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“Are you sure it will work?”
“It’s our only chance to get in now,” she said.
They distracted the creatures a bit to give Moon time to climb down and snatch up a head, then froze when they spotted yet another shadow in a distant corner on the branches. The three hastened their steps and jumped inside the barrier without hesitation, unfazed when Kin and a few others were waiting just at the edge. Maddox squeezed Ruby’s shoulder when Kin’s gaze swept over them.
“Did he succeed?” Kin asked.
“Yes,” Ruby announced, taking control of the situation. Her nerves from earlier were gone, replaced by steel. “And we brought proof.”
Murmurs rose when Moon stumbled forward and displayed the head, still dripping with blood. The boy dropped it after a few seconds, queasy, so Maddox blocked him from view. But all eyes were focused on the head.
“Where is he?” Kin asked after a thorough examination.
“Respecting the magic that it took to get this kill for you,” Ruby replied. “He left to meditate alone and does not want interference. He will be back when he is ready.”
The praises went on, a whispered mass all calling for their savior. Kin nodded in approval.
“Then he completed the final ritual, and we respect his actions. We are grateful for the witnesses, too, and would like to offer you a place to rest until he comes back.”
Ruby managed a smile, big enough to dazzle the people she lied to.
“That’s wonderful. We are grateful in return.”
Three treehouses were given, but Maddox opted to join Ruby in hers, understanding Moon could protect himself and give out a signal if there was impending danger. It was a good idea at first—until he realized the interior was smaller than he expected. He watched her flatten the mat on the wooden floor, then pat it.
“Come on,” she said. “Unless you want to return to your tree house.”
She lay down first. It wasn’t any different from when they were lying in the same bed in his house in Broom’s Isle, but that bed had at least been bigger. Maddox quietly lay beside her, eyeing the unique crystal light hanging from the ceiling and the flowers growing from vines that had crawled in through the cracks in the wood.
“You need to get some rest,” he said.
“I had the same energy potion that you did.”
“Then we should let Moon rest. Unless you still have some of that potion…”
“Unfortunately, it’s all gone.”
But her hand dipped inside her pockets once more, then came out gripping two objects. One was a glass ball similar to what had shattered in the forest, while the other was an oval-shaped stone with tiny bubble formations.
“What are those?”
“He threw this stone at me before he entered that portal. Something about me needing it. And I stole this ball.”
He didn’t ask questions, understanding she was getting there. When she shattered the glass ball, he knew the trust dynamics had shifted between them as she let him view what it showed: that of Broom’s Isle’s unfinished maps leading to different rumored treasures and sources of power. The images floated on top of them, their lying positions giving them the perfect angle to see everything.
Maddox pointed. “The treasure at the end of the rainbow?”
“It’s a popular myth, along with the creatures guarding the treasure. Look, there’s the dragon’s treasure. I’m not even sure dragon shifters exist anymore.”
“I’m sure they do. Just not as many as before, so they are probably in hiding. Or hibernating.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think that treasure’s hiding power.”
“You never know,” he disagreed. “There might be a magical gem there somewhere. But you are right. It doesn’t matter, because going after a dragon’s treasure guarantees nothing but death.”
They sifted through the rest until he glimpsed the shadowy image of a ship.
“The ghost ship?”
