The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,27
“You’re a fire elemental?” Her voice was bubbly and sweet, and I liked her already.
“And earth,” I said.
“That explains it,” she said. “I’m mainly water, but I have some fire in me, too. And I’d be honored to take one of the twins of prophecy to our kingdom. You’ll be safe with me—I promise.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Farrah.”
“All right, Farrah,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
Farrah’s dragon form was mostly blue like Topher’s, but with specks of orange scattered throughout. She was a bit smaller—it seemed like a shifter’s dragon form was in ratio to their human form. She showed her razor-sharp teeth in what I assumed was an attempt at a smile and lowered herself down so I could get on.
Climbing onto her back was easy. And judging by the large spike protruding out of the bottom of her neck—right in front of the place where I sat—dragons were meant to have human riders.
I wrapped my hands around the spike, and without warning, she dove into the water.
I sucked in a breath, closed my eyes, and braced myself for the cold.
But there was nothing. No water against my skin.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
I was still on Farrah’s back. We were underwater, inside a giant air bubble. The bubble followed us as she flapped her wings, flying us through the water. It was so dark that I could barely see anything except the outlines of the fish around us.
Then, an orange light glowed in the distance. As we approached, the light grew bigger, until I could make out an entire city at the bottom of the ocean. A domed kingdom with a tall palace in the center and gradually smaller buildings spreading outward into a circle, like the lost city of Atlantis.
“Wow,” I said, and Farrah flew through the water faster as we completed our approach.
We reached the dome, and she flew straight through it. The transition between being inside the air bubble around us to being inside the dome was seamless. Not even a single drop of water touched me.
People walking below paused to stare up at us. The streets were lined with blazing torches, which was why the city glowed orange. Fiery light came out of the windows, too.
We flew to the top of the central tower. There was a landing pad on the top of it—like the ones used for helicopters—and Farrah lowered us onto it.
I climbed off her back, and she shifted into human form.
“Where’s Mira?” I asked.
“Down below,” she said, and I noticed the start of a circular stairway at the corner of the roof. “Where our Elders are waiting to meet you.”
17
Gemma
I followed Farrah down to the top floor of the tower, where Mira, Topher, and two others—an older man and woman—were waiting. Despite their silvery hair and wrinkles around their eyes, they didn’t look weak.
The high ceilinged, circular room was gothic in design, with dark stone walls and floors. Tall windows looked out of all parts of it to the city below, and guards stood silently between them. The city radiated orange light, and the water surrounding the dome glowed blue. Colorful, reptilian fishes swam outside the dome, like a reversed aquarium, with them looking in on us.
My chest tightened at the thought of all the tons of water pressing down on the dome.
“How was the ride?” Mira asked casually.
“Good,” I said. “You?”
“Amazing.”
Torrence and her dragon came down the steps next, followed by Reed, and lastly, Ethan.
The Elders dropped down to their knees when Ethan entered.
“King Pendragon,” they said in unison.
“Darius,” Ethan said to the man, and then he looked to the woman. “Hypatia. It’s good to see you again.”
“I wish it were under better circumstances,” Hypatia said as she and Darius stood back up. “But it’s good to see you, too.”
Ethan simply nodded in response.
Darius, Hypatia, and all the guards watched Torrence and Reed, on high alert.
“I respect your authority as king,” Darius said tightly. “But I expect you have an explanation for bringing two mages into our kingdom.”
“I do,” Ethan said, and he told them everything that had happened since we’d arrived in Ember.
“They’ll be guarded at all times,” Hypatia said once he finished. “And we won’t hesitate to use force against them if they try anything against us.”
“You don’t have to talk about us like we’re not here,” Torrence said. “We can hear you.”
“We will talk as we please,” Hypatia snapped. “The two of you may have strong magic, but you’re outnumbered here. Don’t forget your place.”