. In my arms, I rocked our baby gently. I was so absorbed in our newest miracle, I hadn't noticed Devon get closer. He gripped my chin and brought his lips to mine. His kiss was sweet and full of affection. There was no doubting his love for me. When we broke a part, he placed smaller kisses all over the top of Kalum's head.
"Thank you for giving me a family, Aileen. You have no idea how much it meant to me all those years ago. I can still hear you telling me I'm not allowed to die, because I was your family. It was the purest memory in my life up until Shion's and Kalum's births. I love you all so much."
I couldn't handle any more words from him. I was in a sleep deprived, unbalanced hormone state. So, I sealed his lips again.
A knock on the door had us separating again. Both Devon and I smiled knowing exactly who was on the other side. The knock came from an adjoining room; not the outside world. Devon stood up from the bed and took our snoozing son away from me. My true love carefully put our little Kalum back down in his little crib.
Apparently we took too long to open the door. Another knock sounded, but this time, the door's wood split down the center. Stepping through the cracks was our two year old son Shion. Tears were streaming down his face. The little man ran straight into his Dad's arms. I tried to leave the bed, but failed. Pain shot up from between my legs. Giving birth to Kalum took everything out of me.
Devon picked up Shion and brought him back to the bed. Softly, he rubbed Shion's raven hair. The little man was shaking uncontrollably. Part of the building's foundation began to tremble with him.
"Little man, what's wrong?" Devon cooed to Shion.
He sniffled, snot pouring from his nose. I grabbed a cloth from the nightstand and wiped at his boogers. "Did you have a nightmare little love?" Devon asked in a soothing voice.
Shion nodded and cried harder. "You...You're Daddy!"
"Yes, I'm your Daddy and I love you so much."
Shion and Devon had been close since he was born. Some days the only thing that could soothe the little man was Devon's singing. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous.
"You're my Daddy." He weeped again holding onto Devon. Shion turned to me and gave me a big hug. "And you're Mommy. My mommy."
"Yes dear. I love you very much." I assured him.
Both Devon and I engulfed his little body in a hug. "Bad dream." He murmured.
"What was it about my little love?"
Shion searched our faces with those big adorable gray eyes. "A...strange man... he in my dreams...said he my Dad... but...You're my daddy." He cuddled into Devon's chest.
Devon and I both looked at each other in horror. In the past two years, my dreams had only been invaded three times. Each one would start out the same. Shiuku would appear and harass me. Then he would make disgusting remarks about what he'd do to me once Devon was dead. Then finally ask about any powers Shion had. Not how well he was, just how strong. The day I found out I was pregnant with Kalum was the last time I had seen the demon lord. He was pissed off and made vicious threats against both my husband and child. I promised him I would protect my family no matter what. I will never allow Shiuku to harm any of them ever again; emotionally or physically. Shiuku will not win this stupid game of his. That was a promise.
So Shiuku changed tactics. He went for Shion himself.
We knew one day we would have to sit down with Shion and tell him the truth. He had every right to know about his birth Father. For now, he was too young to understand... Still, we only had three more years to somehow explain he had a Father and Dad; without giving Shiuku an opportunity to manipulate him.
"I love Daddy and Mommy." He chirped in his high pitched innocent voice. "He not Daddy. No! He scary. He said...I don't listen...he gonna...hurt me."
My heart was weeping for my son. He was so scared and confused.
"He won't hurt you Shion. Mommy won't let him." I kissed his wet cheek.
Devon grabbed one of his pillows and set it between us. "Why don't you sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight little love."
"Yes! I sleep with Mommy and Daddy!" He flopped onto the pillow with a toothy grin. "Then no bad dreams!"
Devon pulled the blanket up to cover all of us. Just like Devon said earlier, any problems we'd face together. This would be no different. Devon, baby Kalum, and little Shion were my world. Nothing will take them away from me. I flung an arm around Shion and Devon feeling whole. For now, I was going to enjoy this little bit of happiness.
I cuddled into the bed. "We'll keep you safe, always."
As the three men in my life fell back asleep, I fingered my necklace. My index finger traced over all the charms; a mighty dragon, an elegant butterfly, a loving heart, a shining moon, a truthful letter, a strong sword, a sweet music note, beautiful lilacs, and lastly my newest charm, a bright sun. My family, my strength, my everything.
I glanced over at Kalum, Shion, and then Devon again. "I'll keep you all safe."