The Dragon Realm (Dark World The Dragon Twins #2) - Michelle Madow Page 0,60

while we were away.

“I thought I heard someone up here.” She studied me, and worry creased her brow. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I said bitterly, since there was no point in lying.

“Care to talk about it?”

And just like that, the entire story came pouring out, tears and all. At some point, we went down to the café, and Shivani brewed me a spicy chai tea with the perfect amount of warm milk.

“You’ve gotten good at this,” I said after a few sips, feeling much calmer than I had when I’d arrived. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that Shivani had added to the chai, but it was delicious.

“It’s helping you feel better?” she asked.

“No,” I muttered. “What they did to me…” I trailed off as another wave of agony crashed over me. The emptiness in my soul couldn’t be fixed with a cup of chai tea, no matter how delicious it was. “The two people I loved most in the world betrayed me. I’m never going to be okay again. This pain is something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life.”

“What if I told you I can take away the pain?”

For the first time since seeing Ethan and Gemma together, a sliver of hope rose in my chest. “You can do that?”

“I can’t do it,” she said. “But I know someone who can.”

“Who?”

“She goes by the name the Voodoo Queen. She has a shop in New Orleans. I can teleport us there now, if you’d like.”

I’d learned about the Voodoo Queen while studying in Utopia. She was very powerful.

And she practiced dark magic. Strong dark magic.

Shivani watched me with an intense hunger in her eyes, waiting for my answer.

“What’s in it for you?” I asked.

“Nothing.” She blinked, and her expression softened. “Why?”

I finished off my drink, then placed the empty mug down on the table. Another wave of calmness washed over me, and I felt silly for questioning Shivani.

Shivani was from the Haven, and all Haven witches were peaceful. She wouldn’t have given me this offer if she didn’t believe it would help.

And I needed all the help I could get. Because I couldn’t go on feeling so betrayed, unloved, and abandoned. The emptiness in my soul would eat away at me from the inside out, until I was a shell of the person I once was.

The thought of the pain to come hurt too much to bear.

But I didn’t have to bear it. Not if I went with Shivani to the Voodoo Queen.

“I’m in,” I said, and relief coursed through me at the thought of feeling better soon. “When do we leave?”

“We can go now.”

“Do I need to bring anything?”

“All you need is yourself. The Voodoo Queen can handle the rest.”

She stood and held out her hands.

“Shouldn’t we send her a fire message?” I asked. “So she knows we’re coming?”

“Her shop is open,” Shivani said. “She’ll be there. And she has a very specific way she likes to do these things.”

I nodded, unsure why I was hesitating. Taking the pain away was what I wanted.

It was what I needed.

Maybe I’d even be able to move on. I doubted it, since I couldn’t imagine there being anyone out there more perfect for me than Ethan. But at least it wouldn’t hurt anymore. At least I’d be giving myself a chance to be happy.

So I stood and took Shivani’s hands, not giving myself another moment to question my decision.

She teleported us out immediately. My stomach swooped as the ground disappeared under my feet, but the feeling only lasted for a second.

We landed on solid ground, and I opened my eyes.

We were in a dimly lit room with no windows. The walls were concrete blocks, and the floor flat cement. It reminded me of the unfinished part of our basement at home. The only furniture inside was a table and chairs, with a pad of paper and a pen on top of it.

And as I looked around, I realized—there were no doors.

My chest tightened.

We were trapped.

“What is this place?” I asked Shivani.

“It’s the Voodoo Queen’s private meeting space,” she said. “Where she performs her most dangerous spells and delivers her most secret potions.”

“She couldn’t make it a bit more… welcoming?”

“Criminals of all kind come to her for her services. She needs to keep the space as safe as possible, to ensure none of them turn against her.”

“And where is she?”

“Upstairs. I have to send her a fire message from this room—with the pen and