THE MYSTICONS AND Malvaron stood in front of Nova Terron, Proxima, and Gandobi. They’d come to the Astromancer Academy for answers. Auntie Yaga had been saved, and they’d escaped Necrafa, but Arkayna still had so many questions. Was the story Nova Terron told them a lie? Had he known Zarya was her twin all along? Were she and Proxima related at all?
“This is crazy. How did this even happen?” Arkayna asked.
“First, Proxima is her sister,” Em said, trying to understand. “But now she’s not, because…”
“I am?” Zarya finished.
“Perhaps we can discuss this after we’ve dealt with Necrafa?” Gandobi asked.
“We’re not saving the realm until we get answers,” Arkayna said, pointing her Dragon Staff at Gandobi.
Nova Terron took a deep breath. “Very well. It appears that after I left you in the care of Mrs. Sparklebottom—”
“After you baby-snatched me,” Zarya corrected him.
“Yes,” Nova Terron agreed. “She took my order to protect your identity seriously, and she switched you. She hid this. Even from me. Proxima’s history was a complete fabrication.”
At that, Proxima gasped. Without saying a word, she ran out of the Star Chamber, her eyes welling with tears. Arkayna called after her, but she just ignored Arkayna’s cry.
“I am truly sorry,” Nova Terron continued.
“You tore me from my family,” Zarya said, getting right in his face.
“Hey, hey!” Em jumped between them. “The most important thing is you’re together again.”
She reached down and grabbed Arkayna’s and Zarya’s hands. Then she put them together. As soon as they touched, Arkayna felt energy surge up her arm. They floated up into the air. An orb of green light glowed between them.
“What’s happening?” Arkayna asked. Instinctually, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had a strange vision. She and Zarya were soaring through the night sky. They transformed into their avatars, the Dragon and the Wolf, and then transformed back, stopping right in front of two golden rings. The gold rings were beautiful, but when they reached out to touch them, the rings exploded into nothing more than black smoke. Then Arkayna started falling, her screams echoing in the night.
She hit the ground hard. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was back in the Star Chamber. She and Zarya had fallen out of the air.
“Oh my goblin!” Em screamed. “Are you okay?”
“I think we had a vision…” Zarya said, lifting her head.
“Of two rings floating in the air,” Arkayna added.
“By the stars,” Nova Terron said. “A binary vision.”
“Due to your bond as twins,” Malvaron explained.
“Morpheum Projectus Animus!” Nova Terron said, raising his hands. One of Gandobi’s blank scrolls floated out in front of them. Using his magic, Nova Terron drew the vision from both Arkayna’s and Zarya’s minds. The visions combined on the black scroll to paint a picture.
“A map,” Zarya said, studying it.
“It looks like it leads to Mount Tyrannous,” Malvaron said.
“That’s where we’ll find the rings,” Arkayna said.
“What’s so special about them?” Piper asked.
“You had a vision of them for a reason,” Nova Terron said, holding up his finger. “Fail this quest and you doom the realm.”
Arkayna’s eyes went wide. She stared at her friends as Nova Terron’s words echoed in her ears. Fail this quest and you doom the realm.
She’d never been more scared in her life.