I was back in Salem. I knew by the way the bed felt beneath me. I also knew I wasn't conscious. Dreaming maybe. Of Laeddin. While my body continued to heal. Laeddin was still in the past and hiding behind a tree in the forest, watching me as I spoke with Joanna. Two dark entities appeared and swirled around Laeddin."Look, he truly cares for the girl." "Yes. Isn't it sweet?""What's going on? Who are you?" Laeddin asked, spinning in a circle, trying to keep his gaze on both of them at once."We are called the Unknowns," one said. They continued to churn and Laeddin spun in a circle, working to keep up."Yes, but we are known. You've heard of us, right?" "I suppose." "Why did you show the girl her future?" one of them asked. The only thing that made sense about the forms was that they each had two eyes and they blinked languidly."Especially when what you showed her isn't true," the other said."At least not entirely," responded the first."You're making me dizzy. Stop." Laeddin

I closed the door to my bedroom, leaning against it. There was so much to do. I still needed to get the final piece of the crown. It was in Sharra - my home. I'd never admit it to Pops or Christopher, but I was nervous to return home again. What would everyone there think of me? It would probably be along the lines of what I thought of myself. That I was a coward. That I sucked as a daughter, a friend. That I was an arrogant, spoiled princess with no clue how to run a kingdom. But I couldn't let my fears stand in the way of what I had to do. I needed to defeat Sharra, which would stop the darkness. Once her spell was broken, the Akuma would vanish, and the world would go back to the way it had once been. I also needed to rescue Troy and my mom and dad. I would do whatever it took to save the people I loved. Troy's voice entered my mind, accusatory and sad: He's sleeping over?I jumped, my insides nearly zinging out of my chest as Troy's voice came into my head again, loud and clear. "

I sat on the bed, burying my face in my hands. "I'm so sorry." The words were meant for both Christopher and Troy, but I felt the emptiness again and knew Troy was gone. "It was Sharra. The link between us is growing stronger. She did that. Not me." Christopher sat beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I was torn between shrugging it off and burying my face in his shoulder and sobbing. "I am in love with Troy, but I think I might have lost him after what I just did." Christopher gave me a light shake. "Bull. I won't tell him and if you don't tell him, everything will be fine." I leaned my head against his shoulder. "That's not true. He witnessed the whole thing." Christopher stiffened, and I lifted my head. "Explain how that's possible." I told him about Troy and the dragon vision and the telepathy. All of it while clutching the dragon dangling from my wrist like it was my lifeline. When Troy first contacted me, I'd been so excited, but Sharra had taken Troy's beautifu

I, Silindra had been ruler of the vampires for over a thousand years. I ruled because of systematic planning, a shrewd knowledge of the citizens I governed, and the cunning to deal with other magical creatures in the world.Like dragons.Dragons and vampires coexisted peacefully, for the most part. While some of the human vampires craved dragon blood, the originals, like me, had no stomach for the foul-smelling creatures. The oldest and most impressively magical dragon of them all was called Abernathy. He was kind of a prickly character but, once you got around his rough edges, he had the heart of a gentleman. I needed to speak to him. His cave reeked of mortality. A mixture of decaying flesh, bat guano, and seawater. Despite the thick darkness, I could make out the bones of the damned scattered on the dusty earth. Carefully I flew over them, but they were everywhere, and occasionally my bare feet brushed against one, sending whisperings of the life of the dead. Noises echoed off t

Sometimes the biggest villains we fight are the ones we create within ourselves. Not saying that was always true. Sharra was the big bad for sure but I was suffering from a serious lack of confidence. Maybe it was because of all I'd done. Making a wish to take away my wings as well as other things. There were consequences for my choices. Big ones. Including the darkness swallowing realms and the akuma. Could I defeat Sharra and save everyone? The question was on a continuous loop in my mind. It had been weeks since I met Laeddin and made my first wish. Days since Laeddin left and I fell in love with a half dragon. Troy. It seemed like a lifetime ago since he proposed and I accepted. Part of me didn't believe that moment was real, but a figment of my imagination. Only a few hours ago, I left Pops and Joanna in the fifteenth century. There I got to know Joanna and my grandfather a little more. There I also drained the vampire Arthur before Christopher took him and imprisoned him in