“Let’s see if we can find out what happened to your friends, young prince. I imagine they are as worried about you as you are about them.”
“Thank you, sir,” Zohar replied, relief and hope surging through him.
Late evening draped the sky in a velvet curtain of stars as Zohar stood alone on the moonlit terrace high atop the palace in the Upper Kingdom. Below him, the Isle of the Sea Serpent shimmered like a living dream, its glowing underwater city casting ripples of light across the sea’s dark surface. The soft hush of waves against the cliffs rose like a lullaby from the deep.
He leaned against the railing, arms folded, breath fogging faintly in the cool night air. Awe still pulsed through him from the day's adventure. He, Dolph, and Juno had explored the fabled city of the sea folk—under Orion and Jenny’s watchful gaze—swimming among creatures he had only ever seen in the picture books that his mom read to him by the glow of a bedtime lamp—books he now read to his little sister, Aurora, with the same wonder in his voice.
His heart clenched gently. He missed them. All of them.
Footsteps padded softly behind him.
Zohar didn’t turn at first. He smiled, already knowing who it was.
Orion came to stand beside him, eyes lifting toward the night sky. For a long moment, they stood in companionable silence, stars blinking like ancient beacons above them.
“I used to think aliens only existed in stories,” Orion murmured. “Now I know they’re real and live on other worlds… and sometimes right under our feet.”
Zohar gave a breathless, half-laugh. “I used to think mermaids and sea dragons were just myths. Now I’ve ridden a sea serpent and eaten dinner beside a Minotaur who giggles. I’m still not sure I’m not dreaming.”
Orion’s mouth lifted in a soft smile. “And how does that make you feel?”
Zohar didn’t answer right away. His gaze drifted upward, tracing the stars. Then he said, quietly, “Small… in some ways. But more connected in others.”
“Explain.”
Zohar hesitated, gathering the swirl of thoughts in his heart.
“On my mom’s world, they don’t even know aliens exist. And on mine, I didn’t know any of this did—until Phoenix opened the portal. We’re all different, but… we’re also not. We laugh, we hope, we fear. We love. I miss my family. My friends. But I’ve made new ones here, too. If we hadn’t come through that portal, I never would’ve known this world even existed.”
He gestured toward the sea and the glittering stars beyond it.
“I think… that might’ve been the saddest thing of all. Never knowing it was out there.”
His voice caught on a breath. Raw, real.
“Dolph told me future kings have to go on quests. That they need to live before they lead.” Zohar gave a nervous laugh, the sound shaky. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to be a king. If I’m ever even half the man my dad is, I’d be proud. But the truth is…”
He lowered his head, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m scared.”
Orion placed a steady hand on his shoulder, the weight grounding him like an anchor.
“I was too,” Orion said gently. “I imagine all leaders are, when they first step onto the path. Being a king isn’t about always having the answers. It’s about showing up. Listening. Learning. Failing—and trying again. You can’t grow into the man you’re meant to be if you never take that first step. And you already have. Dolph did that when he risked his life to bring Jenny here—to save a kingdom. Yet, he still has doubts.”
Orion paused, his eyes warm with quiet pride.
“You helped a lonely sea creature find peace. That wasn’t just an adventure. That was compassion. That was leadership. That was heart. And that tells me you’ll one day be a strong, wise ruler—one your people will follow not because they must, but because they believe in you.”
Zohar blinked hard and turned his gaze back to the stars, voice thick with emotion.
“Maybe you could tell my dad that,” he said with a tremulous smile. “He’s probably pacing a hole in the floor—or planning to ground me until I’m a hundred.”
Orion chuckled. “Yeah. I imagine he is.”
Then his smile softened even more. “Speaking of your friends… I heard from Drago.”
Zohar’s head snapped around. “You did?”
