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I grabbed Valerian’s arm again and pulled him deeper into the alley, where we would be out of sight from anyone who chose to come through here. The buildings pressed tightly around me—many of them tall, ancient structures built hundreds of years ago, but that had changed so much over the years to have been rendered almost unrecognizable to their original creators.
“London,” I said, “We’re in London.”
“What’sLondon?” Tallin asked. He was starting to perk up again.
“A human city,” I said.
Valerian couldn’t help but keep a constant, watchful eye on the surroundings. Every honk of a horn, every rumble of an underground train beneath our feet made him jumpy. “What are we doing here?”
“Getting away from that thing…” I said, trailing off. “It’s all I could think to do.”
“Carnaby Street.” Tallin said. He was looking at the back of a sign on an archway leading out of the series of side streets we were in. “Is that where we are?”
I nodded, then I turned my head and looked down the alley. There weren’t many doors along this alley—mostly windows that looked into the adjoining buildings. But at the end of the alley, there was a small shop, with cute, short windows and a slightly crooked door. Above the door, a sign readThe Magic Box.
“I would’ve brought us somewhere else,” I said, “But I’ve never been anywhere else on Earth. This was the only place I could link a portal to.”
“Can you take us back?” Valerian asked. “Send us directly into the castle?”
I shook my head. “The castle has protections against portals being opened into it from outside. Anyway, my magic is totally spent. I couldn’t open a portal if I wanted to.”
“So, we are stuck here?” Tallin asked.
“Until I find a way to recharge… which won’t be easy on Earth.”
“Arcadian magic is hard to find, here,” Valerian said. “With no one who knows to look for you, that portal may have been a one-way trip.”
I gave him my eyes. They were still wet with tears. “I didn’t have a choice. I’m sorry. I’ll find a way to fix this.”
He shook his head and ran his thumb across my cheek. “You may have saved our lives,” he said. “I should be thanking you.”
I didn’t want to admit that I enjoyed his touch. I didn’t know if I could trust him, so why did he make me feel safe? Why did he have that power over me?
“We should both be thanking Tallin,” I said, hurriedly wiping my other cheek with my hand. “He gave me enough time to open the portal.”
“Happy to help,” Tallin croaked. “I could do with a warm bed, though, and maybe something to eat.”
A light came on inside the Magic Shop, and my blood ran cold again. I had brought us here for a reason. We had no friends in Arcadia, no one who knew who we were, or cared if we were gone except for the monster that had been trying to kill us both. Bringing us here was a risk. A huge risk.
What iftheyhad forgotten who I was, too? They didn’t know me nearly as well as my parents, or my brother did, and as far as my entire family were concerned, Winter’s Princess wasn’t missing—she was right where she was supposed to be.
If this didn’t work, if I had brought us here,maroonedus on Earth for nothing… I didn’t think I would ever be able to forgive myself.
“Come with me,” I said, “But let me do all the talking.”
“Who are you going to talk to?”
“The only people in this oranyworld who have even the slightest hope of being able to help us.”
I tugged Valerian over to the warm, orange glow that had just sprouted inside the Magic Shop. The witches inside would’ve sensed my portal the moment I had opened it, which meant they were on their way to investigate.
The closer I got, the more frazzled I got. I wasn’t ready for this. If they didn’t know me, rejected me, then it was all over for me. I had no way of getting back home, we had nowhere to go, and we weren’t in Arcadia anymore—we were on Earth. Earthlings weren’t likely to react kindly to outsiders with pointed ears and antlers on their heads.
I stopped at the front door to the Magic Shop, shut my eyes, and knocked.
“Is this wise?” Tallin asked.
“It’s all I’ve got,” I said.
