Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Zohar leaned over the old stone table, the glowing map spread wide beneath his fingers. The parchment shimmered with a soft, living light, like moonlight captured in water. Ancient ink traced continents and oceans with uncanny accuracy.
His breath caught. He recognized the shape of the landmasses—the curves of coastlines, the jagged edges of mountain ranges.
“Wait a second…” he murmured, his brow furrowing. “I thought you said this was a map of portals on your world.”
“Not just my world. This shows were our portals overlap, the ones on Earth and the ones here.”
“Wow. I have a book back home about Earth, but there aren’t any of these glowing lines…” Zohar’s finger hovered over a delicate web of light, pulsing faintly like threads of energy stitched into the fabric of the map.
“They’ve always been there. At least, I think.”
“Like the portals you used to bring Mom here,” Juno offered, smiling excitedly.
Zohar’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the familiar shapes. “This is North America. That’s Europe. And right there—” he pointed toward a long, narrow swath of green surrounded by sea, “—that’s Scotland.”
Juno leaned in until his chin nearly touched the parchment. “Look how bright this one is. Where’s this one go to?”
Dolph leaned closer to peer where Juno was pointing. Zohar followed the luminous thread with his fingertip, his pulse quickening as it wound through the terrain like a glowing current of fate—until it stopped at a glistening dot surrounded by hills and water.
“Loch Ness,” Zohar whispered, the name tasting both ancient and familiar on his tongue. “It’s a lake. A big freshwater one. Hidden in the Scottish Highlands near a place called Inverness.” He glanced at Dolph. ”I hope the entrance to the portal on this side is nearby.”
Dolph shifted the view to his world and then looked up from the map. Zohar immediately knew something was coming. That glint in his eye—the spark of mischief mixed with purpose—was unmistakable.
“The portal to Loch Ness isn’t far from here,” Dolph said, his voice hushed with excitement. “There’s a lake inland, close to the western cliffs. That’s where the connection is.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I never kid about portals,” Dolph replied solemnly.
“We’ll sneak you into the palace tonight,” he added, motioning toward the back stairwell. “You can sleep in our room. We’ll leave at dawn—after we gather supplies.”
Zohar arched a brow. “And if your mom and dad find out?”
Juno burst out laughing. “We never get caught! We are so sneaky. The sneakiest princes you ever met.”
Zohar snorted, but the tension in his shoulders loosened.
Dolph rolled his eyes. “Just… don’t talk to our baby sister if you see her.”
“Why?”
“She’s like Roo,” Juno said, beleaguered.
Zohar blinked. “Who’s Roo?
Dolph shuddered. “DJ and Stone’s little sister. They are dragon shifters like you. She is as bad as Roo.”
“How bad?” Zohar asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Juno whispered.
Zohar tilted his head. “I kinda do now.”
Dolph groaned. “Last time we visited the Isle of the Dragons, Roo caught us sneaking out without permission. We thought she was asleep.”
“She wasn’t,” Juno muttered.
“She blackmailed us.”
Zohar stared. “She what?”
“Two gold coins,” Dolph said. “Each. Or she’d tell our folks.”
“Yeah, and she's only six years old! Can you imagine what she’s going to be like when she is older?”
“Six going on sea witch,” Juno said.
Zohar laughed—really laughed—his voice echoing off the high-vaulted walls as they left the map table behind and began their ascent up the winding stone stairs. Their footsteps echoed with a rhythmic beat.
The more they talked—the more stories the brothers shared—the more Zohar found himself comparing them to him and the other Dragonlings.
Juno’s clever curiosity, Dolph’s determined focus…
even their little sister’s blackmailing tendencies reminded him of Jabir’s infectious grins and Roam’s relentless teasing.
And of Amber and Jade arguing over who broke what invention this time.
His laughter faded slowly as they climbed higher, replaced by a quiet ache in his chest.
He missed them.
The joy. The noise. The chaos.
A sharp wave of worry rolled through him, tightening his throat.
Where are they? Are they safe?
His hand brushed the glowing edge of the map tucked under his arm as they reached the top of the stairs, and he glanced back once toward the quiet, shimmering pool of water at the heart of the archive.
He had no idea how long it would take to find them.
But for the first time since falling through the portal, he didn’t feel completely alone.
And maybe—just maybe—this unexpected detour was exactly where he needed to be.
To grow up and to learn what it means to be a genuine leader, he thought with a touch of self-effacement.
The hallway outside the upper chambers of the Sea Palace was dim, lit only by the gentle glow of bioluminescent coral embedded in the curved walls.
It pulsed softly beneath the crystal stone, throwing delicate blue-green shadows across the floor.
The air carried the faint scent of salt and lavender kelp oil—soothing, hypnotic.
Zohar crept behind Dolph and Juno, barefoot and quiet as a shadow. He had taken his boots off to keep from making any noise once they reached the upper levels of the palace.
They slipped through a side passage, past the guards, and into a hidden chamber behind the royal suites. He nodded when Dolph lifted his finger to his lips and motioned for him to follow them.
“Dolph, is that you?” their mom, Jenny, called out.
Dolph motioned for Juno to take Zohar into their bedroom.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Is Juno with you?” Jenny asked.
Zohar shot Dolph a sympathetic look before he squeezed through the doorway.
“Yeah, he’s with me. We’re just going to hang out in our room.”
Jenny walked down the hallway. “Your dad was wondering if you two wanted to go to the cove this weekend. We could stay a couple of days if you’d like. I know you’ve both been bored. Or… maybe I can talk him into us all visiting Drago and Carly. Little Carly would love that.”
“Ah, that sounds great! I think going to see Uncle Drago and Aunt Carly would be fun… this weekend,” he said, walking backwards towards the bedroom door.
“Okay, I’ll let your dad know. Is everything alright?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah. Everything’s great. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Zohar snorted. Dolph wasn’t very good at being inconspicuous.
“You’re just acting a little… weird. You and Juno haven’t been getting into trouble have you?” Jenny pressed.
“Trouble? Us? No! We’re just hanging out… in our room… being good,” Dolph replied.
There was a pause. Zohar shook his head while Juno silently groaned and covered his face. He held his breath as the silence lengthened.
“If you’re sure. I’ll bring you boys some sandwiches in a little bit,” Jenny finally said.
“Thanks. I-I can come get them—now.”
Zohar listened as Dolph walked back down the hallway. He sagged against the wall next to the door. Juno was ruefully shaking his head.
“He’s not very good at being secretive,” Juno murmured.
Zohar smothered his laugh. “No, he’s not.”
Twenty-minutes later, Dolph returned from the hallway with a platter of honey-seaweed cakes, dried fruit slices, and three mugs of steaming coconut tea. He kicked the door closed behind him and grinned.
While Dolph had been gone, Zohar and Juno had transformed the far corner of the room into a den of secrecy and snacks.
A tent made of draped blankets and sheets was tucked between two enormous sea foam-colored chairs.
Shell-shaped lanterns glowed from within, casting rippling light patterns across the curved ceiling like waves dancing on a cavern wall.
Pillows, soft and sea-scented, were piled in every direction.
Zohar flopped down with a satisfied sigh.
“This is fancy,” Zohar said, raising an eyebrow.
Dolph smirked. “It’s leftovers.”
“I’ll take it. I’m starving,” Zohar grinned, already reaching for a cake.
Zohar spread the glowing map out again between bites, smoothing the creases. His gaze followed the luminous lines that crisscrossed the unfamiliar features of the Seven Kingdoms on the parchment. He couldn’t look away from the way they pulsed softly, like living veins in a giant’s hand.
“What’s it like? Living here?” he asked, nodding toward the window that overlooked the vast emerald waters beyond the palace. “The Isle of the Sea Serpent?”
Dolph leaned back on his elbows, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. It’s home. But sometimes… it feels more like a glass bubble than a kingdom.”
“That’s because it is a glass bubble… if you go to the city below,” Juno mumbled around a mouthful of food.
Zohar glanced at Dolph. He knew what the older boy meant. He wasn’t talking about the actual cities, but about what it was like to be the next in line to rule.
“My father is Orion, King of the Merpeople,” Dolph said, his voice soft but proud. “He wields the Trident, which holds the Eyes of the Sea Serpent—gifts from the Goddess. With it, he can command the oceans and most of the life in it.”
“Most?” Zohar echoed.
Dolph nodded. “Some creatures answer only to Nali—Empress of the Monsters.”
“Your aunt?”
“She isn’t our real aunt. We just call her that. She’s really nice. She protects all the monsters. When she says ‘sit,’ even the volcano turtles listen.”
“Volcano turtles? Are you for real?” Zohar repeated, grinning.
“They’re real,” Juno piped up between mouthfuls. “But the sea monkeys are more fun!”
Zohar’s eyes gleamed. “Sea monkeys?”
“They’re little and mischievous and like to steal the pirates’ hats,” Juno said matter-of-factly. “They ride on Aunt Nali’s sea dragons. And they’re always getting Uncle Ashure—he’s the King of the Pirates—in trouble.”
“Whenever Uncle Ashure makes Aunt Nali mad, she sics the sea monkeys on his ships,” Dolph added.
Zohar snorted into his tea. “They both sound pretty cool.”