Page 1 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

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ARIES

Drenched in warm Astronian sunlight, Paige presses her hands to my chest, her chestnut gaze earnest and full of determination. “Let’s go take back your world, Your Highness. Then, we return to liberate mine.”

I don’t know what to say.

My mind is still reeling from everything that happened inside the Athenaeum, and my dragon is still furious with me for not burning Constantine to the ground before we came through that portal.

To be fair, Paige was right. Fire and libraries don’t go well together, and had I unleashed my dragon’s breath against the monster who drove us out and nearly killed us in the process, I would’ve burned the entire place to ash, books included.

Losing books is one thing, but the lives contained inside them are another. Every volume inside the Athenaeum contains an entire realm’s story. My world is one of them.

Astronia.

We’ve arrived just south of the valley where the village is nestled with the castle on the hill above it. The forest at our backs obscures the view of both, but I’d know this spotanywhere. It’s a place I used to come often just to get away from palace life for a little while.

I look out at the rolling hills below that give way to mountains in the distance. So much green. Fresh air. And not a single smog-producing car contraption in sight. Getting sucked into the Earth realm was an adventure unlike any other. And while falling for Paige is something I’ll never regret, it’s damn good to be home.

The relief builds inside me until my dragon wants to let out a roar. I resist the urge to let my wings out. I want to leap into the air and fly and scout.

Scout.

The war.

The horde.

My stomach drops as I remember what I read about what’s become of my home in my absence. According to the last entry in my book, war is pressing down upon my world. And without me here to stop it, the horde of evil orcs wins.

Have I come back in time?

Or is it already too late?

“Aries?” Paige presses. “You okay?”

I glance back at the others and realize they’re all watching me warily now. For the first time since I met the guardians of the Athenaeum, Keepers as they call themselves, they are looking to me for the answers. Blossom, Mag, the four gnomes—even Bingo—are all out of their element here.

“It’s not usually this quiet,” I say at last.

Where are the patrols? This hillside is carefully guarded. Or it was. Before…

“Really?” Paige frowns as she, too, looks out at the beautiful view spread before us. “It seems like a pretty remote spot.”

I shake my head. “The village is not far through these trees. We patrol this area regularly. Someone should have noticed us out here by now.”

Instantly, Blossom, a fierce unicorn shifter and possibly the last of her kind, looks around warily, clearly picking up on my stiffening posture. Her stark white hair billows as she surveys our surroundings.

“Do you think something’s happened to the guards?” Paige asks, moving over to be closer to the gnomes—Ted, Zed, Ned, and Fred. Kitty, their raccoon, paws the ground nervously.

“I don’t know.”

My gaze falls on Bingo, a fierce and growly hellhound who serves as one of the Athenaeum’s protectors.

Used to serve.

Bingo meets my gaze and huffs through his large nostrils.

He’s wary too.

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