Saying it was a bumpy ride was an understatement. We were falling and I’d lost Idris. It seemed the magical tunnel was never going to end. Just a moment ago, our hands were gripped together tightly, and now I was on my own. Darkness had begun to shade my vision as I wasn’t getting enough oxygen into my lungs.

We were just supposed to walk through the crack of magic, but instead I felt like I was never going to touch solid ground. A split second later, I crashed to the ground hard, losing consciousness. When I started coming around, pain radiated throughout every part of my body. I was hurting, maybe from the fall, or maybe from the parallel magic rushing through my system. The brisk cold air hit my lungs, and I took a deep hissing breath. Small drops of rain started falling on my face, and I lifted my head, looking around, seeing the streetlamps. I was now soaking wet, and hurting badly, but I needed to get out of here. The human world was riddled with traps.

“Fran, Fran, are you all right?” a familiar voice asked. My dragon. I needed my dragon, but I couldn’t sense her. What the hell happened to me? This journey was only supposed to last a few seconds. Someone touched my hand; it was Idris. I felt him again and, for a brief moment, I felt so relieved. He had fallen through the crack of magic with me.

“Where are we? What’s happened to Avianna and Rhian? They were right behind us,” I said, looking around as he helped me to my feet. I bit my tongue, as excruciating pain invaded my body. We were in London, in the human world, but something felt off. We were supposed to be somewhere else, back to where Nicolas had gone. I suspected that he had headed to Ally’s place, but instead, the magic took us somewhere else. Unfamiliar waves of energy tickled the nape of my neck. I felt very exposed out here.

“I have no idea, but we have to get the fuck out of here as soon as we can. The Dark Ones are coming,” Idris said, grabbing my hand. His breathing was whizzed, too, and he looked like he was limping. Was it possible the crack took us somewhere we weren’t supposed to be?

Seconds later Idris pulled away from me. We turned around, and then we saw them: five men, all dressed in suits, had approached from around the corner, and what felt like a bunch of bricks of unease cascaded down to my stomach. We were so screwed. They looked like humans, and they must have noticed Idris because they didn’t attack us instantly. I knew that I was weak without Avianna. The Dark Ones were in control out here.

“Get them. She’s a warden, and I can sense her magic,” the dark-haired one snapped, but then he stopped when he noticed Idris. His shiny, beautiful eyes went wide. I had never seen him before, but there was something familiar in the way he stared at me. “I know you”—he pointed toward Idris— “the Dark One. You’re one of us.”

“Yes, Richard, he’s one of us, and I see he has finally done something right. Well done, Idris. You’ve caught the girl, and I hope you captured the dragon creature, too.” His voice was so cold, it chilled me to the bone.

It was Baxley; he must have returned from the Dimond City not long ago, but why were we so unlucky? He was supposed to be far away, injured. I glanced at Idris, trying to understand what the hell was going on. The half dark one’s face was pale. He looked confused. He glanced at me, then pushed me abruptly forward, mumbling something that sounded like “trust me.”

Then I began to understand everything. Baxley had no idea that Idris had betrayed his kind, that he betrayed his own father. Mangus was gone, and no one apart from the guard, had seen us there. Avianna had helped me. I suspected that she and Idris made Mangus disappear, but where? Well, that was still unknown.

Baxley only saw what he wanted to see. I needed Idris on my side. I didn’t want to believe that he was ready to betray me, but right now, he had to play this game. If we wanted to survive, then he had to act like he hated my guts.

“What the hell happened out there?” Baxley narrowed his eyes in question. “You vanished, and I had to get back on my own when that dragon slipped through my fingers. Your sister was pissed. Never mind, we need to get her locked up. Then we can talk about what went on in Dimond city. Mangus hasn’t been seen since we left him in prison.”

“She doesn’t have the dragon. I caught her by the crack, and she was without the creature,” Idris said.

Baxley cursed. He gave me one stinking look. He passed out before he’d had a chance to see the real me in that basement; otherwise this whole game of theatrics wouldn’t make much sense. Maybe he suspected something, but right now that didn’t matter. Idris would have to come up with some sort of explanation later on.

My entire body was still soaring with pain when Idris grabbed my arm and pushed me ahead. I was worried about Nicolas, Rhian, and Avianna. Nicolas wasn’t in the best of shape mentally, but if he had gone to see Ally, then she would take care of him. The Dark Ones walked behind us, and Baxley was in front. He looked tense, and he kept glancing back at Idris and me from time to time. The crack must have separated us from the others. This was the only logical explanation. I didn’t want to be in London, but back in the Dimond city, we weren’t left with much of a choice. It was probably late in the night, because I only spotted a few humans on the streets, and there weren’t a lot of cars on the road. On top of that, a slight burning smell wafted around. It was like this world had imprinted itself on me. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“We’re both riding with her in the first car. We are taking her to Ponulium,” Baxley barked at Idris. I wished I could communicate with him mentally like I did with Avianna; it would have been so much easier. Moments later, I was pushed inside a black vehicle. Luckily Baxley climbed in the front.

“Why Ponulium? I thought we were to take her straight to the office and wait for Mangus there?” Idris asked. Baxley looked at him. Their exchange, probably an internal one, lasted a few seconds. They were communicating, and this was irritating, because I wanted to know what was going on.

Within moments, Baxley nodded to the driver, and Idris squeezed my thigh. We still couldn’t communicate, but I hoped he had a plan. We just had to play along. He sounded panicky, and I was worried about Avianna. She was a tough cookie, and I knew she was going to be fine. Luckily, she was with Rhian. I had to keep telling myself that.

The car started moving, and I was looking out the window, wondering where my enemy was taking me. I wanted to be back in Draconia, walk through the streets, and feel the magic on my skin. I already imagined a life there without the Dark Ones. The wardens needed a revolution of some sort. We needed to gain control of the eggs and their magic. We were the original keepers of the dragons, so it was up to us to kick the mages further out to the Lower World. These thoughts continued to race through my mind.

When I glanced toward Idris, I could see he was tense. I couldn’t blame him. We were headed into enemy territory.

“Mangus is missing, but that’s between you and me,” Baxley said after a long silence, and he turned around to look straight at me when he was talking. “She knows what’s happened to him, and we need to get information about the dragon out of her, too. Maybe even split her magic.” His pretty blue eyes were shining with excitement. I was ready to kick him in the face, although that wasn’t entirely possible. I just couldn’t show him any fear. As long as Idris was with me, nothing else mattered.