AS NIGHT CLOAKED THE brilliant sky, Danny sent out a wish to the first star he saw appear in the sky. It was a tiny star. If you had blinked, you might have missed it.

But Danny saw it, of course. He lay down in the grass listening to the sounds of night animals. The Kohlrabi Court was silent, waiting for their king to wake. If he would wake. There was another star. This one bigger. He made another wish because that was the only thing he could do that was familiar.

His wish was anything but simple. He wished to make it all not true. They had been betrayed. They had been tricked. They had been used. He wished to take away all the pain his friends were feeling.

Long after midnight, Danny, Glory, Llewelyn, and Orion sat around the grove. Ollie had been hit on the head hard. Two older fairy women brought out a pillow and blankets to make him comfortable while he was unconscious. He was still breathing, but no matter what they tried, he wouldn’t wake up.

There was a soft light coming from fireflies and the bright stars above. Llewelyn made a small fire inside a circle of stones, and they warmed their hands to banish the cold. The people of the Kohlrabi Court tended to their sleeping king and held a silent vigil as they processed their defeat.

“I’m sorry you gave up the arrows for me,” Glory started to say, but her voice cut off as she fought a cry.

“For us,” Llewelyn said softly. Orion snuggled close to his jackalope friend and let out a sympathetic whine. “I should’ve done something more. I should have been faster.”

“No. I’m not sorry,” Danny said. He wrapped his arms around his knees. “We’re a team. You’re my friends. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”

Glory wiped her face with her sleeve. There was a tremble in her voice. “I can’t believe I’ve been living with the Shadow Queen for a whole year! How could I not have noticed?”

“It’s not your fault,” Danny said. “You’d lost your parents. You needed family, and she took advantage of that. Me, on the other hand, I had a strange feeling, but I pushed it away because I wanted—I wanted to be part of your family, too.”

“You still are,” she said, and they held hands.

“Well, if it’s time for confessions,” Llewelyn said. “There’s something I haven’t told you … The day you opened the portal—I wasn’t there to guard it. I didn’t sense something wrong like I said.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “Why were you there, Llewelyn?”

“I was there to find a way out. I’d heard about different kinds of portals. I was actually on my way to Nowhere to search for a falling star. I wanted to run away, and I did.”

“But why?” Danny asked. “You’re the prince of the Red Woods.”

“That’s exactly it!” Llewelyn cried. “I’m the prince of the Red Woods and soon I’ll have to be king and rule and have responsibilities. If I ever get back home, there’s going to be a battle waiting for me. Do you know what the king has to do on his first week? They have to set sail around Rio Luna and visit the other kings and queens and I—”

The jackalope’s tears wet the fur of his face. His nose had turned a bright red, and he was overcome with hiccups.

“You’re afraid of water,” Danny realized.

“Water is terrifying! When I was young my best friend drowned in the Mermaids’ Lagoons. I was right there and my antlers got tangled in the weeds. I couldn’t save him and I was drowning, too, but my mother rescued me.”

“Oh, Llewelyn,” Glory said, and rested her hand over his paw. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

The jackalope used his cloak to dab at his eyes. “When I met Ollie today, I thought everything would be well. He was king and he’s able to have a normal life here in this realm. Why can’t I? I simply can’t go back. I can’t face my parents. I’m the runaway prince.”

“Actually, Ollie was the runaway prince first,” Danny said, trying to lighten the mood.

Glory dissolved into a snotty laugh. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny, but you have to admit—”

Llewelyn snorted and chuckled, too. “I guess a runaway prince is a little funny.”

“Just a bit,” Danny said. A part of him felt good while laughing.

“But what do we do know?” he asked. “The Shadow Queen has the three arrows. She’s on her way to the door. We have to warn Pili on the other side. We have to do something.”

It was then that the Kohlrabi King opened his eyes and lifted himself up on his elbows. “Well, that was a nasty tumble.”

The trio descended on him with hugs. Llewelyn was particularly relieved that their friend was alive and well.

“You’re awake!” Danny said.

Ollie groaned and touched his head. One of the kohlrabi buds had fallen off when he was hit, but a new one was already sprouting in its place. “What happened after I so elegantly passed out? Oh, Isaac will never let me live it down.”

Danny told him everything. “And then she took off with the shadows. Where would she go? We don’t have a plane or a way out of here.”

“You said she took the arrows?” Ollie asked. The great big fireflies began to gather all around the king. The flowers on his skin were stirring, some lifting off as if responding to his great anxiety. “We have to hurry. There’s still time.”

Glory and Danny exchanged a look. “How?”

“Auntie—” Glory froze and whimpered. “The Shadow Queen said she didn’t need us. Only the keys.”

“She’s only half right,” Ollie said, a delighted smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “She might have the keys, but the door won’t reveal itself to her until you speak the whole enchantment. Ella wrote in a safety protocol in case the keys were stolen.”

“The words are magic, too!” Glory said as it dawned on her. “I remember the third one! ‘Among the Greenest Grove at Night.’ ”

Danny scrambled to get his backpack for the book. There was no time to waste. The Shadow Queen was already on her way, but there was still hope that they could defeat her.

“The fourth story is about sea giants,” Danny said, turning the pages.

It was then that the arrows on his arms reappeared, brighter and stronger than before. His mind was clear of doubt and sadness. He held on to the good, the memories of Pili and new ones of Glory and Llewelyn. The magic shot down his arms like comets. On his left hand appeared a long stalk with curling leaves. As he looked at it, Danny realized it was a beanstalk.

“Look!” Llewelyn pointed out. On Glory’s right hand the golden symbols appeared, too. It was a giant wave.

Next, Llewelyn’s antlers glowed. Two words repeated themselves across the smooth bone. They were sharing the magic.

“I knew it,” Danny whispered, unable to contain his smile.

“What does that say?” Ollie wondered, squinting at the script. “I never could read Ella’s handwriting.”

Danny tried not to snort, then said, “Giant’s Causeway.”

Giant’s Causeway.

“There’s still time,” Ollie said. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s on the coast of Northern Ireland.”

Danny felt a thrill of hope in his belly. Ollie was right. Moments ago he had wanted to give up. He thought Pili had left him. But reading her words and knowing that she had planned on finding him was everything he’d wanted to hear for two years. Now that he’d given the Shadow Queen the keys, it was his turn to find her. Just as he’d planned all along. Danny secured the book in his backpack and stood in front of his friends.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

They would find a way. They had to.

“It’ll be dangerous,” Ollie warned them. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter how dangerous it is,” Glory said, “as long as we’re together.”

“I hate to be that prince,” Llewelyn said, “but we still have no means of getting to this giant’s place. There aren’t real giants there, are there?”

“I have a way,” Ollie told them, dusting the dirt off his palms. Crickets chirped and night birds sang around them.

“One of the side effects of having my magic in this land is that stars come down to the grove for a moment. They’re attracted to it. Though it can get cumbersome when I’m trying to sleep, to be honest. But it’s a marvelous thing.”

“Stars?” Glory asked.

They all glanced around. Danny realized that what he had thought were fireflies were floating back up to the sky. Not fireflies. Stars!

“You must each grab hold and don’t let go. Whisper the place you wish to go to and the star will give you a ride before returning.”

“Just like Sinchi,” Danny said, grinning so widely it almost hurt.

“I’m sorry, Orion,” Glory said, reaching down to rub between his ears. “But we’ll come back for you.”

“He’ll be safe here,” Ollie said, and winked. “I’m fluent in Wild.”

Danny, Glory, and Llewelyn said goodbye to their friends and grabbed hold of a star each. Danny felt the heat of the light in his palm. He soared faster and higher than ever, but he didn’t let go the entire way.