Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Zohar stood awkwardly in the shallow pool, drenched from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
His boots squelched with every shift of weight.
His white, long-sleeve shirt clung to him like a second skin, and his shaggy, black hair was soaked and kept dripping into his eyes.
Water ran in slow, mocking trails down the back of his neck and into his pants, making him want to squirm.
“Well, this is... comfortable. Not!” he muttered under his breath as he climbed over the edge of the reflection pool.
He was just about to shift back into his dragon and blow himself dry when a soft hum of power tickled across his skin.
The younger of the two boys staring at him lifted his hand.
Zohar watched in disbelief as the water clinging to his clothes, skin, and hair suddenly shimmered and rose in silvery ribbons that peeled away and floated upward like snakes dancing in the air.
He froze, eyes wide, as the water twisted, curled, and flowed cleanly away, pulling the dampness from every spot on him.
With a graceful flick of his fingers, the younger boy guided the glistening water back into the reflection pool. Not a drop spilled.
Zohar’s mouth fell open. “Whoa.”
Juno beamed.
Zohar blinked at him for a second, then grinned. “Thanks. That was awesome.”
“I’m Juno. That’s Dolph. You looked like a wet mop,” Juno said brightly. “I didn’t think dragons liked being soggy.”
“We don’t,” Zohar replied, running his hands through his shaggy, dry hair.
The two boys looked a little like Roam, their white-blond hair distinctive, but Zohar didn’t say so, because the older boy was standing still as stone, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. The shift in energy was immediate. Juno’s carefree enthusiasm vanished as he turned to his older brother.
Dolph didn’t move. “What part of the Isle of the Dragon are you from?”
Zohar’s smile faltered. “I’m… not. I’m not from the Isle of the Dragon.”
Dolph’s brow creased.
“I’m from Valdier.”
“Valdier?” Juno echoed, perking up. “Where’s that?”
Zohar barely glanced at him, distracted by the sheer wonder of the archive. Scrolls, tomes, ancient weapons, glowing maps, and floating crystal spheres filled the room like something from one of his Aunt Cara’s crazy, science-meets-magic projects. He couldn’t help it—he was fascinated.
“It’s a planet,” he murmured absently. “Far, far away.”
Dolph’s shoulders stiffened. “How did you get to the Seven Kingdoms?”
Zohar looked back at him. “My cousin Phoenix. She opened a portal. We were just messing around. You know—school break, no plans, thought we’d explore—”
The words died in his throat as Dolph’s expression darkened, his jaw clenched, and his voice rang out with sharp authority.
“Juno. Get Dad. Now.”
Zohar barely had time to react before a shimmering wall of water erupted around him.
It rose like a living wave, curving into a perfect, glistening sphere that enclosed him completely.
Cold mist clung to the inside. His arms jerked outward instinctively, then snapped back to his sides as the sphere sealed with a soft hiss and a faint electrical tingle danced across his skin where his hands had brushed the barrier.
“What the—?!” he shouted, spinning around. “Hey! What is this?!”
Dolph’s arms were raised, his eyes glowing faintly with power. “You’re another alien. Another one who’s come to invade our world.”
“I—What? No!” He slammed his palms against the shimmering containment. It rippled… and then struck back. A current surged from the barrier, lashing at his hand. He cried out in surprise and jerked back, cradling his fist to his chest.
“Listen to me!” he said, panic creeping into his voice. “We’re not here to hurt anyone! We were bored! That’s all, I swear! Phoenix opened a portal, and it went—weird! I’m not here to conquer anything! We just wanted to have some fun.”
Juno hesitated at the door. “Dolph… he doesn’t look like the other alien. That one was scary. Mean. Zohar doesn’t look mean.”
Dolph didn’t budge. “No one looks mean when they’re trying to trick you,” he said, his eyes locked on Zohar. “An evil alien isn’t going to announce they’re here to take over the world.”
“Well…” Juno looked like he wanted to argue, but then he said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Ok…” he agreed, but he dragged his feet and looked over his shoulder as he moved to leave.
Zohar dropped to the floor of the sphere with a groan, slumping forward until his knees were drawn up under his chin and his arms dangled over them. “This is exactly what Phoenix warned us about,” he muttered.
His dragon was not being helpful.
Told you. Should have stayed home. Should have waited.
Now you decide to be wise? Zohar grumbled mentally.
You don’t listen. You never listen. You charge in like a big tail with tiny wings.
“I don’t charge in,” Zohar hissed under his breath.
You do. No thinking. Always acting. Always flapping. If you want to be king one day, you must think. Thinking first is good.
“Well, I‘m thinking now,” he mumbled, glowering at the floor.
“Who are you talking to?” Dolph’s voice was wary, suspicious.
Zohar sighed and lifted his head. “My dragon,” he said flatly. “He’s not impressed with me lately.”
Juno’s head popped back into the room from the doorframe. “You talk to your dragon, and it talks back to you?”
“I thought you were leaving!” Dolph accused Juno.
“I was, but then I thought I shouldn’t leave you alone with him, and now I want to know about the dragon who secretly talks to Zohar!”
“More like argues,” Zohar admitted ruefully.
“He’s not exactly… quiet. Especially when I screw things up.
I’m supposed to never screw up, you know?
I’ll be king one day—if I can get back home and if I don’t get myself killed or imprisoned forever before then.
I’m just glad my symbiot isn’t here.” He leaned his head on his hand.
“It would be twice as bad. I hate it when they gang up on me.”
Dolph frowned. “You’re a prince?”
Zohar hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. You’ve got yourself a royal prisoner. Congratulations.” He looked down at his knees.
The air in the room shifted.
Dolph’s arms slowly lowered. The glow in his eyes faded.
“I know what that feels like,” he said, his voice unexpectedly understanding.
Zohar lifted his gaze.
Dolph crossed the floor and stood just outside the sphere. “I’m supposed to be Sea King one day,” he said. “Everyone expects it. They all think I’ll be ready. That I’ll just… grow into it.”
He met Zohar’s eyes.
“But most days? I feel like I’m still a kid just trying to keep my little brother from setting the curtains on fire.”
“Hey, I didn’t set the curtains on fire. That was Stone and DJ. I put it out,” Juno protested.
“Same,” Zohar muttered with a wry grin. “Only it’s usually me and my cousins getting into trouble. We’re pretty good at doing that.”
Dolph stared at him for a long beat. Then, slowly, he waved his hand.
The water holding Zohar suspended vaporized into a mist, leaving him sitting on the cold stone floor. He blinked up at Dolph.
“Thanks,” he said quietly, offering the other boy a crooked smile.
Dolph gave him a brief nod and offered his hand.
Zohar took it.
They silently studied each other, realizing they had a lot more in common than not.
Two future kings.
Neither one ready. Neither one perfect.
But maybe… not so alone anymore.
“Does this mean we aren’t telling Dad about him now?” Juno asked with a grin.
Dolph crossed his arms and leaned against the stone archway near the reflection pool, watching Zohar with a thoughtful expression.
The other boy was hunched low on the edge of a weathered bench, elbows on his knees, head bowed as drops of water from the sphere Dolph had created clung to his dark hair.
The bravado he’d shown earlier—the cocky edge, the wry humor—had melted away, leaving behind someone who was so familiar, he could almost have been a mirror image of Dolph, despite them looking nothing alike.
“You said… ‘we’,” Dolph began carefully. “When you were talking about the portal. How many of you came through?”
Zohar hesitated. His shoulders twitched, rising in a slow breath before falling again.
“Ten,” he said quietly. “There are ten of us, including me.”
Dolph’s eyebrows lifted, and he released a low, impressed whistle. “Ten? You opened a portal for ten people?”
Zohar winced and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I didn’t. My cousin, Phoenix, opened it.
She’s really powerful in a cool way. She’s created portals before.
This one… They are usually really good… stable.
” He swallowed. “But… there was this bug from the garden. I guess the colors attracted it. Anyway, the bug scared the girls, and they knocked into us. Phoenix wasn’t finished making the portal, and—well… ”
Zohar grimaced, guilt etching across his face like cracks in stone.
“It all happened so fast. One second we were in the garden back home, the next we were on these colorful threads zooming through space. It was incredible—until the threads started breaking apart and-and disappearing. The one I was on disappeared.”
“That must have been scary. What happened to the others?” he asked.
“It was. I saw a few others disappearing through holes before me. I think it dropped everyone across the different kingdoms. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.
I-I’ll never forgive myself if something happened to the others.
I should have thought this through better.
I should have… I should have been the leader that I’m supposed to be, instead of a bored, spoiled teenager looking for thrills,” Zohar finished, looking away.
A wave of compassion flashed through Dolph. He could see the worry on the other boy’s face. Zohar clasped his hands together, rubbing his palms against each other, before he stared at them as his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.
“I really thought I was going to die.”