Emerald Mountains (The Dream Traveler Series Book 2) Read online

  Emerald Mountains

  The Dream Travelers Series

  Book Two

  Nicole Knight

  Copyright © 2020 Nicole Knight

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Printed in the United States of America

  DEDICATION

  To my family and friends that believe in me. Without your support, this story would be still in my head.

  To my husband Zach, thank you for always supporting my dreams, I love you!

  To Sam Burkhardt and Ashley Appler who were my first readers for the book. Thank you for taking the time to review and give your feedback. It is greatly appreciated!

  To those who take the time to not only purchase my book, but read, and then leave reviews – thank you!♥

  Prologue

  Two months ago, I was what I considered a loser. I was one of only a handful of scholarship students at Arlington Prep. I was made fun of and bullied by a girl named Lacey and her two best friends. Now they no longer rule the school.

  That was partially my doing. I stood up to her at a party, and then people began to see her for who she was. I still don’t have many real friends. The only one I genuinely consider my friend is Madison, another scholarship student. She might be my real friend, but I could never tell her about my secret. Not even my Mother could know. My grandmother knows some of this, but not everything. I’m afraid it could push her dementia over the edge.

  Last month I traveled to a strange land called Morthsoul and then Morthshadow. They together make up one of five Kingdoms, in a different realm or planet. No one is really sure of the logistics behind it. It blew my mind when I learned I wasn’t the first person from my town, or even my world to travel there. The first was my Great Grandmother Victoria, who went missing shortly after my Grandmother was born. That was due to the necklace around my neck. It brought me from the Morthlands to Arlington and back.

  It was my fate to be part of a prophecy. The prophecy says that I would take over the Morthlands from the corrupt King Eduard. I did just that, barely. I have another secret, though. The old King isn’t dead, and I haven’t told a living soul.

  .

  Contents

  Emerald Mountains

  Copyright

  DEDICATION

  Prologue

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Thank you for reading!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  It has been three days since the events that unfolded in the throne room. I had an unexpected visitor from my home in Arlington, and to be completely honest with you, it has shaken me. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it, despite everyone’s urging. I just haven’t been ready.

  I should have known that everything was going too smoothly. I should have learned by now to expect issues. But I was naive enough to think that after fighting for my happily ever after, that everything else would just fall into place. I was wrong, once again. I’ve been a smart person my whole life; being wrong is not something I am used to.

  “What are you reading about now, your highness?” Axel asked me as he sat down in front of me.

  When we were in the presence of those not in my immediate circle, we had to keep up appearances and titles. But when it was just Axel and me, we went on a first-name basis, or the occasional cute nickname; after all, he is my boyfriend.

  I don’t like to be reminded repeatedly that I was “above” everyone else. It wasn’t my style to soak up constant ass-kissing. It isn’t healthy for one’s ego, so for the most part, Axel complied.

  Sir Axel is the highest-ranked knight in my Kingdom, which he rightfully deserves for helping me defeat Eduard. He helped me even though I was a stranger. He brought me to meet Wisdom, who rocked my world with the knowledge that I have magic and taught me how to use it. Axel also told me about the prophecy. Even if he wasn’t my boyfriend, I would have given him his title anyway.

  The guy is a total badass with a sword. He is so physically fit, that I have seen men with his physique on fitness magazine covers. I also saw middle-age women drooling over those same magazine covers in the supermarket line. Axel is fit, and badass with a blade, and he is brilliant.

  In the past, the highest-ranking knight was the King or Queen’s personal bodyguard. The previous King decided to change that up, but I reverted to that tradition.

  “I am reading about my Great Grandmother,” I answered him.

  That hasn’t changed in the past two days. There were plenty of books that came out of hiding, once people knew who I was. Everyone had a fascination with Victoria that Eduard was quick to suppress. I guess he didn’t want the constant reminder of the elderly Queen he killed.

  “May I suggest that we all sit down and discuss what happened the other night? We do need to discuss it at some point,” he pressed.

  “I suppose so,” I sighed and closed my book.

  Trin sat up beside me in her chair and closed her book. She was my royal advisor. The moment I met her, I could sense she was a good person. She hid me while I was breaking into the castle from the guards who were chasing me.

  A vision I had only a day before meeting her, gave me the confidence to put my life in her hands. That may have been divine intervention from the Goddess, I mean myself.

  That’s still so confusing.

  I am a reincarnation of the Goddess according to the prophecy. When others refer to the Goddess, it is almost like they are speaking about an old version of me.

  Does that also make me the head of the Church of the Goddess? Is everyone praying to me?

  I
have visions, and it became news to me only recently. The first one happened when I almost drowned in the Red River. Since then, I learned I am the first seer in over one hundred years. We were a rare breed. My status as a seer is not public knowledge, and will hopefully stay that way.

  I only seem to get these visions in the Morthlands, so I hopefully don’t have to worry about having one in Arlington. However, I do have to worry about having one mid-speech in front of my Kingdom.

  “Good, I think it is about time to discuss this,” Trin said glancing between us.

  A moment later, Wisdom walked through the door and sat down at the space next to Axel. Wisdom was the official scholar of magic for the Kingdom by my appointment. Not only did he train me on how to use my magic, but he may or may not be my Great Grandfather.

  He had a relationship with my Great Grandmother Victoria before my Grandmother was born. So I’m not sure which man is my Great Grandfather, the one sitting in front of me or the one possibly six feet under the ground back on Earth.

  I suppose it doesn’t matter at this point.

  While Wisdom was a hundred and thirty years old, he only looked to be about seventy. When I asked him how he was still living, he told me that constant magic slows down the aging process. The oldest person to ever live here was one hundred and fifty years old.

  I found it strange that their calendar year was also three hundred and sixty-five days a year. According to Wisdom, the stars in the sky in Morthshadow change positions one day every three hundred and sixty-five days. Today is the day of their new year, and it wasn’t too different from our calendar. They didn’t have Christmas here or Easter, but they had special days to worship their Goddess, the same one who supposedly sent me, and I am reincarnated from.

  I am still a little critical of her, the Goddess. Why would she send me of all people? I believe in my god back home. Part of me wonders if he can still see me wherever I am in the universe right now.

  “Who was he?” Axel asked me, distracting me from my thoughts. He was never one to wait to get down to business. That’s why he was so bothered that I waited so long to talk about this.

  “His name is Kennan Smart,” I answered.

  He didn’t hesitate to ask his next question. I sensed there was some jealousy behind the question, and I suppose he has every right to feel that way.

  “How do you know him?” Axel pressed.

  His voice was hard and cold as stone.

  “He goes to my school. His family owns many of the businesses in my town. He also tried to ask me out, and I told him no, twice,” I shared.

  I smiled when I thought of stomping on his foot and making him fall over.

  There it was, I dropped the first bomb.

  I could see the insecurity in Axel’s face. He felt threatened. Trin was the first to voice an opinion, though.

  “Did you have any idea he could travel here? Did you ever see an emerald, like yours, in his possession?” she asked.

  “If I had any idea, I would have told everyone. No, I’ve never seen him wear an emerald, but he could have one hidden anywhere,” I said.

  It was the truth. Yes, Kennan has to sleep with it, but he doesn’t have to wear it during the day as I do. I just wear it to make sure I never misplace it.

  “What exactly did he say to you?” Wisdom asked me.

  His eyes never broke contact with mine. I knew that he must believe this was something to worry about, and I thought so too.

  “He said she must bond with him, or he will declare war with the Morthlands. We are currently trying to end a war; no one will support this. We can’t just let her bond with him either, that would merge Kingdoms,” Axel said.

  His voice had gotten a little louder and raised an octave. He was not handling this well.

  “I’m sorry I must be missing something,” Trin said.

  “Kennan is the Prince of the Kingdom Tate,” Wisdom answered her.

  “Oh no,” she said.

  Oh no was right.

  We, as a Kingdom, previously had good relations with only one of our four neighboring Kingdoms. That was the one that was directly north of us. It is called Urbem Glacies. They were only about one hundred miles from the northernmost part of Morthsoul across a small sea. Most of their year was filled with winter, the light from the two suns reached their land, but not much of the sun’s heat did.

  The Kingdom of Hydra, which is to the west of Morthshadow, is neutral. They do not like to not involve themselves in the matters of the other Kingdoms. It was covered in swamps and had many rivers. Because of this, they didn’t have many trees for lumber, so we traded lumber for fish.

  The Kingdom to our right separated by two hundred miles of desert was Corone. To the right of Corone was their ally, Tate. We do not have a good relationship with either Kingdom. Corone is the Kingdom that Eduard had declared war on many years ago, the same conflict that I am currently trying to end.

  I had no doubt that Corone would jump to help Tate in a war against us. As it stood, I don’t think that our neighbors to the north would be willing to help us either.

  We were stuck. I promised my Kingdom that I would end the war and be the Queen of peace, and Kennan is taking advantage of that promise; this was no doubt an act of revenge because I rejected him.

  How childish could one man be? I already knew that answer, but it made me feel better to keep asking that question like I didn’t know.

  “What are we going to do?” Trin asked.

  “I am not done,” I told her simply, “It gets worse.”

  “Kennan explained that his family originated here. They came to Arlington from here accidentally the same way I came here. They took advantage when they realized that our economy was based on precious metals. They knew someone who could form precious metals. They enslaved that man, and he created their wealth in Arlington. It was how they took over both a town and a Kingdom. He’s gone now; they accidentally killed him. Once they overthrew the King of Tate, they started to concentrate on my town, in my world. I believe that they aren’t done branching out in either world,” I said, taking a deep breath.

  “So, they are just power-hungry?” Trin asked me.

  “I believe so, but I’m still not done. They sell the emeralds like mine at incredibly high prices. Those people are promised to have powerful positions in his Kingdom. Now, do you see what I’m saying? Kennan’s family isn’t the only people from Earth that can transport like I can. Who knows how many there are?” I finished.

  This is what was bothering me. Why was this concept new to the Morthlands, but not Tate? Did any of the other Kingdoms know about this?

  We all took in what I had just said for a moment, in silence.

  “He could easily harm you in Arlington,” Axel said.

  “We don’t know if he has magic or not. I don’t think you should go back. I can’t protect you from here. You can’t use magic over there in public, because you are vulnerable.”

  “I agree,” Wisdom said. He looked concerned.

  “I have to,” I replied.

  “My Mom and Grandmother need me. Kennan could threaten them to get to me. I have to protect them. I can fend for myself. I have already done it once before.”

  I thought back to Lacey’s party when I got chased by the guy I flipped over my shoulder. He and his buddies chased me into the woods; if it weren’t for my basic knowledge of magic, I could have been injured or worse.

  This was becoming way more complicated than I initially thought. Why couldn’t the worst be behind me already?

  “We will just have to find another way,” Trin said.

  “I want to go with you to Arlington,” Axel told me.

  “I can protect you if I can get there.”

  “You don’t know the first thing about my world. It’s hard to protect someone when you don’t know its dangers. Plus, I don’t know how to get my hands on another emerald, like mine,” I said.

  There were all kinds of challenges appearing. I wasn’t sur
e how many things I could tackle; most of it was out of my control.

  These emeralds were very scarce here. Getting your hands on one was very difficult to do, especially since the mine for them has been hidden for a long time.

  “I’ll find a way to get one,” he promised me.

  I ended the meeting. I had an old king to converse with. I walked out of the Grand Study and made a left down a hallway. I passed the throne room, but that isn’t where I was interested in going. I walked into my room and shut the door before Axel could try to follow me. I needed to do this alone.

  I locked the door and set a chair underneath the nob. I couldn’t have anyone witness what I was about to do, especially Axel.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Icrossed the lavish room filled with pale purples, pinks, and blues. It looked like it should belong to a Princess or a fairy or something. It seemed so light and open.

  I drug my feet across the plush rug that covered the stone floor below. I rolled up the rug’s bottom corner and lifted out one of the stones on the floor. I had needed a new hiding spot in this room. I spent an hour yesterday pulling out this rock from the ground. Underneath was a decent-sized hollow space. It is in there that I keep the prior king, still in his orb.

  I reached in and picked up the clear hollow ball that housed the shrunken man. He had been sleeping assuming from the way he was lying on the floor of his clear cage. When the light from the room hit his face, he stood up. I placed the stone back in its place temporarily and pulled the rug back down to cover it. I brought the ball back with me to my bed and sat it on the covers in front of me.

  “I didn’t kill you because I pity you,” I started.

  “I am glad I didn’t kill you because I need some information from you.”

  “Are you naive enough to think I would share anything with you?” he scoffed.

  “I am not naïve. I’m smart. I figured out how to remove you from your throne rather quickly, didn’t I?”

  He sat there, not answering my question.