The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,57
whole.
The one my head was still there, too.
Now, there truly were two Crowns, existing in nearly the same space. The implications of that were too huge to comprehend. My brain felt dizzy from trying.
“The Holy Crown is whole,” Genevieve said, and then she looked to Ethan. “It’s time for you to crown our fourth and final Queen.”
I stood totally still as I watched the next moments, knowing exactly how they would play out.
Constance told me and Mira to stand with our backs to each other and close our eyes, to take the pressure off of Ethan.
Constance, the vampire prophetess.
Would Ethan have crowned me over Mira if we were both watching?
Given that the Crown would have killed her—if I wasn’t dead and watching this from some ghost-like limbo, which I still hadn’t discounted—I hoped he would have.
In my heart, I knew he would have. Because since Ethan loved me, crowning Mira would have been the same thing as murdering her.
So why did me and Mira have to stand back-to-back, not looking at Ethan?
If I got the chance, I was definitely going to ask Constance.
But for now, I had to stay hidden. I had to let these final moments play out the way I already knew they would.
A sense of strangeness floated over me as I watched myself enter the scene and stand with my back against Mira’s. I looked so calm and serene.
How had I pulled that off? Because I remembered the anxiety that had been coursing through me in that moment. I’d felt anything but calm.
I’d been jealous.
Jealous because I’d thought Mira was about to be crowned as the Queen of Pentacles and gifted with power over the fifth element. I’d been trying to stop myself from getting upset by telling myself that there was another destiny out there for me, but it hadn’t changed the fact that I’d wanted to be the Queen.
I’d always been told that I was good at hiding my emotions. Mira had been one of the few who could see through me, and in the past few months, I’d nearly mastered hiding my feelings from her.
No one watching would have had any idea of the bitter, jealous thoughts running through my head in those seconds before being crowned.
I leaned forward, since this was the moment I’d been wondering about—what Ethan had looked like when he’d decided to crown me instead of Mira.
Then, other Gemma’s eyes darted to the door—the one I was watching through.
I flattened myself against the wall.
“Is there someone else here?” I heard myself ask.
“It’s only the seven of us,” Queen Katherine said. “Why?”
“I just… thought I saw something.”
My heart leaped.
Because I hadn’t looked over here before. I hadn’t said that before.
Just by standing here and watching through the crack, I’d changed what had happened mere minutes ago.
Although given that I’d gotten all my memories back, it felt like it had been so much longer than that. Well, my sort of memories. Could they be called memories when they hadn’t truly happened?
It was more like I’d gotten my memories of my fake-memories back.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get crazier… here I was.
“You’re nervous,” Constance said to the other me. “Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon, and all will be well.”
Was Constance helping me? Not the other me… but the me over here?
Did she know I was here?
Stay still, I told myself, remaining totally flat against the wall. Don’t give the other me another reason to look over here.
“Okay,” I finally heard myself say. Skeptical, but accepting. “Let’s get this over with.”
I could practically hear the undercurrent in my tone.
It’s time to let Ethan crown Mira as Queen.
Oh, other-Gemma. If only you had any idea of what’s going to happen next.
Slowly, I moved to peek through the crack again.
The other me had her eyes closed. Mira’s back was facing me, but I knew she had hers closed, too.
I saw other-me’s lips move as I told Mira good luck. And while I couldn’t hear from where I was standing, I knew Mira said, “You, too.”
Ethan stepped forward, holding the Holy Crown in both of his hands. He looked at Mira and frowned, his expression pained. Then, he looked to me, and there was no doubting it—his eyes shined with love. Real, true love, just like how I remembered him looking at me in the memories when he and I were together.
My heart stopped, and I held my breath, watching as Ethan placed the Holy Crown on my head.