Victor groaned softly, his eyes already fluttering shut, and Sarah could feel he was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness as the venom coursed his body.
“So touching that you care about him, Sarah. Surely you know he would not do the same for you.”
Her eyes threw daggers as she regarded the Immortal’s cold glare. She knew he was just playing with her, challenging her so she would do something stupid, but she couldn’t help herself. “Victor would always protect me.”
Ethano grabbed the small bag of stones from Sarah’s sweaty hands and smiled. “Are you so sure? How could Victor—how could any man—care about you after you tricked him, shamed him for your own advancement, so you could be his queen and steal his kingdom and riches?”
“I never wanted that! All I ever wanted to do was get my sister and go back home to my own world through that portal.”
“Well, in that case, you should’ve thought twice before putting that fancy little ring on your finger.” Ethano stuck the bag deep in his pocket. “But then again, I’m glad you did it.”
Sarah’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“Think, foolish Queen. It gave me a reason to come after you. I did it in the name of the Kardashian Court, but I couldn’t have cared less if you became an Immortal. I just wanted you to face trial, to be found guilty, and to have your head separated from your shoulders!”
“I know…so you could kill Victor, leaving you next in line to rule over the Kardashian Court.” Her voice rose. “But you don’t need to kill Victor! King Taggert has already given you his kingdom. Victor was disqualified the moment I became Immortal, because he broke the rules. The entire Kardashian Court has voted and agrees, Ethano, so there’s no need for any of this. You’ve already won.”
“One would think, but do not be so naïve, Queen. Victor has powerful friends who are fighting to overturn the ruling as we speak. I cannot take that chance. If Victor’s dead, there will be no question as to who should be the next ruler. I will be crowned king of the Immortals, and nobody will oppose me. Don’t you see? Victor’s death will seal my fate.”
“You’re despicable.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t really matter, does it? Every single Immortal and human will be under my iron fist from this moment on.”
Sarah shook her head in disgust.
“I hope you two make the most of your final moments together. Goodbye.” He walked across the room and disappeared into the darkness.
A thunderous crash of disappointment flooded through Sarah as she realized she’d be dead in mere minutes. Accepting her fate was one thing, but not being able to save the others was another; it tore her heart in two. Ethano had just ruined her only chance of ever getting out of the whole mess once and for all. Not only would his acts destroy Victor and her, but they would be the demise of everyone she had hoped to save—so many people that she loved. Sarah bit her lip until she tasted blood. Sure, she had superpowers and was considered Immortal, but even that wasn’t enough to save her sister and her friends—or even herself. In the next second, Sarah felt something in her pocket: one of the tiny gold rocks. She pulled it out and held it up so Victor could see.
“Is that what I think it is?” he whispered.
She nodded gravely. “Yes. It must’ve fallen out of the pouch.”
“Then there’s hope for us yet!”
She crushed it in her fingers and placed some in Victor’s mouth and then hers. Seconds seemed to tick by as she waited in anticipation for something to happen, anything that would tell her everything might just turn out well after all, but nothing changed.
A few minutes passed, and still nothing.
Great. We fought a dragon and got tossed into a volcano for nothing—for fool’s gold I could have bought in a souvenir shop in some gas station back home
. Sarah felt like punching the walls, kicking and screaming until her body went limp.
What was I thinking? Immortals and humans have been looking for those magic rocks for centuries. What made me think we would be so lucky?
“Those weren’t the minerals we were looking for, were they?” she whispered.
“Ethano will make an idiot of himself.”
“Yeah, the big dummy,” she said with a half-hearted laugh, “but even I was fooled. I really thought we’d struck gold.”
He shook his head. “As did I. I’m…I’m so sorry, Sarah. Truly I am.”
Sarah’s heart sank as she collapsed next to Victor. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. You’d be better off if you’d never have met me. If I’d have left the Bigfoot alone and stayed out of that cave—”
“Stop it with the ifs.” He cupped her face, his eyes boring into hers until she thought he could peer right into her soul. “Don’t you see, my Queen? My life didn’t start until I met you.” He gasped for air as he said, “You…you are my life. I’d do it all over again just to have the few magical days we’ve spent together.”
She didn’t know how long her forever would last beyond that hour, but his words would be held forever in her heart. “What’s your favorite memory?”
“
Our swim together. I’ll never forget how beautiful you looked in the moonlight underneath all that mist. And how we made mad, passionate love for the first time.”
She smiled, her own voice soft and fading. “Do you believe in love, Victor?”
He stroked her face. “I did not used to—until the day you walked into my life. When I told you that I loved you, I meant every single word.”
“You are my Prince Charming.”
“I am not familiar with the Charming clan. Are they royalty in your world?”
Sarah laughed. “Well, not really. Back in my world, it’s a figure of speech—a name for the handsome, perfect man that every woman hopes she will meet and fall in love with. Not only did I meet my Prince Charming, but I got to marry him too.”
Victor smiled as droplets of sweat rolled down his face. “My love, I’ll always treasure every kiss we’ve ever shared, but I’ll never forget the one we shared on our wedding day.”
She brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes as she spoke softly. “Do you think we’ll see each other in heaven?”
He hesitated for a long moment before he nodded. “I hope so. I wonder what heaven’s like.” His voice trailed off as he took one last, deep breath.
“I bet it’s beautiful.” She squeezed his hand as his eyes fluttered closed. “Victor? Victor!”
No answer.
“Victor!” She mustered every bit of strength she had and shook his shoulder as sweat poured down her face, mixed with thick streams of tears.
He didn’t respond, but his chest rose and fell.
“Victor, come on! Don’t do this. Not now. You can’t leave me!” She could feel his life force wane, slipping through his fingers as he desperately tried to clutch on to it. It wasn’t fair to lose him that way—not after she’d just realized that she felt something for him, not when she was finally willing to explore what there might be before them, maybe even work on a future together in her world. She wiped away the tears and shook him one last time, even though she knew it was in vain. “No,” she whispered, rocking back and forth as, slowly but steadily, realization kicked in.
“I’m so sorry it ended this way. Please forgive me.” Her voice broke as pain flooded through her like an electric shot.
She lay still, breathing slowly as the pain crept through her body like deadly venom, claiming its victim. Everything started to blur in front of her, her lungs burning like fire. More fire shot through her legs, arms, hands and then every muscle and vein. She began to feel woozy, and her skin grew hot and clammy, as if she’d been gripped by a 104-degree fever.
Don’t panic,
she thought.
Focus on something…anything.
Ignoring the intense pain, her gaze shifted to one of the dragon eggs as it rocked back and forth, a tiny crack appearing in the fragile shell. The crack grew bigger as the egg wiggled around in the pale straw. Suddenly, a tiny red beak protruded through, and in three or four strokes, the egg cracked wide open.
Sarah’s heart lurched.
Why couldn’t I die before the eggs hatched?
She tried to stand, but her legs gave out, and she tumbled into a crumbling heap. As if everything she’d gone through was not bad enough, now she’d been thrown into some kind of nightmare or horror movie. She’d be eaten alive because she didn’t have the strength to fend off a fly.
But then—in that moment of desperation—she saw it: a glittering gold flicker. For a second, she wondered if it was the golden streets of heaven catching her eye. Gathering her last bit of strength, she crawled over and reached out her hand to touch the broken shell. She ran her hand across the inside of a shell she could reach. Her hand felt slimy, but when she brought it closer she could see gold crystals shimmering on her fingers, like glitter in body gel.
Maybe these are the real minerals
.
She licked her hand, the bitter taste of a raw dragon omelet making her gag.
Why did I do such a stupid thing?
It wasn’t what she would have chosen for her last meal. Bile rose in her throat, and her gag reflex kicked in, threatening to make her throw up any minute. She bent over, preparing herself to vomit, but then she began to breathe easier. The fog inside her head lifted, and her mind felt alert again as her strength returned and her body healed. She pushed up on her elbow and stared at the cracked egg. Sparkling gold minerals lined the inside of the egg shell like some kind of painted Easter egg. They had to be the Gold Minerals of Life!
She figured if they did the trick on her, then maybe they would also spin their magic on her husband.
With trembling hands, she scooped some up and smeared them across Victor’s mouth, then pushed her finger between his lips to touch the inside. There wasn’t a moment to spare.
Several times she tried, waiting in between to see whether it might work, all the while praying it would.
The third time,
he gasped, and his eyes shot open.
Happiness flooded through Sarah as she gently touched Victor’s face. “Nobody’s dying today, Victor! We found the Gold Minerals of Life!”
“What?” he whispered between gasps, groggy and a little disoriented.
“We did it! Not only do we get to live, but this is our ticket to saving everyone.”
Victor scrambled to his feet. “No wonder nobody ever found them! The Guardian dragon only hatches her young once every ten years. My, this is a fetching discovery.”
Sarah wondered if the crystals would work on Lana, even though she’d been lying unconscious far longer than Victor. Her heart thumping in her chest, Sarah walked over to the lifeless bird and pried her beak open, only now noticing the tiny bird’s foot jerking. Ever so gently, she pushed some of the crystals into the bird’s mouth and prepared to wait. In a brilliant burst of light, the bird’s body twitched, then jerked back to Lana’s true form. A moment later, Lana clutched her chest, gasping for air!
Sarah held out her hands to help her up. “We found the Gold Minerals of Life!”
“You did?” Lana slowly stood as if contemplating all that had just happened. She looked into Sarah’s eyes as a tear slowly slid down her cheek. “You saved my life. I swear to you that I shall someday repay the debt.”
Sarah hugged her. “No need. As Victor once said, a gift requires no repayment! I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Lana smiled. “Victor has truly found a gem in you, Sarah. You will make a great, caring queen.”
Lost for words at the shape-shifter’s flattery, Sarah avoided Lana’s gaze in the hope the woman wouldn’t persist. She couldn’t deny the passion she felt for Victor, but that didn’t mean she would stay in his world. Her real life, her real friends, were waiting on her. She had to save them and take them home. Hopefully, Victor would follow.
Victor pulled out a few small pouches and handed them to her and Lana, and they all started collecting the minerals. “We need to get out of here before the rest of those babies hatch. They spit out a venom that will paralyze all of us, Immortal or not,” he warned.
“Maybe we should kill them now,” said Lana.
Sarah shook her head vehemently. “No! Like I said earlier, nobody is dying today—not even a baby dragon who thinks I’m nothing more than a tasty hamburger.”
Lana cocked a brow. “Hamburger?”
Sarah let out a breath. “It’s food in my world. Listen, I’ll tell you all about it later. Heck, I’ll even fill you in on pizza and fries and ice cream if you want, but right now, we need to start climbing out of this pit.”
Chapter 15
The cavernous room stretched for hundreds of feet while the Earth trembled beneath its surface. Searing-hot lava spewed into the air, only to rain down in gray ash particles, leaving the surrounding area covered in a thin blanket. Sarah held on to Victor as Lana and he discussed their options to get out of there. Flying was out of the question, as was walking, unless they could climb over boulders and ragged cliffs, which, as far as Sarah knew, not even an Immortal could do.