“We’ve been sitting outside a throne room for-ev-er. On the Isle of Magic. In a parallel world. Waiting for the grownups to tell us where our friends vanished to… because? We should be in there!”
Zohar gave a lazy grin. “Naw. We’re just a couple of stupid kids. Let the grownups handle it.”
“We are not stupid kids!” she growled.
“Uh, who decided it was a great idea to create a portal to an unknown dimension because they were bored? Oh, yeah… us! And don’t forget that we did it without telling their parents?”
She let out a snort-laugh despite herself. “Alright, you win. We’re a bunch of stupid kids.”
They were still chuckling when the throne room doors creaked open with a low groan of magic and polished wood. Drago and Orion stepped out, both wearing matching rueful expressions.
Phoenix jumped to her feet, impatient to know what had happened. She nearly yanked Zohar to his feet when he merely sat up.
“Well?” she asked, tension snapping into her voice like a drawn bow. “Did Queen Magika find anything?”
Drago nodded, his dark blue eyes warm but serious. “She traced your young friend—Alice—and Geoff. They are on the Isle of the Elementals.”
Phoenix exhaled in a rush. “Thank goodness! Are they okay? Did she tell them we were here—that we are coming to get them?”
Orion stepped forward, his usually stern features softening. “We believe they’re alright. Queen Magika contacted King Ruger and Queen Adrina. They’ve been asked to keep an eye out for any newcomers.”
Phoenix tilted her head. “Have they seen anything yet?”
Drago shook his head. “No sightings so far, but now that they know what to look for, they’re dispatching search teams across the isle.”
Zohar crossed his arms. “So what do we do now?”
Drago’s lips curled into a slow grin.
Orion clapped him on the shoulder. “We head to the Isle of the Elementals, of course.”
Phoenix blinked. “When? Now? How long will it take to get there?”
Drago chuckled at her impatience. “Yes, now. Not long. It’s a good thing the isle is back in its original place or we would have been in trouble,” Drago teased.
Zohar leaned in. “You two are enjoying this.”
“Absolutely,” Drago said with a wicked grin, striding along the corridor toward the exit. “You think we get to chase alien kids through enchanted realms on a regular basis? This is way more fun than treaty negotiations.”
Orion gave an exaggerated sigh. “You haven’t lived until you’ve spent twelve hours listening to royals debate border rights. This is a vacation.”
Phoenix shook her head, laughing. “You two sound just like our dads, don’t they, Zohar?”
Zohar perked up. “Yeah. Dad’s always going blah-blah-blah, and Ha’ven said this, and Vox said that…. Wait—what’s an Elemental? What can they do? Do they control lightning? Or like… turn into air or something? Are we going to see lava monsters?”
Drago raised a brow. “Yes. Something like that. I really, really hope not!” He shuddered and Orion shot him a sympathetic look.
“Drago had a bad encounter with a lava monster. Even dragons aren’t a match for those creatures,” Orion said.
“This is going to be so cool,” Zohar said with an excited grin. “I’ve never met someone who could turn into air. Alice and Adaline can do some awesome stuff, but they don’t turn into anything weird.”
“This world is pretty cool,” Phoenix agreed before her smile wobbled and she looked at Drago. “I hope the others feel the same way once we catch up with them.”
Drago rested his hand on her shoulder. “Everything will be alright. From the sound of it, your friend Alice was having a very good time.”
Phoenix frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It would appear she has found an admirer in Geoff Fae,” Orion chuckled.
