Chapter 12 #2
The words hung in the air, sharp, soft, and raw. Zohar wiped a hand under his nose and turned his head, blinking hard at the floor.
“My mom… my dad… my little sister, they’d never even know what happened. I would have just been… gone. Now, I can’t stop thinking about what if it—what if it has happened… to one of my friends,” he mumbled.
Dolph remained silent, a lump forming in his throat.
There was nothing he could say. Zohar would already know that it was possible, even probable, that the forces that had brought Zohar to the Isle of the Sea Serpent had also protected the others wherever they had emerged.
But it wasn’t guaranteed. The worry would stay with Zohar until he knew for sure.
“I was one of the big instigators,” Zohar confided with a deep sigh. “It’s not the first time, either. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. We’ve been on lots of adventures on Valdier, and even on Earth—that’s where my mom’s from.”
That information made Dolph widen his eyes, noticing the extraordinary coincidences of both of them having mothers from Earth, both of them having visited Earth before, and Zohar having appeared now of all times.
“Somehow, we’ve always pulled it off,” Zohar continued, “but nothing like this. We’ve always been together. Never… never alone.” He shook his head, his eyes dull. “But this time? I didn’t think it through. I didn’t think about how dangerous it could be. Not just for me, but for the others.”
He pressed his palms together tightly, as if trying to hold the confession in. “I put everyone in danger… all because I was bored.”
“My dad could find out… about your friends. He would know,” Dolph offered.
Zohar looked up at him. “Do you think he would help me?”
“He’ll help you, Zohar!” Juno chimed in. “If your friends are anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, our dad can find them, can’t he, Dolph?”
“Yeah. If your friends landed on the other isles, everything will be alright. Everyone is pretty cool,” Dolph added.
A relieved smile curved Zohar’s lips before he looked around him with a curious expression. “So, where am I?”
“We’re in the upper archives room,” Juno answered. “We’re going on a-a quest? Isn’t that right, Dolph? Maybe Zohar can go with us before we tell Dad about him,” Juno exclaimed with growing excitement.
Dolph smiled at his brother. “Well, Dad would be more likely to know something if we gave it a little time. Your friends probably got here at the same time you did, right? And you just arrived. So, maybe you’d be interested in a quick adventure before we tell Dad about you?
Just to kill some time, you know...” he said, playing it cool.
Zohar’s frown furled with indecision. “Maybe. What’s the adventure?”
Dolph smiled and turned, slowly circling the reflection pool.
“Jenny—our mom—told us about a creature called Nessie. It’s a sea monster in Loch Ness, back on Earth.
I think it might be one of Aunt Nali’s sea creatures that got sucked through an underwater portal.
Juno and I were going to find it and bring it back,” he explained, watching the bemused expression on Zohar’s face.
“Back on Earth, huh? Isn’t that funny,” Zohar marveled. “It does sound fun… and finding a monster probably won’t take that long. It’s a big monster, right?”
“Right.”
Zohar grinned and looked at Dolph. “I guess one more adventure couldn’t hurt. Is there something here in the archives that you needed for the quest?”
Dolph grinned back, his own excitement building. “An old map that shows where the ancient underwater portals are.”
He skirted the reflection pool and walked across to the wall behind it, then reached up and gently pulled the frame down from its partially hidden spot behind the tapestry. The map’s light shimmered across his face, runes shifting like water beneath the surface.
Boredom. Zohar’s faint confession rang through his mind. That was the same reason he was down here.
He had told himself it was about doing something important. About helping a creature that might be alone in the world.
But the truth?
He wanted a quest.
Something real.
Something that made his heart race and his spirit burn with purpose.
And maybe, Dolph thought with a hard swallow, this was what becoming a king really looked like—being brave and diving into the unknown when no one’s watching.
He stared at the map, shifting the view between the linked worlds of Earth and the Seven Kingdoms, watching the glowing lines connecting them move. Then he walked back toward Zohar, the map cradled in his hands like something sacred.
The other boy hadn’t moved. He could tell Zohar was still struggling with his guilt and doubt.
Dolph stopped in front of him.
“You know…” he said slowly. “A good king has to go on noble quests so he can learn to handle the challenges that he will one day face. At least, that is what Uncle Ashure says.”
Zohar’s head lifted, eyes narrowed in confusion.
Dolph held out the glowing map.
Zohar stared at it, mesmerized.
The surface pulsed with light, colors swirling like the tides. It was beautiful. Mysterious. Alive with magic and purpose.
“What is it?” Zohar asked.
“Maybe,” Dolph said, “it’s the reason you’re here.”