And the Loch Ness monster.
“So, why do you want a map to a sea monster?” Juno asked, swinging his legs.
Dolph groaned and tugged at his hair. His brother’s questions were like water dripping on a stone—relentless. He finally sighed and dropped beside Juno, kicking at a loose tome with his toe.
“Mom said it might be the last of its kind,” he muttered. “That it could be lonely. I thought if I could find it… maybe I could take it to Aunt Nali. She’d know if there were others. That way… it wouldn’t be alone anymore.”
Silence.
Juno stood and turned to face Dolph, placing a small hand on his knee and giving him a crooked smile.
“You’re a good brother, Dolph,” Juno said, blinking rapidly. “You’re going to make a wonderful Sea King one day.”
“Thanks,” Dolph muttered, embarrassed by his brother’s kind words.
Dolph glanced over Juno’s shoulder—then blinked.
His heart stuttered and his mouth dropped open in surprise. And then he let out a strangled laugh, pushing Juno aside with a startled burst of excitement.
“It's there!” he breathed, pointing across the long, shallow reflection pool that mirrored the glowing sconces lining the wall. “The map! I can’t believe it’s been there this whole time.”
A carved frame, barely visible behind a hanging tapestry, gleamed faintly in the golden light. It pulsed with soft blue sigils that shifted as they stared.
Juno spun to look. “That’s it?”
“That’s it!” Dolph practically bounced on the balls of his feet.
He took two eager steps forward before he jerked to a stop when Juno suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Wait. What’s that?”
The surface of the pool rippled. A single bubble broke the surface. Then another.
A low vibration thrummed through the floor.
Dolph’s heart skipped.
“Dolph? What’s going on? Is it supposed to do that?” Juno asked, taking a step back.
Dolph turned just as the pool exploded upward in a tower of water. Mixed in the water was a dark shape that rocketed downward like a missile.
“Look out!” he yelped, shoving Juno behind him and raising his hand instinctively to shield them from the wave.
The deluge crashed down, soaking the crates and scattering scrolls. Parchment flapped in the air like startled birds. One of the enchanted globes flickered in protest.
Dolph and Juno watched in stunned disbelief as the figure that had been captured in the whirlpool suddenly broke the surface, gasping and sputtering, and then blinked at them, his glowing gold eyes wild with confusion.
Then the creature sputtered and coughed again before he rose from the shallow pool. Dolph and Juno watched with a wary eye as the creature shook from the top of his dark brown head to the tip of his tail.
Juno clutched Dolph’s arm. “What is that?”
Dolph’s eyes narrowed with disappointment. “It looks like a dragon.”
Another cough. Then the creature shimmered into a tall, dark-haired boy, who rasped out, “Ugh. Did someone turn the ocean upside down?”
Juno’s bottom lip protruded out as their “creature” held his arms out and shook them. “Aw, a dragon? We’ve already got loads of dragons. We want a new monster for Nali.”
The boy apologetically grimaced as he looked up at them, water dripping off the tip of his nose.
