Island of Dragons (43 page)

When they finally pulled apart, Aaron's eyes were wet. He flashed a sad half smile, and then pressed his fist to his chest.

Alex did the same. And then Aaron was off.

» » « «

Alex stayed with his sisters. Sky, Lani, Samheed, and Simber rejoined them on the lawn to watch the ship take sail.

“Do you wish you were going?” Alex asked.

“No stinking way,” said Samheed vehemently. “I'm still tired.”

“I'm good right here, thanks,” said Sky.

“No, I guess not,” said Lani with a little sigh. “Though we never found the big mass of land on the pirate map.” She glanced at Alex. “Why do you ask, Alex? Do you wish you were going?”

Alex shook his head. “Not even a little.” He was done with exploring and done with rescuing and done with fighting. He had new challenges to face. “This peace we have here now? This is what I've always wanted. I hope it stays this way forever.”

“So do I,” said Simber.

“It will,” said Lani. “At least until the next ship or airplane from Kaylee's world gets caught in the terrible storms of the Dragon's Triangle.”

They all thought about that for a while. And while they sat there, Pan's enormous body moved into view on the water, her five children flying above her in V formation. Arabis the orange led the way to the west, her wings flapping elegantly and her scales sparkling. They weren't stopping.

“Dat!” cried Fifer, pointing. She jumped to her feet.

“Dat!” echoed Thisbe, and the girls ran down the shoreline, chasing after the dragons.

Pan looked back at Alex, her face full of sorrow, and then she nodded regally. This was her good-bye day too. She would return alone.

Coming from a long walk around the island, Florence and Talon saw the twin girls running toward them. They each caught one and held them up high so the girls could see their precious dragons one last time, and perhaps pretend that they were flying too. Sky watched teary-eyed as the beautiful creatures disappeared in the distance. “I wonder where they're going?” she said.

But no one knew, and the question hung in the air unanswered. Pan's secret remained a mystery, perhaps to be solved another day by a very different pair of young magical twins.

I'm using this space to thank you, dear reader, for coming with me on this journey all the way to the end. Finally book seven is here! Thank you from the depths of my heart for caring about this story. Thank you for telling your friends and parents and grandparents and teachers and students and children about it. Thank you for finding me on social media to tell me about the moments that mean something extra special to you.

Thank you for loving these characters as much as I do. Your love for them keeps me going on the difficult writing days. Thank you for being Unwanted too, and for demonstrating it by using your creative abilities in all sorts of amazing ways. You are magical to me.

If you're feeling a little sad or bittersweet after reading this book, you are not alone! I was feeling that way too, so I decided to do something about it. I want to let you know that while this particular story of Alex and Lani and Samheed and Sky ends with this book, there are more stories coming soon about the world of Artimé and the characters you love, as well as some new ones. I can't wait for you to see all the fun surprises I will have for you in my new series, The Unwanteds Quests! The first book comes out in Spring 2017.

I hope you enjoyed reading
Island of Dragons
as much as I enjoyed writing it. And let me know if you're excited about the new series. You can find me on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter at
@lisa_mcmann
, and on Facebook at
facebook.com/mcmannfan
.

Thank you again for everything you have done to make the Unwanteds series something special. These books wouldn't exist without you.

All my love,

Lisa McMann

P.S. Now that you've reached the end and you've had a chance to think or cry or do whatever you usually do when you finish a book series, keep turning the pages. I've included a special sneak peek of the first book in the new Quests series. A new adventure awaits!

The Quests begin here. . . .

T
he moon was high in the night sky when Thisbe propped herself up on one elbow and peeked under the curtain. The outline of the two dragons filled the lagoon. Thisbe turned to her twin across the room. “Are you sure, Fifer?” she whispered. “Alex will be so mad if he finds out.”

Fifer's eyes shone in the darkness. “He'll get over it.” She climbed out of her bed and slipped on some clothes. “I wish we had component vests,” she grumbled.

Thisbe fell back into her pillow and rested there a moment, then hoisted herself to the floor and started getting dressed. “What about Seth?”

“We'll send him a seek spell.”

“You know how to do that?”

“How hard can it be? Kitten did it once and she can't even say the right word.” Fifer patted her pocket. “I've got that scene Seth gave me—the one that he wrote in Mr. Burkesh's class. That should do the trick.” She hopped onto Thisbe's bed and drew the curtains aside. Then she put her hand on the glass windowpane, concentrated, and whispered, “Release.” The windowpane disappeared. Fifer looked over her shoulder. “Ready with the rope?”

Thisbe frowned, then reached behind the wardrobe and grabbed a rope. “Can't we just go the normal way?” she asked. Even though she'd climbed down the side of the mansion a dozen times or more, her stomach flipped at the thought of it.

“You mean so Desdemona sees us and reports us to Alex's blackboard? I don't think so. Plus, we'd have to walk right past Simber.”

Fifer had a point. The girls had often found themselves in odd predicaments, and their blackboard, Desdemona, was a major tattletale. And there was no way Simber would keep a secret from the head mage of Artimé.

“Not the back door either?” Thisbe pleaded.

“The chefs will see us. Come on, Thiz,” Fifer said impatiently. She glanced at her sister and turned sympathetic. “Aw, I know you're scared. But you can do it. It's the only way.”

Thisbe sighed. “All right, fine. Catch me if I fall?”

“I'll turn you into a bird so you can soar to the ground,” promised Fifer.

“Ugh. No thanks. Can't you just catch me?”

“Sure,” said Fifer, growing impatient again. “Just hurry up.”

Thisbe tossed the coiled rope to Fifer, who, balancing on the sill, attached one end of it to an invisible hook outside the window, which one of the girls had installed years before for the first of many escapes.

As Thisbe put on her boots and tied them, Fifer slipped out and rappelled down the side of the mansion. Thisbe reached for her backpack, and not knowing how long they'd be gone, quickly stuffed it with their canteens and a few snacks they had in the room. She climbed on the bed and peered out the window at the ground below. With a grimace she grabbed the rope, took a breath, and swung out, hanging suspended above the ground from a dizzying height. She found her footing against the mansion wall and began descending. A few feet down, she stopped, and with a shaky hand, cast a new glass spell in the opening.

Once on the lawn, Thisbe breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the scary part was over, she grew excited for their adventure. Muttering a spell under her breath, she released the hook's hold on the rope so it landed in a heap at her feet, then coiled it up and put it in her backpack.

Nearby, Fifer was concentrating on the bit of script that Seth had given her. She held it pinched between her fingers, and when she felt ready, whispered, “Seek.” A flash of light exploded from the paper and shot up to the second level of the mansion and in through a window, leaving a softly glowing line behind it. The girls waited breathlessly, hoping Seth was sleeping lightly enough that he would notice the spell.

Finally their best friend appeared at the glass. The girls waved frantically and jumped up and down, and after a moment Seth saw them. He waved back, then disappeared. A few minutes later he exited the back door of the mansion and closed it softly behind him. He was wearing his new component vest, its pockets bulging. Fifer smiled approvingly.

“What's this all about?” he whispered. “How'd you do that seek spell?”

“Never mind that,” said Thisbe. “Did anybody see you?”

“Just the night chefs. They don't pay much attention to me.”

“Let's hope not.” Fifer scowled. “We need to move before Simber finds out what we're doing out here. Come on.” She took off running across the lawn, toward the jungle. Thisbe and Seth jogged behind.

“Where are we going?” whispered Seth.

Thisbe glanced sidelong at him, her backpack jouncing on her back. She flashed a mischievous grin. “We're going to rescue the young dragon.”

Also by Lisa McMann

» » « «

The Unwanteds

Island of Silence

Island of Fire

Island of Legends

Island of Shipwrecks

Island of Graves

» » « «

FOR OLDER READERS:

Don't Close Your Eyes

Visions

Cryer's Cross

Dead to You

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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First Aladdin hardcover edition April 2016

Text copyright © 2016 by Lisa McMann

Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Owen Richardson

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