“You’re back,” he said quietly, like he was afraid to get his hopes up.
“I am. And I love you, too. More than you could ever possibly know.”
His lips crashed down on mine, and I kissed him back like he was the only thing in the world keeping me alive. He tasted familiar and sweet, and I wished I could take back the pain I’d seen in his eyes ever since he found me on Circe’s island. The pain I’d put there—by going dark.
Then, someone cleared his throat behind us.
Darius.
I pulled away from Reed, and we both stood quickly.
Darius watched us like a disapproving grandfather, and heat rose to my cheeks. But I kept a hand firmly in Reed’s, and he held mine tightly back, like he never wanted to let go.
“Do either one of you want to explain what just happened?” Darius asked.
“I went dark,” I said, although the words didn’t feel real as I spoke them. The whole experience didn’t feel real—I remembered it clearly, but it was like watching a movie instead of having truly lived it. I recalled everything that had happened, but not the emotions I’d experienced while it had happened. “The mages were right to send me to Ember. I was totally and completely dark. But now… I’m back.”
“It shouldn’t be possible…” Reed looked mystified. “No mage has ever come back after going dark.”
Gemma held up the half of the Crown. “It happened after you touched this,” she said.
There was something different about her. She looked harsher. Stronger. There was a hardness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.
Or maybe I’d been looking at her differently when I’d been dark. Maybe everyone had looked different then. Softer.
Then I glanced at Mira, and she looked the same as before. Hesitant and a bit scared, like she was uncomfortable in her own skin.
It was a miracle she’d survived that fight with the dark mages and dark fae.
They only survived because I helped them, I thought, although of course I didn’t say it out loud.
They’d only gotten their magic a few weeks ago. They were new to it, so what they’d done was downright impressive. And I had faith they’d grow stronger from here.
I believed in them, just like I’d always believed in Selena.
Grief hollowed my heart at the thought of my best friend, and I leaned into Reed for support.
It didn’t seem possible that I’d never see Selena again.
But I’d watched her die.
She was gone. Forever. And a part of my soul had died with her. I hadn’t realized it then, but I felt it now.
“Touching the Crown brought you back,” Reed realized. “The Crown’s the key. If we can bring it to the dark mages, we can bring them all back.”
“Assuming they want to be brought back,” Mira said.
“They don’t.” I remembered the calmness that came with feeling no emotions. The feeling of control—of being unstoppable. Of having what felt like unlimited power and no qualms about what to do with it. “Once they figure out what it does, they’ll kill you before you come close to them with it.”
“We don’t have time to strategize about how to turn an entire kingdom of dark mages good again right now,” Gemma said harshly. “Let alone to organize ourselves to execute a plan—if we’re able to come up with a feasible one that won’t get us killed.”
Ethan stepped back, like she’d slapped him. “If we can free the mages from the darkness, they might be willing to set the dragons free,” he said. “How can we not have time for that?”
“Because this is only half the Crown.” She spoke slowly, like she was talking to a child. “We need the rest of it. That’s our mission, and it has to be our priority. Because if only half of the Crown can do this, imagine what’ll happen when it’s whole.”
Ethan stood completely still, and I had a feeling he was going to fight her.
“She’s right,” Mira jumped in before he could. “Our mission is to find the Crown. Not half of the Crown. The full Crown. We have to stay focused on that.”
“It’s our best hope at defeating the demons.” Gemma spoke immediately after her sister, like she was finishing her twin’s thought. “It’s our best hope at staying safe.”
That final word snapped Ethan out of his anger. “Right,” he said. “You’re right. I just hate leaving them there when we have a way to save them.”
“Our people have been enslaved by the Dark Allies for centuries,” Darius said. “We can survive in their kingdoms for a few more weeks, or months, or even years. We have to think long term. And your plan about allying with the supernaturals on Earth is a good one. With them on our side—and with the full Crown, assuming you find the second half of it—we have the best chance of beating the Dark Allies and setting our people free.”
21
Harper
To get to Avalon, you needed to complete the island’s entrance Trials.
Only one vampire kingdom could take you to the place where the Trials began—the Vale, which was located deep in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
So, Mary sent a fire message to the ruler of the Vale, King Alexander. He quickly replied, saying a witch would meet me outside the entrance of the boundary dome.
Like all witches who’d grown up in one of the six kingdoms, I knew the entrance locations to the boundary domes of each one of them. It was part of our training. So I said my goodbyes and teleported out of the Haven, ready for whatever adventure awaited me next.
As promised, a witch waited for me outside the Vale.
Even though I’d been there before, the snowy kingdom built into the enormous mountain stunned me with its beauty. It was a winter wonderland that belonged in a giant snow globe.
“Come with me.” The witch didn’t bother with an introduction before teleporting me to the throne room inside the kingdom.
King Alexander—a pale skinned, dark-haired vampire—sat on the tallest throne. He looked intimidating, but then he smiled, and his smile was so warm and welcoming that it immediately put me at ease. His wife, Queen Deidre, sat on the throne next to his. They both wore formalwear and had golden crowns upon their heads.
A vampire with warm brown skin, dark hair, and bright blue eyes stood next to the king. He wore jeans and a button-down shirt, and he was startlingly attractive. He could have easily passed as a Bollywood movie star.
Who is he…?
“Harper,” King Alexander said, and I turned my focus back to him. “Welcome to the Vale. Although, from your letter, it sounds like you won’t be here for long.”
“I’ve come to enter the Angel Trials,” I said proudly.
“I’m sure the Earth Angel will be delighted to have you on Avalon.”
As King Alexander spoke, my eyes strayed to the bright blue ones of the vampire next to him.
The corner of his lips turned up in a devious smile, and I lowered my gaze as heat flooded my cheeks.
Why was he watching me like I amused him so much?
“Harper.” Queen Deidre snapped me back to attention. “Might I introduce you to our brother, Prince Rohan?” She motioned to the blue-eyed vampire, who still watched me with amusement. “He’ll be escorting you to the location where you’ll begin the Angel Trials.”
“Your Highness,” I said with a polite nod.
“Call me Rohan.” His voice was smooth, like silk.
I was so hypnotized by everything about him that I nearly forgot to smile.
Come on, Harper, I told myself, shaking myself out of it. You never get this worked up about a man. Especially one you’re never going to see again.
To make it worse, he was a vampire.
In Utopia, we were taught that male supernaturals were naturally power hungry—that they weren’t to be trusted. We were supposed to be repulsed by all of them, or at least constantly on guard around them.
So why did Rohan’s eyes make me feel like they were calling every cell in my body to come closer to him?
; If I wasn’t wearing an onyx ring, I would have sworn he was using compulsion on me.
He was so flawlessly good-looking that he had to know it. How many vampire—and human—women in the Vale had he swept off their feet, gotten to fall head over heels for him, and left heartbroken at the end of it? Probably countless amounts.
No way was I letting myself be alone with him. Nothing good could come from it.
I got ahold of myself and looked to Queen Deidre. “I’m sure you’re aware of our beliefs and customs in Utopia.” I swallowed away a small lump in my throat as I spoke of my destroyed home. “I think it would be most appropriate for you to lead me to the starting point of the Angel Trials. Or at least another woman who knows its location.”
Rohan smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “Afraid to be alone with me?” he asked.
“I’m not afraid.” Annoyance stirred in me at how cocky he sounded.
“It sure sounds like you are.”
Queen Deidre’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two of us like she was watching a tennis match.
“I’m surprised,” Rohan continued before I could respond. “From what I’ve heard, you’re a vampire gifted with the ability to use witch magic. Surely I should be the one afraid of you?”
I raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Are you afraid of me?” I asked.
“I’m not.”
“Maybe you should be.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized they could be construed as a threat.
Threatening a royal of a vampire kingdom while you were a guest in said kingdom was never a good idea.
“Not like I would ever hurt you,” I quickly covered up my mistake. “As long as you don’t do anything to warrant it.”
“I’d never dream of hurting you,” he said, and I sucked in a sharp breath at how sincere he sounded.
Neither of us spoke for a few seconds. We just stared at each other, not wanting to be the one to look away first.
Had he left me speechless?
Queen Elizabeth would be ashamed if she saw me now. My mother would be, too.
But there was something about Rohan…
“I promise that my brother is no threat to you,” Queen Deidre said. “But if you prefer me to escort you to the start of the Angel Trials, then I’m more than happy to grant your request.”
Rohan watched me, challenging me.
After what he’d just said to me, I’d seem weak if I accepted the queen’s offer—even though I was the one who’d asked her to be my escort.
But having the queen accompany me would be far more appropriate than going alone with Rohan.
Screw what’s more appropriate, I thought. What do I want?
“Thank you for the offer,” I said to the queen. “But I’ll go with Rohan.”
22
Harper
Rohan led me down a huge hall more decadent than anything I’d ever seen. It was so beautiful that I wanted to slow down to take it all in.
“You coming?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Sorry.” I hurried to keep up, although I kept looking around as much as possible as we walked.
“The palace is French in design,” he explained, like he was giving me a tour. “This specific hall was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.”
“Interesting.” I nodded as if I knew what he was talking about.
He smiled, like he could tell I’d never heard of the Hall of Mirrors, but he didn’t call me out on it. Instead, he slowed down and walked at my pace as I took in the beauty of the palace.
Eventually, he turned a corner into a smaller hall and stopped at a plain wooden door at the end of it. The door was the most unremarkable thing I’d seen in the palace so far. It looked positively medieval.
“This is the start of the Angel Trials?” I asked.
“You think we’d make it that easy?”
“No,” I said, since when was anything in the supernatural world ever easy? “Of course not.”
He took an iron key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, revealing a stone staircase that circled downward. Torches lined the walls to light the way. The path was so narrow that we’d have to walk single file.
“Follow me,” he said, and he started down the stairs.
I followed, and jumped as the door shut loudly behind me.
“You spook easily?” he asked.
“No.” I bristled.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “The door gets most everyone.”
I was hardly “most everyone,” but he was so full of himself that I didn’t feel like arguing.
“It takes a bit of time to get to the bottom,” he said as we walked. “How about I use that time to tell you about myself?”
I rolled my eyes, even though he wasn’t looking back to see it. “By all means,” I said, since it would be better than walking in awkward silence. “Go ahead.”
“I was born in 1897, in India. But my life didn’t truly begin until the summer of 1918, when a beautiful witch named Kavya moved to my village,” he said, and while I couldn’t see his face, it sounded like he was smiling. “Of course, I didn’t know she was a witch at the time. She claimed to be a healer from the city, and she’d come to my village because the sickness that had been ravaging the country was headed our way. She wanted to try and save as many of us as possible.”
“That was the year of the Spanish Flu,” I said, since of course I’d learned about it. “Witches around the world tried to create a potion to cure it.”
They hadn’t been successful, since no potion had ever been created that could cure a naturally occurring human illness. But it hadn’t stopped them from trying.
“You know your history,” he said.
“Of course I know my history. I’m a high witch of Utopia.”
Was a high witch of Utopia.
Past tense. Utopia didn’t exist anymore.
I had a feeling he was thinking the same thing, and I braced myself for him to say it out loud to make some kind of point.
Instead he spun around and stared at me, still taller than me despite the fact that he was standing two steps below me. The fire from the nearest torch flickered across his eyes, and it was like he was staring into my soul.
“You’re more than just a high witch,” he said. “You’re also a vampire. Which probably makes you the strongest witch in the world.”
“It might.” My magic tingled with happiness inside me.
Energy buzzed between us, and neither of us moved. My breathing shallowed. His did, too.
Then he spun around, breaking the moment, and continued down the stairs. “Anyway, back to the important stuff,” he said, and I hurried to follow him. “Kavya fell in love with me at first sight.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes again.
“As I did with her,” he continued. “We were inseparable for a week. But the Spanish Flu hit the healthiest people the hardest. So it wasn’t long before I got sick.”
“Of course it wasn’t.”
How was he able to sound full of himself, even when talking about how he’d gotten sick with one of the worst flus in human history?
“She did everything she could to help me,” he said. “Including teleporting me to the Haven and begging Mary to turn me into a vampire.”
“I guess she was successful?”
“She was. Mary doesn’t turn humans into vampires often, but she loved Kavya, and she could tell Kavya loved me. So, she gifted me with eternal life.”
“But you’re immortal.” I had a feeling I knew where this story was headed, given that he was no longer living in the Haven. “Kavya wasn’t.”
“Kavya had no interest in turning into a vampire,” he said sadly. “But we married anyway, and we spent every day together until the day she died.”
I frowned, since I’d seen it happen before in Utopia. If a vampire in Utopia wanted to turn one of their human lovers into a vampire, they both had to leave the kingdom forever. So, sometimes vampire women cho
se to stay by their lover’s side until he grew old and died.
The heads on Queen Elizabeth’s belt were those of her greatest loves.
“You don’t approve,” Rohan said.
“No,” I said, surprised he’d think that. “It sounds like you truly loved her.”
“She was the love of my life.”
“And now she’s gone.”
“She passed away thirty years ago.”
“I’m so sorry.” There had to be better words, but I couldn’t find any.
“Thank you,” he said, still continuing steadily down the steps. “I’d prepared for the moment for my entire life. But no type of preparation could make her death less painful.”
We walked in silence for a few seconds, and I had no idea what to say. Because I knew women were capable of all-encompassing love. But for a male vampire to devote his heart to a woman he knew was going to age and die?
No one in Utopia would have believed it possible.
“I’d always stayed in the Haven for Kavya,” he continued. “But once she passed, I told Mary goodbye, and I left. Roamed around the world for a few decades, spending time with a few rogue vampire clans along the way. Then word spread about Avalon and the Earth Angel’s army. Like you, I came to the Vale to enter the Angel Trials.”
“And you failed.” I instantly felt bad about being so rude to him after he’d opened up about the death of the love of his life. “Or you chose to stay in the Vale.”
I didn’t see why he’d choose to stay here instead of going to Avalon, but I supposed it was always an option.
“You got it right the first time.” He stopped and turned to face me. “I failed the Angel Trials. But King Alexander and Queen Deidre said it was meant to be, and they’ve been like family to me ever since.” He paused and glanced down the stairs. “Now, wait here.”
“I thought I was supposed to follow you?”
“I need to unlock the portal,” he said. “The process can be… uncomfortable.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“I just met you.”
The Dragon Realm (Dark World: The Dragon Twins Book 2) Page 9