“Why don’t Ethan and I take the second bedroom,” Mira said. “You and Gemma can take the master.”
“I’ll be taking the couch,” Ethan said, and Mira frowned, like she’d been punched. “It’s in the center of the suite—the best place I can be to make sure everyone’s safe.”
“Makes sense,” I said, even though I was actually just happy that Ethan wasn’t jumping on the chance to share a bed with Mira.
“Then Gemma and I are in the master bedroom,” Mira said to Bella. “There’s one of you, and two of us. It’s only fair.”
“Deal,” Bella said, and I was surprised—I’d thought she’d fight Mira more on it. “Also, no one touches that champagne. We’re here on a mission, which means we have to be on alert at all times. We can’t afford to be inebriated.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Ethan agreed.
Mira frowned again. “You all are no fun.”
“I’m loads of fun,” Bella said with a wicked smile. “I’m also alive. And I intend to keep the three of you that way, too. So let’s unpack, and then, let’s practice some magic.”
29
Gemma
The Drake Passage was worse than I’d expected. On the first night at sea, the ship rocked so much that it tossed me out of bed. I was so sick that I would have had to stay in the room whether Bella was letting us leave or not.
Not even Mira could go out on the balcony to “enjoy the Drake,” as she’d crazily said. The captain had forbidden anyone to step out on deck, and even she was worried she’d fall overboard. And Mira’s water magic was strong, but strong enough to save her from the angry, eight-meter tall waves? She might have been able to do it, but it wasn’t something any of us wanted to risk.
At least my twin hadn’t gotten sick. She was the only one of the four of us who hadn’t. At one point, Bella had even moaned about wishing we were able to use the seasickness patch.
She and I both. Although the sea was so rocky that I doubted the patch would have made a difference.
It took two ridiculously long days to cross the Drake. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink, and of course, I couldn’t read. The only thing I could do was lay in bed and watch television.
Bella didn’t have a key to the Library, so from her perspective, we were stuck on the ship, since witches couldn’t teleport on board a ship. The place they were going had to be fixed in one spot. Try to teleport onto a moving ship, and you’d end up in the middle of the ocean.
There was always the Eternal Library, but Ethan insisted we spend the least amount of time there as possible. It was too tempting to walk into the hall of books and browse for answers ourselves. We couldn’t risk getting lost there.
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.
Plus, we had to stay on board the ship, in case the dragon heart picked up on the location of the second half of the Crown. But we still visited the Eternal Library every day—we had too many questions to not at least try to get answers from Hecate.
She was never there.
What on Earth did she have to do that was more important than helping us save the world from the demons? Didn’t she want the world to be saved?
Judging by how little she made appearances in the Library, apparently not.
On the sixth morning of the cruise, I was jolted awake at 6:05 am by the captain making an announcement over the ship-wide intercom system. The intercoms were everywhere—even inside the suites—and it was impossible to turn them off or lower the volume.
Add that to the list of things that were making this voyage extremely unpleasant.
“In ten minutes, we’ll be crossing into the Antarctic Circle!” He was elated, because cruises usually didn’t make it so far south. Especially not ones that had such a rough crossing of the Drake.
Little did he know that we’d gained so much time because Mira had been coaxing the ocean currents and the wind to help us sail faster. After all, the more land we covered, the better the chance of the heart picking up on the exact location of the second half of the Crown.
“Our expedition guide Malcom is at the front of deck six with a GPS tracker,” the captain continued. “Get bundled up to meet him there and see exactly when we cross the 66 degree south line!”
Of course, we didn’t go to deck six. But Mira, Ethan, and I did step out onto the balcony, where we heard people cheering on the deck below when we crossed into the Antarctic Circle.
I gazed out at the icebergs sitting on the water in the distance. We’d passed some huge ones during our journey—the only way we’d been able to enjoy Antarctica so far was by stepping out onto the balcony and viewing the icebergs, snow-covered mountains, and the occasional whale spotting.
Bella had stayed inside the suite so far. It was freezing outside, which didn’t bother me, Mira, or Ethan, thanks to our elemental magic. Bella, on the other hand, had to put on multiple layers of clothing to brave the cold. She said it wasn’t worth the hassle, since she could see the same thing from the window.
After taking in the view, we went back inside. Like he did every morning, Ethan took the golden box out of the closet and brought it to the dining room table. He opened it and reached inside to touch the heart.
“We’re getting closer,” he said, which was what he’d been saying each day, the farther south we got. “Bring out the map.”
Mira grabbed our Antarctica Atlas from the bookshelf, laid it out on the table in front of Ethan, and opened it to the zoomed-in page of the Antarctic Peninsula. The three of us—me, Mira, and Bella—gathered around Ethan, waiting.
Ethan pointed to an island on the page. “Here,” he said, and I moved closer to get a better look.
Detaille Island.
“That’s where the captain’s trying to anchor down today,” I said.
They hadn’t stopped talking about it on one of the few channels we got on our TV—the Goldensea channel that discussed our journey through Antarctica. There were lots of educational segments on the history of the continent, and on the wildlife we might spot.
During my time in bed while seasick, I’d learned more about Antarctica than I’d ever wanted to know.
Detaille Island was the only place we were trying to land that had remnants of human settlement, thanks to the British scientific station—Base W—that had been occupied and then hastily abandoned in the 1950s.
“Do you think the second half of the Crown is at Base W?” I asked.
“I think it’s worth a look.”
“Me, too.”
Mira bounced in excitement. “So we’re finally leaving the ship?”
“That’s the only way to Detaille Island,” I said. “So, yes. We’re leaving the ship. Then, hopefully, coming back on board with the second half of the Holy Crown.”
30
Gemma
The ocean was rough when the ship anchored down—so rough that at first glance, it seemed like it was going to be impossible to get to the island. But with help from Mira, the water calmed enough for it to be safe.
We layered up in the appropriate clothing—including our bright red Goldensea jackets that every guest was required to wear while off the ship—and left our suite. We made our way down to the locker room where the ship kept the heavy-duty snow boots we needed to step foot on Antarctica, located the ones with our suite number on them, and put them on.
Next, we got in line to board a zodiac—an inflatable, raft-like boat that fit eight people, plus an expedition guide to drive. The waters were choppy, but thanks to our supernatural strength, we hopped on with no problem. The same couldn’t be said for the other four people assigned to the boat with us. One of them—an older man—would have face-planted into the side of the zodiac if the crew hadn’t been holding onto him to keep him somewhat balanced.
We all wore backpacks, and I glanced at Ethan’s to make sure it was secure. His was the most important, since it held both the dragon heart and half of the Holy Crown.
He squeezed one of the straps, as if
letting me know he had it covered. Not that I ever doubted him. I’d always trust Ethan to keep me and Mira safe.
Once all eight of us were loaded onto the zodiac, the driver pulled the motor, and we sped over to Detaille Island. The water was choppy, and Mira—who’d taken the seat in front—smiled and faced forward, enjoying the ride. The air was clean, crisp, and pure—untouched by humankind. This beautiful continent belonged to nature and the animals that lived there.
I held tightly onto the ropes, glad I’d opted for a light breakfast that morning.
Fifteen minutes later, the zodiac pulled up to Detaille Island. There was no dock—we just pulled straight up to the rocky ground, the front of the zodiac lodging on top of it. A steep hill with a narrow, winding footpath led up to a flat area on top, where I could just make out the small shack of Base W. Expedition guides lined the steep, slippery path, ready to help to make sure no one fell.
One by one, we hopped off the zodiac.
The moment my feet hit the ground, I nearly fell to my knees in relief. I wanted to lie down and thank every god out there that I was back on land. But I stayed focused, easily making my way up the path without needing help from the guides.
Once up to the top, I took a deep breath of the crisp air and admired the snow-covered mountains stretching out in the distance, reaching so high that they touched the clouds.
This was the most middle of nowhere I’d ever been in my life. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was in a mystical ice realm instead of on Earth.
Mira and Ethan stood next to me, also admiring the view.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ethan said.
“It is,” I said, amazed by how everything here was so still, quiet, and perfect.
Then, Bella joined us. “We’re not here to take in the sights,” she said. “Any updates with the heart?”
Ethan removed the pack from his back, set it on the ground, and unzipped it. He reached inside, although he didn’t take out the box. He moved his hand around inside the backpack like he was opening the box, then he closed his eyes and was still.
Even though I couldn’t see, I knew his hand was around the heart.
He snapped his eyes open and looked out toward the mountains—the opposite direction of Base W. “We’re getting closer,” he said. “It’s that way.”
“Are you sure?” I’d been so sure that the second half of the Crown would be inside Base W. That there’d be some secret passage inside it that only supernaturals could enter.
“I’m sure.”
“All right.” Mira rubbed her hands together, her blue eyes glimmering with excitement. “Off to the mountains we go. Finally.”
“We’re not going to the mountains,” I said. “They’re across the water.” I turned to Ethan, alarmed. “Right?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is that the heart is telling me to go that way.”
“We can always hijack a zodiac,” Bella said.
I nearly balked and said that was ridiculous, but then I realized it wasn’t a terrible idea. The crew would still be able to get everyone back to the ship. It would just take a bit longer than it would have otherwise.
“Let’s hold up on hijacking anything until we check out what’s in that general direction,” I said.
“Agreed,” Ethan said.
“Bummer.” Bella frowned. “You’re no fun.”
Mira rolled her eyes. “Says the person who wouldn’t let us leave our suite for the entire first half of the cruise.”
“That was different. It would have been a bad idea. This is a good idea.”
Ethan zipped up his bag and put it around his back. “Zodiac hijacking is an option to consider later,” he said. “For now, we walk.”
“Hey!” One of the expedition guides—Malcolm, the one with glasses who’d held the GPS when the ship had crossed the Antarctic Circle—hurried in our direction. “You can’t go any farther than this.”
“Of course.” Bella smiled. “Sorry.” She gave us a look, and we followed Malcom back to the outer edge of the area we were allowed to be in.
He looked up at the sky, pointed, and started saying something about the birds.
“Very interesting,” Bella said, clearly finding it anything but. “We can go over there, right?” She pointed in a general direction off to the side.
“Sure.” Malcolm startled slightly at how she’d cut him off, like he was offended that she didn’t want to hear more about the birds. “Just don’t go any farther out than this.”
“Thanks,” Bella said. “Got it.”
We walked off, staying in the acceptable area, and Malcolm hurried to another group of tourists to tell them more about the birds. Skuas. I’d learned about them on the TV while I’d been stuck in bed.
They loved hunting baby penguins during hatching season in January. They plucked them right out of their nests. I was glad we weren’t there during that time, because that wasn’t something I’d have wanted to witness.
Bella placed her backpack on the ground, unzipped it, and pulled out four vials of clear potion.
“Invisibility potion,” Mira said before I had a chance.
“One for each of us,” Bella said as she handed them out. “Cheers.” She uncapped her vial and chugged it down.
The three of us did the same.
The potion tasted like air. I wouldn’t have been sure I’d actually drank anything if the vial wasn’t empty afterward… and if my arms hadn’t turned ghostly sheer. A quick glance showed that my entire body looked like that.
Ethan, Mira, and Bella also looked like ghosts. Our backpacks, too, and assumedly everything in them.
“We can see each other because that was from the same batch,” Bella said. “We’re invisible to everyone else.”
“Cool.” I hadn’t taken invisibility potion before, but it felt freeing. Like I was an observer instead of actually there.
Something about being an observer in my own body felt weirdly familiar. Like déjà vu.
“Now, we walk,” Ethan said, and we continued forward without any guides bothering us again.
As we made our way to the opposite end of the island, the snow on the ground thickened. There were more penguins nearby, although we did as we were supposed to and stayed out of their way.
The island wasn’t big, so it wasn’t long before we reached the other side.
“Well?” I looked to Ethan, and he set the backpack down again and reached inside for the heart.
He was done in a second. “We’re close.”
“But not there yet?” I glanced out at the water. It was dark, and it looked cold. If we were going into another underwater kingdom…
I shuddered at the thought.
“We still have to go that way.” Ethan pointed to the mountains across the water again. “Sorry.”
Bella rubbed her hands together. “Zodiac hijacking it is.”
“Not so fast.” Mira held her hand over her forehead to block the sun. “Look.”
I glanced out to where a short, flat-topped iceberg about a few meters long drifted in our direction. A beautiful woman with long, platinum hair stood on top of it. She looked like Elsa from Frozen, except her outer gear was made of thick layers of animal skins, like those worn by Alaskan natives.
She scanned the general area where we were standing. “Where are you?” she asked.
I glanced at the others, saying nothing. Invisibility potion made us invisible, but it didn’t block sound.
“I know you’re out here,” she continued.
Invisibility potion also didn’t hide footprints.
She caught sight of the trail of them behind us, smiled, and the iceberg floated to the edge of the island.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she said, her voice soft and soothing. A light metallic smell drifted over to us—she was a vampire. “You can show yourselves.”
I nodded at the others. Because the dragon heart had led us here for a reason. And this woma
n was our only lead about what to do next.
If she attacked, it would be four against one. Besides, she already knew where we were from our trail of footprints.
Good thing Malcolm had been too involved in bird watching to have noticed those earlier.
Bella reached into her pack and pulled out four small tablets. They were the same ghostly color that we were—the same empty color of the invisibility potion.
We each took one and chewed. They were chalky, and within seconds, we were back to our visible selves.
The woman smiled as we shimmered into sight. “Much better,” she said. “I’m Katherine. Queen Katherine.”
I looked around the desolate landscape, then back to her. “Queen of what?”
“The Queen of the Seventh Kingdom.”
31
Gemma
I stared at her, shocked.
The Seventh Kingdom was a myth.
I nearly said so, but stopped myself. Because up until a few months ago, I’d thought everything supernatural was a myth.
Why would the Seventh Kingdom be any different?
Bella, apparently, didn’t feel the same way.
“The Seventh Kingdom doesn’t exist,” she said. “It’s an imaginary place the Earth Angel said she was from so she could be accepted as a contender to win Prince Jacen’s heart while he was choosing a bride.”
“It’s true that Annika Pearce—the Earth Angel, and the Queen of Cups—pretended to be a princess from my kingdom,” Queen Katherine said. “But the Seventh Kingdom does, in fact, exist. I’m here to lead you there.”
Ethan’s fingers tightened around the straps of his backpack. “Why?”
“Because we have something you’re looking for.”
“How do you know what we’re looking for?” I asked. “And how did you know we’d be here?”
“Avalon and the Haven aren’t the only kingdoms with prophetesses and witches,” she said. “We have our own. How else do you think we stayed hidden all this time?”
The Dragon Realm (Dark World: The Dragon Twins Book 2) Page 13