The Dragon Realm (Dark World: The Dragon Twins Book 2)

by Michelle Madow

  “Ideally, you won’t remember them at all,” she said. “It’ll be like your experiences while asleep were a forgotten dream. Although, the potion will only erase your memories of the time when you were knocked out from the nightshade. If you want to erase your memory of your kiss with Ethan, I’d have to create a separate potion. Although I don’t see what good that would do, since Ethan would still remember it. But with your false memories erased, your emotions attached to the kiss should disappear, too.”

  “Good,” I said, although the word felt empty. “That’s good.”

  “I need a strand of your hair.”

  I plucked one out and handed it to her.

  “Perfect,” she said. “Now, you look like you could use some sleep.”

  I yawned, not realizing how tired I was until she said it. And the thought of lying down in my own bed sounded really nice.

  I’d missed being home.

  “Go get some rest,” she said. “I’ll wake you once the potion’s ready.”

  6

  Gemma

  I got back before sunset, so no one realized I’d left.

  For the next two days, Ethan, Mira and I visited the Eternal Library to see if Hecate was there to answer our questions.

  She wasn’t.

  So we continued with our training. Raven didn’t give up on telling us about Avalon while we were practicing sword fighting with her. And while life on the island did sound wonderful, the thought of living there didn’t feel right to me. I couldn’t explain why, but it was like something was tugging me in a different direction. I didn’t know where that direction was, but I could pretty confidently say it wasn’t Avalon.

  “He looks so hot when he fights with a sword,” Mira said, ogling Ethan as he sparred with Raven. “Doesn’t he?”

  My heart slowed, and my blood froze.

  Because it was the tone Mira used when she was egging someone on. But she wasn’t even looking at me. Her eyes were glued on Ethan.

  Ethan—who did always look attractive when fighting with a sword. Especially when he was fighting to keep us safe.

  But he hadn’t looked at me since we’d returned to the Haven. He’d look in my general direction, but he never met my eyes.

  It was worse than when he’d acted like I was a stranger.

  Because now I was a stranger whose existence he was purposefully ignoring.

  Mira didn’t seem to require an answer to her question, which was good, because my throat was so constricted that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to speak.

  Drink the potion. It’ll all be better once you do.

  The indestructible vial of memory potion was hidden in my undergarments drawer in my room in the Haven. A cliché place to keep it, but it would be safe there. Especially because everyone in the Haven respected each other’s privacy.

  Every morning and night, I’d taken it out and stared at it.

  And every morning and night, I’d placed it back in the drawer.

  I’d gone to all that trouble to get the potion. So why couldn’t I do something as simple as drinking it?

  “Nice job,” Raven said, pulling me out of my thoughts. The tip of her sword was pressed against Ethan’s chest. “If you’d been fighting anyone else, I bet you would have won.”

  She lowered her sword, and Ethan held out his hand, shaking hers.

  “Good match,” he said, and she smirked as she dropped her arm back to her side.

  No one could beat the Queen of Swords when it came to fighting with blades. Especially when she was using the Holy Sword, Excalibur—the one she was holding now.

  She never parted with it. I’d bet she even slept with it.

  “Time to break for the day,” Raven said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.”

  “Me, too,” I said, and I turned to walk in the direction of the hotel. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” I tried to sound as chipper as I could.

  “You’re having dinner in your room again?” she asked.

  Mira waited for my answer, too.

  Ethan, of course, wouldn’t look at me.

  “I’m tired,” I said what I’d been saying every night. Training was exhausting, and fighting my feelings for Ethan was even more so. “And I want to do some reading before bed.”

  I also had zero desire to have dinner with Ethan and Mira. Lunch every day had been tough enough, but at least lunch was quick. In the Haven, they lingered and socialized in the dining hall long after finishing dinner.

  Having dinner sent to my room so I could stare at the walls and brood over my feelings for Ethan and whether or not to take the memory potion was clearly a much better use of my time. Especially because if I’d just drink it, then I’d stop being so miserable. Maybe I’d even be able to relax and make some friends in the Haven, like Mira had been doing.

  “You sure about that?” Raven’s eyebrows knitted in concern. And while her reflexes were quick, I could have sworn she’d glanced at Ethan.

  Does she know?

  There was no way she could know. Except… Raven was observant. She had to be, to anticipate her opponent’s every move.

  And the sooner I drank that potion, the less there’d be for her to observe.

  “I’m sure,” I said, and then, like every night since getting back to the Haven, I hurried back to my room.

  Except tonight, I intended to finally be able to sleep without tossing and turning over my unrequited love for Ethan.

  Because with my memories gone, my heart could finally rest, and I could be at peace.

  7

  Gemma

  The next morning, it finally happened.

  I stepped into the ivory hall of the Eternal Library, and Hecate was there.

  She wore a sparkling purple gown, and her raven-colored hair flowed freely down her back. She was so ethereal that she took my breath away.

  “You’re here,” I said, shocked.

  “Yes.” She gave me a close-lipped, knowing smile. “I’m here.”

  Mira stepped through the door next, followed by Ethan.

  My twin stepped back the moment she saw Hecate, as if intimidated by the goddess’s presence.

  Ethan reached for her waist and steadied her.

  I looked away, since for reasons I didn’t understand, my chest always tightened at the sight of the two of them together.

  Probably because of that kiss…

  But that hadn’t meant anything. At least, not to him. I’d just needed to snap him out of it, and he’d kissed me back because for a moment, he’d thought I was Mira.

  It was an accident. I needed to forget about it.

  He already had.

  So I pushed the thought away and refocused on Hecate.

  The goddess was as calm as ever. “I believe you have questions for me?” she asked.

  “So many questions,” I said quickly.

  “Then I hope you’ve prepared your best ones.”

  I swallowed, then nodded. Because Ethan had his best question ready. From there, my best question depended on Hecate’s answer to his question, and then Mira’s on her answer to mine.

  But I was ready to think on my feet.

  “Come with me.” Hecate spun around and led us through the door that opened to a never-ending hall lined with bookshelves from top to bottom. A buffet table ran down the center, displaying a variety of food and drinks for those who’d been too impatient to wait for Hecate and had gotten lost wandering the Library, trying to search for the answers to their questions on their own.

  How long had they returned to the Library, day after day, before giving up on getting an audience with Hecate and venturing to find a book with the answer to their question themselves?

  What question was worth risking the loss of what could be years of their lives?

  And why did Hecate appear in the Library some days, and not on other days? And why would she only answer our questions if she met us in the ivory hall, and not if we were lost perusing the endless books on the shelves?r />
  But I wasn’t going to ask any of those questions. At least, not today. Because the answers wouldn’t help the situation on Earth. And saving Earth was the number one priority.

  “Who wants to go first?” Hecate asked.

  She’d barely finished speaking before Ethan stepped forward.

  “How do we kill Lilith?” he asked, his voice low and deadly. His eyes gleamed with spite—with his need for revenge.

  I was grateful he was on my side, and not fighting against me. Because anyone in Ethan’s path was bound to get burned by the dragon king.

  It was so surreal that he was an actual king.

  Hecate gazed down the hall. Her eyes swirled purple like the night sky, and mist poured out of them, ghostly tendrils reaching down the halls and shelves as they searched for the book with the answer.

  It didn’t take long for a dark gray book to fly out of the shelves and into her hand.

  The mist retreated back into her eyes, the book opened, and a breeze blew the pages until landing on one in the center.

  She looked at Mira, then at me, and then her gaze returned to Ethan’s. “To defeat Lilith, you’ll need the fourth Holy Object,” she said. “The Holy Crown.”

  “Wow,” I said, since the identity of the fourth Holy Object had been one of the questions I’d been contemplating asking. “Where can we find the Holy Crown?”

  The mist swirled out of Hecate’s eyes again, searching through the Library.

  I’d asked a question.

  I hadn’t meant to ask it. But it had come out so quickly that I hadn’t realized it.

  Mira’s lips were pressed into a firm line.

  Ethan’s expression betrayed no emotion. Although it was impossible to truly know, since he still wouldn’t look at me.

  The mist retreated, and a deep red book flew down the hall, smacking into Hecate’s waiting hand. She must have placed the other book down while I’d been lost in my thoughts.

  Just like before, the breeze opened the book to a page. Although this time, the page was near the end of the book.

  “Hm,” she said as she studied the page. As always, she didn’t let any of us see what she was reading. “Very interesting.”

  I bounced on my toes and waited anxiously for her to continue.

  “The first place you need to go to find the Holy Crown is in Ember,” she said. “To the hidden dragon kingdom. Ethan knows where it is.”

  Ethan simply nodded.

  “I didn’t realize the Crown could be in more than one place.” I made sure to phrase it as a thought instead of a question.

  “Neither did I,” she said. “But, you asked where to go to find it. Ember is the first place. It’s likely that you’ll figure the rest out from there.”

  “You say it like you know it for sure.”

  “There are many things I know,” she said. “And many I don’t.”

  It took all of my effort to stop from rolling my eyes and huffing.

  Why were the people with divine knowledge always the most hesitant to share it?

  “The journey to Ember is a one-way trip,” I said, since I’d learned it in my studies. “Once you enter, you can’t leave.”

  “That’s because it’s used as a realm for the fae and mages to send their prisoners,” Ethan said, scowling. “The spell keeping them there is stronger than any barrier spell in existence. Not even the strongest, darkest supernatural prisoners can figure out to escape. My dad was the only one who could come and go as he pleased. But he never told me how…” Realization flashed over his eyes, and he reached for the chain around his neck.

  “What?” Mira asked.

  “My dad wore a similar chain around his neck,” he said slowly, as if he were trying to recall something he’d learned long ago. “I can’t remember what hung from it. But according to Hecate, I have witch blood in my veins. Which means either my father or mother had to have witch blood, too. What if it was my dad? And what if he also had a key?”

  “You’d know if your dad wore a key like ours,” Mira said. “Right?”

  “Except I didn’t have a key until recently,” he said. “The magic of his key could have stopped me from knowing what it was, or even from remembering it was there.”

  “Maybe.” Mira didn’t look convinced. “But you said the spell on Ember is stronger than any other barrier spell. That no one can leave once they’re there. What if the barrier blocks us from being able to use our keys, too?” She quickly glanced at Hecate. “That question was directed toward Ethan,” she clarified. “Not to you.”

  If Hecate was put off by Mira’s snapping at her, she didn’t let it show. “I know,” she said simply. “Now, what’s your question?”

  Mira didn’t look at either me or Ethan. “Will the keys be able to take us to and back from Ember?”

  Hot anger swirled within me. Why did Mira ask her question without consulting us first?

  Don’t be a hypocrite, I thought. You asked your question without consulting either of them.

  But my question had slipped out. Which, I supposed, Mira’s had, too.

  Besides, it was information we needed to know.

  “Since I created the keys, I don’t need to consult a book to answer your question,” Hecate said. “My keys allow to you walk through the door of the Library and into any place you’ve ever been. This applies to every realm, including Ember.”

  “But we’ve never been to Ember,” I said. “So we can’t use our keys to go there.”

  “Yes, that’s how the keys work,” Hecate said.

  “So how are we supposed to get there?”

  “I’m afraid you’ve used up your questions for the day,” she said.

  “Then it’s a good thing I know the answer,” Ethan said. “Because there are only two portals that lead to Ember. And I’m pretty sure we can get to at least one of them.”

  8

  Gemma

  Instead of returning to our rooms in the Haven, we went straight to the tearoom.

  I picked up the pen and notepad sitting on the coffee table.

  Meet us in the tearoom, I wrote. We have news.

  I ripped the paper of the notepad, folded it, and placed it in my upturned palm.

  “There’s a witch stationed outside this room,” Mira said. “She can send fire messages to Mary.”

  “I know. But I can’t get better without practice.”

  Every time I’d tried to send a fire message so far, I’d burned the letter with my elemental fire magic instead of sending it to the intended recipient with my witch magic. It was a medium-level spell—Mira still hadn’t succeeded with it, either—but our phones wouldn’t work outside of the Earth realm. And we needed to be able to communicate no matter where we were. Especially because we had no idea what was in store for us in Ember.

  So I was determined to master this spell.

  Put an imaginary barrier around your elemental magic, I remembered what Harper had said during our lessons. Focus only on your witch magic.

  I stared at the paper and recited the incantation.

  Magic tingled up from my core, traveled through my arm, and released out of my palm.

  A small flame engulfed the letter, then disappeared.

  No ashes remained on my palm.

  “Yes!” I smiled. “I did it.”

  “Good job.” Ethan nodded with respect. “This will be useful once we get to Ember.”

  “Thanks.” My heart fluttered at the compliment.

  Stop it, I told myself. It was just a compliment. And he didn’t even look me in the eyes when saying it.

  I needed to get him alone so I could propose my idea about both of us taking memory potion to forget about that kiss. It would be best for all three of us—me, Ethan, and Mira. Because the kiss never should have happened. And if neither me nor Ethan remembered, it would be like it never had happened.

  The guilt I was carrying would disappear. Ethan’s, too.

  I wasn’t sure which Haven witch would help us o
ut, but surely Mary could point us in the right direction.

  At the thought of Mary, she opened the door and joined us in the tearoom, the letter I’d sent to her in hand. She looked back and forth between me and Mira and held it up. “One of you sent this?” she asked.

  “I did.” I smiled. “It was my first successful fire message.”

  “Well done.” She walked over to one of the colorful chairs and sat down. “I assume you received an audience with Hecate?”

  “We did,” I said, and the three of us sat down as well and filled her in on what we’d learned.

  She listened attentively, and from her calm expression, I had no idea what was going through her mind.

  “There are two realms with portals to Ember,” Ethan said. “Mystica and the Otherworld.”

  Of course, I knew about both realms from my studies. Mystica was the realm of the mages, and the Otherworld was the realm of the fae. The mages of Mystica kept mainly to themselves. But the demons had recently launched an attack on the Otherworld, so now the Otherworld was allied with Earth’s supernatural kingdoms. The alliance was new—and apparently very tense and complicated—but at least it was something.

  “None of us have ever been to the Otherworld,” I continued. “So we can’t use our keys to get there. We were hoping—”

  “I can’t guarantee what kind of reception you’ll receive from the fae,” Mary said before I could finish the sentence. “But I do have what you need to get to the Otherworld.”

  9

  Gemma

  In all the weeks we’d spent with Ethan since getting our magic, he hadn’t told us anything about his home realm. So, for the rest of the day, he prepared us for what to expect when we got to Ember.

  At least, he told us what he could, since he’d left Ember when he was a small child. Most everything he knew about his home realm had been told to him by his father.

  “We’ll take the portal to Ember,” he finished. “And then, I’ll lead you to the kingdom. Well, what’s left of the kingdom.” A shadow crossed his eyes at that last part.