wasting time talking about things we can’t control.”
Luckily, my twin appeared satisfied with that answer.
“Finding the second half of the Crown is certainly a priority,” Mary said. “But first, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing bad, I promise,” she said. “In fact, it’s good news. About Harper.”
27
Gemma
Harper was alive.
I couldn’t believe it.
The weight I’d been carrying of feeling like I’d been partly responsible for her death lifted.
“I can’t believe she didn’t pass the Angel Trials,” I said. “If there was anyone I thought would definitely get into Avalon, it was her.”
“Fate works in mysterious ways,” Mary said.
“So when can we see her?”
“You will see her again,” she said. “But Harper is doing important work at the Vale. Rosella has advised that she isn’t to be interrupted.”
I sat back and frowned. “I understand,” I said, since I trusted Rosella. “But shouldn’t we at least let her know we’ve returned from Ember?”
“I’ll make sure she knows you’re back,” Mary promised. Then, she looked to the golden box that Ethan had placed on the bench beside him. “But I believe the three of you have the second half of the Holy Crown to find.”
“We do,” I agreed, relieved that the conversation seemed to have shifted away from me and the dark magic.
Ethan pulled the box onto his lap, opened it, and reached inside. He didn’t pull the heart out. Instead, he wrapped his hand around it while it was still inside the box.
He closed his eyes, deep in concentration.
None of us said a word.
Within seconds, his eyes snapped open.
“Bring me a map,” he said.
Mary stood and walked to a cabinet on the side of the room. She opened it, pulled out a large roll of parchment, and laid it out on the coffee table.
It was a detailed, hand-drawn map.
Ethan closed the box and placed it back down next to him. Then he got up, kneeled next to the coffee table, and pointed to a spot on the bottom of the map. “That’s where the second half of the Crown is,” he said.
I eyed the spot where he was pointing and shivered. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Antarctica,” Mira said with an excited smile.
Dread pooled in my stomach at the thought of the frozen continent. Ice. And water. Lots of it.
“Of course, I always imagined I’d go there on a cruise.” Mira tilted her head, then looked to Mary. “How, exactly, are we supposed to get there?”
“I must say—I’ve never been. Nor do I know of any witches who have, so they can’t teleport you there,” she admitted. “But it seems you already have the answer.”
“I do?”
“You’ve already looked into getting there by ship.”
“I have,” she said cautiously. “But those are cruises for people on vacation. And they’re expensive.”
“Do any of the kingdoms seem to lack money?” Mary asked.
“Well… no.” Mira looked around at the expensive decorations in the tearoom. “I just didn’t think you’d use that money to send us on a vacation.”
“It wouldn’t be a vacation. It would be a mission. Unless you have a more efficient idea of how to get to the Antarctic Peninsula?” Mary looked to me and Ethan, as if we might have the answer.
“By plane?” I said. “Or helicopter?”
Anything but a ship.
“Antarctica is the most preserved natural continent in the world,” Mira said. She’d been so interested in Antarctica that she’d gone to a science center near our house a few years ago to check out a special exhibit they had about it. “There are no airports or helicopter landing pads. Well, there are on the research stations, but I don’t believe there are any of those near where we’re heading.”
A quick search on Mary’s phone showed that there weren’t.
“Getting on board a ship heading to the Peninsula does sound like a solid way to get there,” Mary said as she continued to do searches on her phone. “Mid-March is the end of the Antarctica touring season, but I see one or two cruises I can get you on.”
“Leaving when?” I asked.
“In two days,” she said. “Which gives us more than enough time to work out the details of your trip.”
28
Gemma
On the morning of our departure, we went to the lobby of the hotel in the Haven, where Mary and a dark-haired witch in high-heeled black boots were waiting for us. There was a significant amount of luggage next to them—the witches of the Haven had packed for us to make sure we were ready for our journey. Packing for