The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,53

by an earthy, meaty concoction brewing in the cauldron over the fireplace.

The fire called to me, the flames leaning slightly in my direction.

“Meet Genevieve, Constance, and Isemay.” Queen Katherine pointed to each woman as she said her name. “My loyal subjects in the Seventh Kingdom.”

“There are only four of you?” Mira looked baffled.

I was also surprised, although unlike my sister, I did my best to hide it.

Ethan focused on Isemay, the dark-skinned dragon with soft almond eyes. “How did you get here?” he asked. “There haven’t been any dragons on Earth in centuries.”

“I arrived with the dragons when we first left Ember to explore Earth,” she said in a strange accent I couldn’t quite place.

“Impossible,” Ethan said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the dragons came to Earth centuries ago. You don’t look a day over twenty-five.”

“Incorrect,” she said. “I’m twenty-seven.”

“It’s close enough,” he said. “Given that you should be long dead.”

She frowned, then looked to Queen Katherine, as if it wasn’t up to her to say more.

“Please, join us around the table,” Queen Katherine said to the three of us. “We’ve prepared a hot stew to enjoy while we fill you in on the purpose of the Seventh Kingdom, and our duty as its inhabitants.”

I glanced at the cauldron, and while I still instinctively trusted Queen Katherine, I also worried about consuming something when I didn’t know what was inside of it.

“It smells amazing,” Mira said, apparently not sharing my concern. “I’m starving.”

“Wait,” Ethan said, and Mira stopped when she was halfway to the table. He looked back to Queen Katherine, and continued, “You told us that you had what we were seeking. We trusted you by following you to your kingdom. Now, I think it’s only fair that before we sit down to a meal, you show us that you have what we came here for.”

“Understandable,” she said, and then she looked to Genevieve. “Go fetch it.”

Genevieve stood up—she was tall and willowy, with the classic looks of a Hollywood movie star—and walked into the next room. She returned holding a wooden box with sheer frost covering all sides of it. It was the same size as the gold box in Ethan’s backpack that held our half of the Holy Crown.

“Open it,” Queen Katherine said.

Genevieve did as commanded.

Inside the box was the second half of the Holy Crown. The small clear crystals and half of a crescent moon on the end were mirror images of the Crown in Ethan’s bag.

I wanted to run for the box and take it. But I also didn’t want to start a fight with an original vampire, a powerful witch, another vampire, and a dragon. So I stayed where I was, although my eyes remained glued on the second half of the Crown.

“How long have you had it here?” Ethan asked.

“We’ve guarded this half of the Crown for centuries,” Queen Katherine said. “Right after the dragons came to Earth, Isemay came to me with it. She said a fae with omniscient sight came to Ember with both halves of the Crown. He instructed the King of Ember to guard the first half. Then he gave the second half to Isemay, told her to find me, and gave her instructions on what to tell me to do with it.”

“The fae with omniscient sight was Prince Devyn,” I said.

“He was,” Isemay confirmed.

Queen Katherine gave Genevieve a pointed look, and the witch closed the box and placed it on a side table against the wall. “Now do you trust me to sit down to a meal?” she asked. “You know the rules of the kingdoms. Trust must be shown before deals are made.”

I nodded, since I’d learned that in Utopia.

Trust was shown by accepting food from your hosts. And I did trust Queen Katherine. So I walked over to the table and sat in the chair next to the other vampire, Constance. She was small with strawberry blonde hair, and appeared the least threatening of the three.

Ethan sat in the seat next to me, and Mira took the seat next to him.

“Isemay—get our guests some water,” the queen said. “I’ll serve the stew.”

Within a minute, we were all gathered around the table with glasses of water and steaming bowls of stew.

I picked up my spoon and studied the stew suspiciously. The meat inside was unidentifiable. “What’s in it?” I asked.

Please don’t say penguin.

“Whale,” Queen Katherine said, and my stomach dropped.

They expected me to eat whale?

However, I supposed I ate many other fish. And, more importantly, we needed the