The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,40

guards picked up Landon’s body and carried it out of the room. Another two followed them out, then returned with cleaning supplies and got started on cleaning up the mess.

“How long will it take for the heart to be ready?” I asked.

“They’ll work efficiently,” Hypatia said. “It won’t be long.”

The guards finished cleaning up, and Hypatia and Darius gave me and Mira tips on how to use our elemental magic. Up until getting to Ember, Ethan had been the only person who’d been able to help us learn to use our dragon magic. And while Ethan was strong, it was helpful to learn from others, too. Especially ones who were so much older, simply because they’d had more time to master their skills.

Torrence and Reed watched from the side, both of them smart enough to know to stay quiet and in the background, to make sure the dragons didn’t think they were any sort of threat.

A little over an hour passed before the guards returned. One of them carried a small gold box. He approached Ethan, kneeled, and held it up to him. “King Pendragon,” he said.

Revulsion crossed Ethan’s eyes as he stared down at the box.

Does he need me to take it for him?

I nearly did just that.

Then, I stopped myself.

Of course he’s having a tough time, I thought. This probably reminds him of what happened to his dad.

“Thank you,” Ethan finally said, and he took the box from the guard.

The guard stood and resumed his post by the wall.

Ethan opened the box and stared at the contents inside, his expression neutral.

“When you’re ready, pick up the heart and think of the object you seek,” Hypatia said. “If it locates it, you’ll get a general sense of where it is. The fresher the heart, the more accurate the location will be.”

Ethan took a deep breath, then removed the heart from the box. His hand covered most of it, sparing us the gory details. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

We watched him silently, waiting for him to locate the second half of the Crown.

After the longest minute ever, he opened his eyes and looked to Hypatia. “Nothing’s happening,” he said, and disappointment filled me to the core.

So much for that plan.

“I thought that might be the case,” she said.

Mira’s bright blue eyes widened. “If it might not work, then why did you let Landon sacrifice himself?”

Why did she care so much about Landon? She hadn’t known him. And he hadn’t been murdered. He’d chosen to sacrifice himself.

You’d think we’d seen enough death by now for her to start growing numb to it.

Like I have.

“A dragon heart can only track an object if that object is in the same realm as the heart,” Hypatia explained. “If Ethan feels nothing, then the second half of the Holy Crown likely isn’t in Ember.”

“We’ve only been to two other realms,” Ethan said. “Earth and the Otherworld.”

“We’ve been to Mystica,” Torrence chimed in. “Although after our experience there, I have no intention of ever returning.”

“How many realms are there?” Mira asked.

“The only known realms are Ember, Earth, the Otherworld, Mystica, and Hell,” Hypatia said. “And Avalon, although Avalon is anchored to Earth. But, might I suggest you start with the most likely one of the bunch?”

“You mean Earth?” I asked.

“Precisely.”

“But if the second half of the Crown is on Earth, wouldn’t Lavinia have found it already?”

“To find an object, you have to focus on what is it you’re looking for,” Hypatia said. “Lavinia doesn’t know the Crown has been split into two. She doesn’t know to look for half of it. She cannot find what doesn’t exist. And the Crown in its entirety doesn’t exist.”

“But she can locate the other three Holy Objects,” I said. “So why didn’t she use the heart to track down Annika, Raven, and Selena?”

“Who says she hasn’t?” Torrence chimed in.

Hypatia looked at her calmly. “Go on.”

“Lilith has been extremely strategic in this war for the sixteen years she’s been on Earth,” Torrence continued. “We know she’s on a mission to find all four Dark Objects, and that she hasn’t acquired all of them yet. We also know she’s been hunting gifted humans, turning them into gifted vampires, and draining them for their blood. We still haven’t figured out why she’s doing this, but it has to all be for some greater plan. She’s probably waiting to attack until she has all her pieces in place.”

“A logical conclusion,” Hypatia said, and Torrence looked pleased with herself for getting the dragon Elder