“Aw, we wanted to see the monsters. I think they would be cooler than pirates,” Amber groaned, falling back on a huge bean bag chair.
“Yeah, pirates are… stupid,” Jade muttered, dropping down next to her sister.
“I can’t promise where we’ll end up first because I don’t know the world all that well. Remember, I’ve only been there once. Heck, I’m not even sure I can open a portal anymore! I haven’t made one in a long time,” Phoenix said with a note of exasperation in her voice.
Alice, who had been sitting cross-legged on a side table, tilted her head and shot a pointed glare at Bálint. “Well, Adaline and I wouldn’t mind seeing mermaids, but we’ll be happy with any of the kingdoms.”
Amber and Jade nodded in agreement.
“It will be fun just to explore,” Amber said.
Jade grinned at her sister. “Yeah, but it wouldn’t hurt our feelings if we did end up on the Isle of the Monsters first.”
“Of course you two would want the most dangerous place,” Bálint muttered.
Spring grinned, but her amusement faded when she glanced back toward Roam. He had leaned toward Adaline and was whispering in her ear. She snorted out a laugh and glanced at the twins. Spring swallowed past the lump in her throat and forced herself to speak.
“What about you two?” she asked, keeping her voice casual. “Where do you want to go?”
Adaline’s face lit up. “The Isle of Magic,” she said instantly. “I can learn some spells. It can’t be all that different from what we can do, right, Alice?”
Spring’s stomach twisted again.
Of course.
Adaline was already gifted in energy manipulation—why wouldn’t she want to become even stronger? Spring turned to Roam, waiting for him to agree with the boys about going to the Isle of the Pirates.
Roam shrugged. “I dunno,” he said easily. “Now that I think about it, they all sound pretty cool to me. I mean, it might be nice to be able to do some things that Alice and Adaline do. Who knows, some of the magic might rub off on me.”
“Magic?! Pirates, dude! You’re supposed to agree with us!” Zohar joked.
Roam laughed and ducked when Bálint threw a pillow at him. Spring wrapped her arms around her waist and sank down onto an oversized pillow when the boys started wrestling. She pursed her lips and glared at Roam when he ducked behind Adaline who sent the pillows flying back at the other two boys.
No ‘What do you want, Spring?’
No ‘Where do you want to go?’
Nothing.
He stupid boy. He learn, her dragon tried to soothe her.
What if he doesn’t? What will happen to us?
Her dragon snorted. We do our own thing. We don’t need no boy.
Chapter Four
The early morning light streamed through the palace windows, casting golden rays across the polished floors. The scent of fresh-baked pastries wafted from their living quarters. Their dad had made another kitchen run from the aroma that made their mouths water.
Phoenix and Spring waited by the door, watching as their father grabbed his jacket and looked around with a frown at the messy living room. Phoenix bit her lip. Three days without their mom home to keep them organized was beginning to show. Her dad did a double-take when Stardust, Phoenix’s symbiot, lifted its head and yawned from under a pile of unfolded clean clothes before he frowned at them.
“You two are up early,” Creon muttered with a raised eyebrow.
“I couldn’t sleep. You know what they say about the early worm,” Spring said with a bright smile.
Phoenix nodded. “She couldn’t sleep, so she got me up—to help her with the early worms,” she added, trying not to grimace at her lie.
“Plus, this way we get to see you off… for the day. To begin your day. Isn’t that right, Phoenix?” Spring said.
