Orion nodded. “He and his family will be arriving tomorrow.”
The breath rushed from Zohar’s lungs—but Orion wasn’t finished.
“And they’ll be bringing someone special with them. A young lady you might know—named Phoenix.”
Zohar staggered back a step, the words hitting him like a crashing wave. Emotion rose so fast, it choked him. Relief—pure and bright—washed over him, stealing the air from his lungs and replacing it with light.
“She’s okay?” he whispered, barely able to speak around the lump in his throat.
“Yes,” Orion confirmed. “And when Drago arrives, he and I will be traveling on with you and Phoenix to the Isle of Magic. There’s a chance some of your friends may have landed there.”
Zohar blinked back tears and gave a shaky, embarrassed laugh as he scrubbed at his eyes. “Sorry. I just…”
“I know,” Orion said softly. “Dinner will be ready soon. Take your time.”
Zohar nodded. “I’ll be in… in a minute.”
Orion gave his shoulder a squeeze, then turned and left him alone beneath the stars.
Zohar exhaled a long breath and tilted his face to the sky, letting the starlight touch his cheeks. Hope and relief overwhelming him for a moment. Somewhere out there, his dad was probably feeling the same emotions he was—fear, uncertainty, frustration.
All the things he was, only magnified a thousand times. Emotions he never appreciated until now.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to scare you. We’ll be home soon. I promise. But first…”
His eyes closed, voice trembling with quiet resolve.
“First, I need to find the others. I need to make sure they’re safe.”
Just then, something brushed against him—warm and tender, like the brush of a loved one’s hand across his cheek.
He stilled.
Inside him, his dragon stirred. A low, reassuring rumble echoed through his soul.
The Goddess hear you, his dragon murmured. She tell him. All good, you see. All good.
Zohar released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, his heart aching and full all at once.
And for the first time since he had fallen through the portal…
He felt a sense of peace.
Valdier:
* * *
Zoran braced his hands against the polished surface of the war table in the palace’s strategy room, the wood creaking faintly beneath the pressure of his weight. His head bowed, shoulders taut, as if the crushing weight of helplessness had finally anchored itself to his spine.
They had searched every known world in their database. Searched the archives for this Seven Kingdoms, and still nothing.
Not in the Valdier records.
Not in the Sarafin records.
Not in the Curizan.
There was no trace of where the teens went. No sign of Zohar.
