Chapter 13 #2
“They are,” Dolph and Juno answered in unison, grinning.
Zohar studied the map. “So, once we get to Loch Ness, how are we supposed to bring this Nessie back?”
“We could tie a rope to her neck and lead her back,” Juno suggested.
“She’s a monster, not a puppy,” Dolph said.
“Yeah, but it might work. We’d need a sturdy rope,” Zohar agreed. “And I’ll need to breathe underwater. I can swim for a while, but I don’t have gills.”
“I could create a bubble around you. Once I’ve done that, I’ll command the current to carry you through the portal with us.”
Zohar’s eyes lit up. “Like a submarine!”
“A what?” Juno blinked.
Zohar grinned. “It’s from another book I have. On Earth, people made ships that go under the water. Some of them can stay down for days.”
“We have some of those, but none in the lake where we’re going,” Dolph said.
“Then a bubble it is,” Zohar said.
Zohar looked outside a few hours later, surprised to see how dark it was. Jenny had come to check on the boys twice, and Dolph and Juno had disappeared for dinner. Zohar had hidden inside the tent.
He crawled back into the tent now when he heard footsteps coming and laid back against the pile of pillows and blankets.
I like water boys.
I do, too.
With their plans for tomorrow’s quest settled, the boys finally yawned their way into their sleeping spots, and Zohar grinned up at the ceiling of the makeshift tent.
His dragon was as curious about the Isle of the Sea Serpent as he was.
After everyone went to sleep, he and his dragon were going to explore the isle.
Outside the tent, Juno’s soft snoring began—gentle and rhythmic, like waves lapping against a dock.
“Hey, are you still awake?” Dolph’s voice came quietly from the other side of the tent wall.
“Yeah, I’m still awake.”
“What’s your life like… on Valdier?”
Zohar blinked.
He thought about the twin moons casting golden light over crystal lakes. The polished spires of his home. The open sky above the training fields where he and the others flew for hours. The energy of his cousins, the chaos of their adventures, the way they all fit together even when they fought.
He smiled in the dark.
“It’s beautiful,” he said quietly. “Wild. Alive. There’s always something going on. We train a lot. Battle formations, shifts, strategy. It can be… intense, but fun. We play a game called tag. My grandpa Paul taught us.”
He rolled onto his side.
“But sometimes? We get to have real adventures. Like last cycle—we went with my Uncle Vox and Roam, he’s one of the Dragonlings with us, only he isn’t a dragon shifter, he’s a Sarafin.
They are cat shifters. Anyway, Uncle Vox took us to a Spaceport and ended up getting kidnapped.
Roam, Bálint, Jabir, and I rescued him. The guys who kidnapped him were pretty bad-ass, but we kicked butt. ”
“That sounds pretty cool. We don’t go to other worlds—well, except for Earth. I’ve been there before,” Dolph whispered.
“I’ve been there a few times,” Zohar chuckled.
“My Grandpa Paul came from there. He has a ranch in Wyoming. I don’t know why I feel so…
restless lately. I feel like I’m meant to be doing something instead of training all the time.
I miss when we were little and we would go off exploring without worrying about duty. ”
He fell quiet for a moment.
“I get that,” Dolph said finally. “I’ve been sneaking out more, exploring the Isles. I don’t fly spaceships or anything.” He exhaled. “There are so many amazing places. But I’m stuck here, learning royal protocol and how to sit through council meetings without yawning.”
Zohar laughed softly. “I guess being a royal is the same across the universe.”
Silence stretched, but it wasn’t heavy this time. Just thoughtful.
Then, Zohar’s heart gave a sharp tug. “I wonder if my mom and dad know I’m gone yet,” he said quietly.
He pictured his mother’s warm smile and his father’s stern frown that always faded when he saw his mom and little sister, Aurora. He imagined their panic, their search. The questions. The fear.
He curled tighter under the blankets.
Outside, the sea moved beyond the palace walls, whispering to itself.
Once he knew Dolph had drifted into a deep sleep, he rolled out of the tent. He studied the two boys for a moment before he walked out onto the balcony. He looked up at the night sky, thinking about his parents and his friends. Closing his eyes, he whispered a wish to the Goddesses.
Please make sure my friends and family are safe.
The morning mist clung to the treetops like silver lace, the soft light of dawn barely piercing the dense canopy above.
Zohar followed close behind Dolph and Juno, ducking beneath the sweeping branches as they trekked through a narrow path that wound inland from the palace.
Dew clung to every leaf and stone, soaking their boots as they moved quickly and quietly.
Zohar’s heart thudded in rhythm with his steps, anticipation rising like a tide in his chest.
They crested a mossy ridge—and there it was.
Nestled in a sunken clearing, the lake gleamed like a fallen jewel.
Its waters were impossibly clear, smooth as glass, mirroring the sky and the trees above in such perfect detail that it felt like standing at the edge of another world.
Pale blue fish darted beneath the surface, and glowing lilies floated gently across the still water, their petals open like tiny stars.
“Whoa,” Zohar breathed, awestruck. “It’s beautiful.”
Dolph gave a small smile. “The portal likes this lake. It’s old. Magic’s seeped into it.”
Zohar adjusted the strap of the satchel slung across his chest—the equipment bag they’d packed just before sneaking out. Rope, dried rations, the map, and a few small magical tools just in case.
“You sure I should be the one to carry this?”
“Yeah. It will be better protected in the bubble,” Dolph replied, stepping down into the shallows.
Zohar gave a nod, his excitement bubbling just beneath the surface. His flight last night had given him time to think, and he had woken this morning feeling more confident about their quest and about finding help to locate the others.
He stopped, removed his boots and socks, and rolled up his pant legs before he waded into the water behind them. Shivers rippled across his arms as the cold water swirled around his feet.
We not fish, his dragon grumbled.
Not now, Zohar thought back, smirking.
If dragons meant to live underwater, we have gulls for wings and fins for tails.
Gulls?
GILLS. A pause. Stupid water. Makes my brain slosh.
Zohar plunged deeper into the chill, the lake licking up past his knees as shivers danced across his skin. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispered. “Trust me.”
He barely got the words out before Dolph turned, his eyes glowing faintly. He lifted his hands and swept them outward.
Water surged up around him.
A shimmering bubble rose around Zohar—clear, glistening, humming with magic. The moment it sealed around him, the air inside freshened and warmed. It smelled like sea air and starlight.
“Whoa! I like this one better. It doesn’t sting,” Zohar laughed, stumbling backward.
He blinked as the bubble moved—propelled gently forward by a soft current of water under Dolph’s control.
Juno dove in headfirst, laughing as he cut through the water like a silver dart.
Dolph followed seconds later, arms slicing cleanly as he powered ahead.
Zohar grinned and pressed his hands against the interior of the bubble. The surface was cool and flexible beneath his fingers, like touching living glass.
Then—
The water beneath him churned. A swirl of rainbow light erupted from the depths of the lake, curling upward in a spiraling column.
The portal.
It caught all three of them in a heartbeat.
Zohar’s breath caught as his bubble surged forward into the swirl of color.
It was like riding a comet underwater.
The world became light and motion and movement—rushing currents pulling them faster and faster through the liquid tunnel.
Bands of glowing energy shimmered past like veins of molten crystal.
He floated in awe, watching as bright, bioluminescent fish race alongside them before vanishing into seagrass gardens that bloomed and faded in seconds.
A school of ribbonfish spiraled around his bubble, their scales catching the light in waves of pink and gold. Far below, a sleeping leviathan drifted through a canyon, eyes closed, its body the length of a city block.
Valdier just as awesome, his dragon said dryly. You like more if you pay attention.
Zohar rolled his eyes, but the wonder in his chest didn’t fade.
And then—
Everything changed.
The light vanished.
The colors collapsed into black.
The temperature dropped so fast, his breath fogged the air inside the bubble.
The current beneath him slowed. The pressure of the water changed.
He looked around.
Nothing but darkness.
No coral. No fish. No glowing lilies.
The vibrant world of the magical lake was gone.
He couldn’t see Dolph.
He couldn’t see Juno.
“Guys?” he called, twisting in the bubble. “Dolph? Juno?!”
Silence.
His bubble floated downward, drifting deeper and deeper into the shadows.
Somewhere far above, a single strand of light from the portal flickered and disappeared.
Zohar swallowed as he realized he was not only alone, the bubble was sinking into the cold, silent depths of Loch Ness.