THE DUNGEON DEEP BENEATH the goblin cave was ice-cold. The light streaming through the grate above was so dim, Laura could barely see her hand in front of her. It was the darkest place she had ever been in her life, she realized, because for the first time ever, her green lock wasn’t glowing at all.

“Laura, are you okay?” Millie called from a few feet away.

“I think so.” Laura made her way over to Millie and saw that her lock wasn’t glowing, either.

“I wish I was still a goblin,” said Quin, rubbing his ribs. “That big belly could have broken my fall.”

“There’s got to be a way out of here,” said Laura. “We need some light.”

“On it.” Quin pushed himself up. “Tier’e!” he said. He struck his thumb and forefinger together to start a fire, but nothing happened. Not even a spark. He tried again. And then again. “It’s not working.” There was a twinge of panic in his voice, like a soldier who had lost his sword.

Millie shivered. “We’ll freeze to death down here! Or die of thirst! Or get eaten by some…weird cave monster!”

“Millie, calm down! I have an idea,” Laura said firmly. She rummaged around in her rucksack and pulled out a page of enchanted parchment. “My dad will help us. If we can tell him how to get here, he’ll make sure all the Lysors come and save us.” She quickly began writing.

But Laura saw that as she wrote, the ink wasn’t glowing. The enchantment wasn’t working. It was just a piece of ordinary parchment paper. Laura was writing to no one but herself.

Millie gasped in horror. “None of our magic works down here!” She started pacing. “All magic—Lysor, Hexor, small mage—it all comes from the same source: the moons. Lysoria and Hexia. We’re trapped so far away from them that we’ll never be able to use our magic to get out of here!”

Laura clenched her jaw. “We’ll find a way. We were so close to the Crystal Crown—”

“But now we couldn’t be farther away!” Millie cried. “And unless you know how to climb up stone walls and break open a locked grate with your bare hands, we don’t have a chance!”

“Now is not the time to panic,” Laura seethed.

“It’s the perfect time to panic!”

Laura exploded, “Millie, for you, every time is the perfect time to panic! And every time you do, it makes things worse! Why did you have to say my name in front of Bloato? You gave us away!”

“I gave us away?!” Millie shouted. “You were the one who used magic and ruined our disguise! Why do you always jump headfirst into everything without ever thinking?”

“Here’s what I think,” Laura snapped. “I think you shouldn’t have come with me in the first place!”

Millie sniffled. Even in the darkness, Laura could tell that she was fighting back tears. “You do?” Millie whispered.

Quin held up his hands. “It’s not anybody’s fault we’re down here.”

Laura turned on him. “Oh really? Maybe it’s your fault! I thought you were supposed to protect us. All you’ve done is make us eat beetle butts!”

“It’s not my fault the butt is the most nutritious part of the beetle!”

“I don’t care!” Laura yelled.

“Laura, calm down,” Quin said.

“Calm down?! That’s easy for you to say. You’re not out here trying to save your home and your family. You don’t even have a family to save.”

Quin bit his lip. He took a deep breath. “If we’re ever going to get out of here, we need to work together.”

“That’s the last thing I need to do,” Laura scoffed. She ran her hands along the smooth rock wall and felt an opening just big enough to fit through. “I’m going to find a way out of here. Alone.” She climbed through the opening, leaving Millie and Quin behind.

She found herself at the edge of a long tunnel with no end in sight. Without much of anything in sight, actually. As she put one foot in front of the other, it got darker and darker until it quickly became pitch-black. She walked and walked, touching her fingertips to the side of the tunnel. It twisted and turned, leading her deeper into the darkness. She tried to keep her mind off the cold wrapping itself around her like a blanket of ice. But then all she could think about was the Crystal Crown sitting on Bloato’s crusty head for all eternity. She was haunted by thoughts of the Hexors marching toward Hillview, preparing to rot away the only home she’d ever known. She felt foolish for ever wanting to leave and wished more than anything that she could be back there right at this moment. And the worst thought of all lodged itself in the forefront of her mind—she would never see her dad again.

Laura felt the tunnel branching out in all different directions. She had no idea how long she had been walking. But she knew one thing—she was completely and totally lost. Once again, she found herself surrounded by walls. But this time, there were no cracks to look through. And there was no Millie to comfort her.

Laura slid down to the ground. She had destroyed the only true friendship she had ever had. Of course she had wanted Millie to come with her. She needed Millie. And she needed Quin, too. She wiped the tears from her eyes and shouted as loud as she could, “I’m sorry!” Maybe it was impossible for them to hear her, but she had to try. “I need you! Both of you! I can’t do this alone!”

She put her head in her hands and sobbed. It was so dark, she couldn’t even tell if her eyes were open. Suddenly, between her short breaths, she heard footsteps echoing through the tunnel. And they were getting closer.

A soft, raspy voice called out, “Hello?”

It wasn’t Millie. It wasn’t Quin. It was a voice Laura didn’t recognize.

The frail voice called out again. “Is—is someone there?”

Laura trembled, trying to stay quiet, but the sound of her breathing gave her away.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” said the voice, right next to her now.

Laura whimpered, “I’m lost. I need to find my friends.”

“I can help you,” said the voice. “I know my way around these tunnels.”

“How can you know the way?” Laura asked. “It’s so dark.”

“I’ve been trapped down here for eleven years.”

Eleven years.

A heap of puzzle pieces in Laura’s mind suddenly snapped themselves into place.

Eleven years.

Laura scrambled to her feet. “Mom?”