I'm not sure when or how I lost consciousness, but I begin to stir when a warm sensation envelopes my ankle. It doesn't hurt, but I'm not sure what is touching me, so I scramble away from the unknown immediately. My surroundings are completely dark. But it's not like the darkness you see under the moonlight. This kind of darkness isn't natural. I don't hear rain, wind, or any sounds that could indicate nearby life. I'm engulfed in an endless, black void.

Warmth pulls at my injured leg again, startling me. It feels like someone or something's hands are holding me, but they're really hot. Not enough to burn me, but they're still more intense than the average body temperature. The feeling is actually quite soothing for my throbbing ankle, but I know that whatever is grabbing me isn't ordinary. I use my uninjured limb to kick at the unwelcome presence. I hear cursing from a familiar accent when my foot connects with something hard.

"It's me!" Maddox hisses through gritted teeth.

I reach out in front of me in an attempt to find him. My hand meets what feels like his face, but there is something wet on it. I jump back in disgust. "Ew, what are you doing?" I nearly shout, wiping my hand against the cold ground beneath me. I'm caught off guard when I realize the ground below is stone, not grass.

"I think you broke my nose," he says nasally. He sighs in relief after a few moments and then his hand is on my leg again. I instinctively swat at him. "I'm trying to help you! I can heal you!" he insists irritably. 

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"How do you think I'm alive right now?"

My next words die in my throat. How is he alive right now? When I don't respond, he grabs onto my lower leg again. I jump at the touch, but I don't move away this time. His other hand curls around my ankle, sending a warm tingle up my leg. It feels like a warm compress is being used to soothe my pain, but it's just his hands. He's using magic. The soreness in my ankle subsides quickly. When he releases me, I twist my foot around in circles to test it. It's as if I never had an injury to begin with. Before I can start interrogating him on how he is using magic, I feel a hand against the side of my face. The bruise Cyrus left on my temple becomes a nonexistent pain as well.

"You were dying. Dolion stabbed you, and you were bleeding out—"

"Yes, and I would've died if Juniper hadn't used her magic. I healed myself just like I did for you," he murmurs quietly, dropping his hand from my face.

We can't see each other, but I mindlessly shake my head anyway. "But how? You said you lost your magic. Why did you lie to me?" I demand. Before he can answer me, my sister's absence hits me. "Juniper! Where is she?" I ask frantically, scrambling to push myself up from the ground. Maddox pulls me back down immediately. I'm about to yank my arm out of his grasp but stop when he places my hand against Juniper's soft, mud-ridden locks. He releases me, and I wrap my arms around my sister protectively.

"She's unconscious, but she's okay. And I didn't lie to you, Callie. Once your sister gives up her power and we return to our own dimension on the island, my magic will be gone again as well."

I turn in the direction of his voice, but it's so dark that you can't even make out any shadows or shapes. "Wait, so is this where Orion went? Juniper said he went to a place filled with sand and monsters."

"Yes and no. We likely won't have the same experience as Orion, but we are in a different dimension, just as he was."

I run a hand through my hair in frustration as I try to wrap my head around his words. Why would the dimensions be different? Are they random? And why didn't Juniper get pulled over here with Orion when he used his magic? She said that she was wandering around trying to find Orion on the island for hours after he disappeared. How did Maddox and I cross over with her? My eyes widen in realization after a few seconds. It's like a teleportation spell! You have to be touching the person you want to transport with you. We were pulled over to this dimension with Juniper because we were all holding onto each other. That's what Maddox was trying to tell me.

"That's why you were saying Juniper's name. My magic would only be able to relocate us, but you would've bled out no matter what. You knew that if she used magic, it would bring us here so that you could heal yourself."

"Precisely."

"How did you even know that you'd get your magic back over here?" I demand in an unintentionally accusing tone.

He clears his throat. "I have—"

"Tell me that you didn't throw away my little sister's magic and risk our lives on a whim," I interject, glaring at the darkness beside me.

"Of course not!" he exclaims.

"So you've been here more than once?" I ask dubiously. 

He lets out a deep breath. "Yes, but not willingly at first. This place is a nightmare. It breaks your will over and over again until you give up your magic. After everything I went through, I never wanted to come back here."

"So why did you?" I press.

I hear him adjust his sitting position next to me. A quick breath escapes him before he starts his lengthy explanation. "I tried to warn the other Moons not to use magic on the island, but not all of them wanted to listen. Many of them disappeared right in front of me and had to learn the hard way— Dolion included." Maddox's tone grows bitter at the thought of Dolion, but he only hesitates a second before continuing. "But there was this Moonborn who wanted to fight back. She devised a plan to try and capture one of the Starborns. I did everything I could to try and talk her out of it, but she was determined. Long story short, she tried to attack one of them while they were bringing new prisoners to the island, but she ended up in this magic-sucking dimension like everybody else. The Starborn she attacked tried to retaliate, but I pulled Astrid back just in time."

"So you got dragged over here with her because you made direct contact, right?" I ask for clarification. He responds with an affirmative answer and then I proceed with my next question. "Was Astrid the only Moonborn that brought you back here?"

"No, but she was the last time I found myself over here by accident. More Moons came and I saw an opportunity. I've been on this plane of the island several times but with different Moonborns."

My jaw nearly drops. "On purpose? But you said that using magic has devastating effects on the island. You said it puts lives at risk."

"I know, but I've given my people a protocol to follow. Anytime a new Moonborn comes to the island, we all take the necessary precautions," he reassures me.

"But why?"

"Because I believe that the way out of here is on this side of the island. Every cage has a key, and I doubt that the Starborns put it in a place that isn't dangerous."

A gasp escapes me when I realize that Orion is injured and lost on the island somewhere. He won't be able to defend himself from whatever is happening on the island right now. "My brother! We have to get back there!"

Juniper groans in discomfort in my arms, gaining my attention. My heart begins to pound harder than ever when a loud, terrifying screech echoes throughout the darkness surrounding us. The dark void around us turns to daylight for half a second, then vanishes. Before I can blink, the sky flickers between light and dark once more. It's like eyes flickering rapidly. Maddox and I stare at each other speechlessly, watching each other's faces appear and reappear with the quivering light of day.

"Callie?" Juniper croaks weakly from below me.

I hold her face in my hands just as her eyes pop wide open. Her blue eyes don't leave mine, and I quickly realize that the sky has stopped blinking. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yes. Where are we?" she asks weakly.

I look up to take in our surroundings. The sun is out and there are clouds, but nothing else in this dimension makes sense. There are no trees and no sea. All I see is cobblestone that stretches out for miles. There are not even any buildings. Just vast pavement that appears to be endless. Due to the lack of sand, we clearly aren't where Orion was when he lost his magic. There's no way of knowing or comprehending where we are.

"I don't know," I finally admit, looking to Maddox for answers.

Maddox shrugs, rising to his feet. After he dusts himself off, he extends a hand out to Juniper. She reluctantly takes it and is pulled to her feet instantly. He turns to offer a hand to me as well, but I'm already on my feet. The Starborn sword that Maddox grabbed at the last second is lying at my feet, distracting me.

Maddox's voice calls me back to the conversation. "Your brother, Orion, told you that he couldn't make it back to you until he gave up his magic. This is where he went, Juniper."

She peers up at us in alarm. "We're here because of me? Because I used my magic?"

He nods. "Yes, but what you did saved me. I would've died if it wasn't for you."

Maddox has saved my life multiple times, and even my ten-year-old little sister has managed to return such a favor already. Being in debt to him is weighing me down. Hopefully, my supposed Star magic is the key to escaping the island. Maddox will get a one-way ticket out of this place from me, but after that, my siblings and I are going home.

My sister smiles, but the confusion on her face is still evident. "But my magic wasn't strong enough to stop Dolion. I didn't do anything— wait, you were bleeding! Did Callie save you?" she asks. Her eyes widen in fear as she recalls our previous encounter with Dolion.

Maddox grins at me. "I suppose you both did. I would've bled out if she hadn't acted so quickly. But no, I healed myself with magic." I roll my eyes. He and I both know that Juniper was his true savior, not me. Even if he doesn't see it, I know that I still have a lot to make up for.

Juniper gawks at him. "You had magic the whole time?"

"Not quite. I'll lose it again once we're back on the island."

I clear my throat. "Speaking of which, how do we get back to the island? I wouldn't think it'd be that hard to steal magic from an unconscious ten-year-old." 

"It's not that simple. She has to give up the magic herself."

I look down at Juniper expectantly. "There's no way to outsmart this weird Auto-whatever cage, so you might as well save us some time and give up your magic now."

"Autolycus Cage," Maddox corrects me. There's a hint of amusement in his voice for some reason.

Juniper frowns but nods understandingly. "Okay. The island can have my magic." Her eyes dart around frantically as if she is expecting something dramatic to happen, but there is no magical reaction to her words. Silence stretches on for a long minute before she finally huffs in annoyance. "Why isn't it working?" she grumbles.

"People wouldn't stay trapped in this dimension for hours or more if it were that easy. You think that you want to give up your magic, but you don't really mean it. We'd be back on the island already if your words were genuine, Dear."

She pouts at Maddox's response. "But... I don't understand."

"Of course she means it," I argue, eyeing him doubtfully. "She knows that there's no point in fighting against this place. And she knows it's the only way to keep us safe."

Maddox frowns. "I'm sure she does. But willingly giving up your magic is like cutting off your own arm. If it's a matter of survival, any Celestial or mortal could cut off a limb if they had to, but that doesn't mean that it's an easy thing to do."

"So we're stuck?" Juniper whines hopelessly.

"Not permanently. The island will motivate you soon enough. We just have to keep each other safe until the time comes," he explains, looking between the two of us protectively. "And we have to stay together. If we're not all connected when Juniper goes, then you and I will have lost our only ticket out of here, Callie."

A piercing scream rings through the atmosphere again. We all cover our ears immediately at the sound. Whatever it is, it's getting closer. I whirl around, looking both up and down for any sign of life. There's nothing around us that I can see. Is the island just toying with us? I look to Maddox for a possible explanation, but he isn't looking at me anymore. He is tossing Juniper onto his back so that she can travel piggyback style. Did he see something that I didn't? I snatch the Starborn sword up from the ground, preparing to defend myself if need be. But before I can do anything else, he grabs my hand and starts running. I've made more than enough physical contact with this stranger than I'd like, but I know that this isn't a good time to complain about a lack of personal space. I tolerate his touch and keep my free hand locked around the sword. Something tells me that I will need it for some reason.

My heart begins to hammer in my chest. "Why are we running? What is that sound?" I ask warily.

"I don't want to find out! Just keep up!" he shouts.

Maddox is taller and faster than Cyrus. If I couldn't manage to outrun Cyrus, then how am I supposed to keep up with Maddox's long strides? The inhuman sounds grow louder, making me sprint faster. It sounds like some kind of bird. Terror creeps through me when I realize it isn't just one creature making these sounds. There's more than one monster lingering nearby. 

I force myself to envision Cyrus and Maddox's camp. Maybe my magic will be strong enough to take us back to the island so that Juniper won't have to lose her magic. I close my eyes, focusing intently on my mental picture of the camp. "Atmós!" I yell, tightening my grip on Maddox's hand. A familiar chill shoots through my body but implodes back into my chest, making me shiver uncontrollably. Why aren't we teleporting to safety? 

"That's not going to work here!" Maddox says informatively. I barely hear him over the sound of the now relentless screeching. He says something else, but I don't know what it is.

Suddenly, he stops running, causing both of us to slide roughly into a clumsy halt. The cobblestone beneath us catches onto his shoe, causing him to trip over his own feet. Luckily, he manages to catch himself before he can fall over. Juniper is holding onto him so tightly that her knuckles have turned white. I let go of Maddox so that I can place a reassuring hand on Juniper's shoulder. I look ahead to see what caused him to stop so abruptly and nearly gasp. The seemingly endless cobblestone path isn't actually so endless. We were moments away from teetering over the edge of this strange piece of land. We are so high up from the ground that I can't even see what is below us.

"What do we do now, Callie?" Juniper asks, looking at me with hopeful eyes. 

"I—"

I'm interrupted by a sudden force descending from the sky and snatching Juniper right off of Maddox's back. My sister screams, but the sound is drowned out by the monster's eerie sounds. I take off running in the direction of the strange bird, keeping my eyes glued to the sky as I scramble to keep up with them. It looks like a woman with wings is carrying her, but her lower half resembles that of a bird. The wings of the creature are a pale, sickly color that matches the talons at the base of her legs. This creature is what many refer to as a harpy. I never thought these creatures actually existed in our world. I've heard people speak of seeing such creatures, but I always thought they were full of it. Monsters are only found in fables and fairytales. This is what I always believed... until now.

"Callie!" Juniper cries out in despair. "Help me, please! Help!"

The fear in her voice makes my blood run cold. "Juniper!" I call out helplessly.

"Vrasmós!" The unknown incantation comes from Maddox, who I nearly forgot existed the moment Juniper was taken.

The harpy spins out of control and fishtails right into the cobblestone ground. Thankfully, the harpy softens the landing for my sister. The woman's hands release Juniper, and the creature hugs herself tightly as she writhes around in pain. Maddox's outstretched hand is somehow causing her continuous agony. Juniper jumps up and runs straight into my arms. I pick her up and back away from the dangerous bird cautiously and quickly. 

Another harpy swoops in from above, attempting to cut into Maddox with her sharp talons. He dodges her attack, but this makes him lose focus, causing his spell to drop. The incapacitated harpy sighs in relief. Meanwhile, her companion continues to strike at Maddox fruitlessly. Juniper's attacker uses her humanoid arms to lift herself up. Her jet-black eyes zero in on me. She looks... resentful. Her mouth opens to an abnormal width, startling me. She screeches at me in aggravation. The sound is nearly deafening, but I don't let myself react to it. Instinctively, I know that running or showing any kind of fear would be a mistake. If I don't stand my ground, she could perceive me as weak and attack again.

The other harpy is suddenly struck down by Maddox's unknown incantation. She lands beside her ally, crying out in pain from Maddox's mysterious spell of torture. Her wails make my ears ache incessantly. The harpy that is eyeing Juniper and I is inflicted with suffering once more. The monsters are both unable to break out of Maddox's magical hold on them. He keeps his hand pointed in the direction of the two bird-like women, but looks over at me in exasperation.

"Why aren't you running?" he snaps. "Go!"

I tighten my grip around the sword and secure my hold around Juniper. Leaving Maddox isn't something I want to do, but I can't protect both him and her. I start to turn away, but guilt clutches at my heart, halting me. "I can't just leave you, Maddox," I finally say, taking a step towards him instead.

"You have to keep her safe."

I shake my head. "There's nowhere for us to go anyway. I can't get us down from here."

The afflicted harpies become impatient. Despite the crippling pain that she is enduring, one of the birds manages to fly upwards. She brings herself back down immediately, using her entire body to slam into the stone ground. The cobblestone begins to crack and the ground becomes anything but sturdy. She continues to repeat this action, making the stone structure shake and crumble beneath us. Maddox finally drops his hand, but the harpies don't show us mercy. One of them flies at Maddox, while the other slams herself into the ground one last time in an enraged fit of defiance. 

Maddox is pinned beneath the harpy's talons, but the entire land of stone surrounding us crumbles to pieces before she can inflict any serious damage. Juniper and I both scream when we begin to fall into the unknown. Maddox follows close behind us, but I don't think he screams. I don't even know if he's conscious. Either way, this height is way too great for any of us to survive. It's merely a matter of time now. Juniper's hold on me loosens, and I know that she's unconscious now. It's probably for the best that she isn't awake for this. I don't want her to feel any pain when we hit the ground. 

The sword in my hand begins to rattle uncontrollably. Without thinking, I hold it above my head and wish with every fiber of my being that something will stop us from reaching the ground. I direct all of my magic to the sword, shutting my eyes tightly. To my surprise, the air stops whipping past my face. When I open my eyes, I realize that I'm floating. It's as if all of the gravity within my proximity has become nonexistent. Maddox begins to levitate as well when he reaches my level of the fall.

He is still conscious, but his face is pale. Due to the lack of gravity, his head whips around very slowly as he whirls around in a panic. "What's happening?" he asks in confusion.

I nod my head towards the sword outstretched above my head. "I did something."

A relieved laugh escapes him, and he gazes at me in awe. "I can see that. You are brilliant, Darling," he exclaims in admiration.

"It's Callie," I respond, giving him a flat look. "And not really. I don't know how to get us down."

He offers me a look of reassurance. "That's alright. This gives us time to figure something out."

The harpies cry out in the distance, making my chest tighten in trepidation. Maddox's expression drops immediately. He uses the weightless atmosphere to his advantage in order to make his way over to me. The harpies fly in a circle above us, but neither of them makes a move just yet. Maddox's warm, brown eyes give me a small amount of comfort, but I still see no way out of this. He gives me a concerned look when he notices that Juniper isn't talking. 

"She's okay. I think she passed out from the shock."

He frowns but merely nods in response. "Any ideas, then?"

"I thought you knew almost everything. I was hoping you'd be able to solve our dilemma."

He purses his lips at me. "I don't even understand how you're doing this. There must be something else you can do with the sword to get us down."

"I don't even know how I'm doing this! I don't know what to do from here or how to properly use this sword, so I'm not a good plan. We're gonna have to think of something else."

His brows knit together in frustration as he drifts away into thought. Something useful crosses his brain, making his eyes light up. "Do you still have that compass?" he asks.

I instantly become aware of the extra weight tucked away in my pocket. "Yes, why?"

He gives me an imploring look. "I think it's time you tell me what it does, Love. I could sense the magic in it."

I bite my lip. I can't risk telling him Atlas's name. My eldest brother could be a dead giveaway as to who we really are. Many have seen his face and learned his name during the war. "My brother gave it to me when we were kids. He spelled it so that I'd always be able to find him."

"Orion?" he asks in astonishment. "Why didn't you just use it earlier to find him, then?"

"No, I have an older brother too. I tried to use the compass to find him, but something interfered and then I woke up on the shore with you and Cyrus."

He gives me a buoyant look. "So it can take us to your brother?"

"It's not supposed to. It's only supposed to tell me what direction he is in. Someone must have jinxed it so that I would get pulled onto the island."

He cocks an eyebrow at me. "If that compass is meant to lead you to your brother, then he is likely on this island too. The compass must've been interacting with the Autolycus Cage somehow."

"What's your point? Even if I could get the compass to do that again, you said teleportation doesn't work here anyway. The compass won't help us," I proclaim.

"It won't work if he's on the island. But if he's on the other side with us, perhaps we'll get lucky."

I resist the urge to sigh. "He would've been here for days. There's no way."

The harpies cry out and begin to close in on us. Maddox gives me an impatient look. "You'd be surprised, but even if you're right we have to try something."

With both of my hands preoccupied with my sister and a sword, I can't risk digging out the compass midair. I would put the sword down, but I don't know if the gravity will return if I do. So much for personal space. "It's in my back pocket. You'll have to get it," I say.

He nods, coming closer to me. One of the harpies is about to dive at us, but she stops when she senses the change in atmosphere. She shrieks violently at us once more, holding out her hands in desperation. She is intensely staring at Juniper as if she is some kind of treasure. I tighten my arm around my sister protectively, giving the monster a dark look. She pierces the air and my eardrums with another screech of frustration. The other harpy is flying around haphazardly, watching us from a further distance. Maddox's hand reaches into my pocket to retrieve Atlas's compass.

He examines it with acute curiosity. Determination flickers in his eyes, and he places a hand on my forearm. He stares at the open compass, causing the dial to spin rapidly. He doesn't chant anything, but the trinket begins to glow in his hand. It's the same red glow that I witnessed before I was pulled into the heat of the compass. How is it not burning him like it did to me? Maybe he's able to fight it since he knows that the trinket has been hexed in some way? The jittery dial points West, but the glow fades away, and we don't go anywhere.

When Maddox looks up at me, the amber specks in his eyes are brighter than ever. "Put the sword down. Whatever it is that you're doing is disrupting the magic in the compass."

I stare at him in silence for a moment, dumbfounded. "We will fall if I do that. Sorry, but a red glow doesn't inspire much confidence for me."

"Would you rather stick around with them?" he asks rhetorically, gesturing towards the murderous harpies watching us. Their dark eyes don't stray away from Juniper and I. The malicious creatures are still stalking my sister like she's prey. I jump in surprise when Maddox wraps an arm around my waist firmly. He's either prepared for us to inevitably fall, or prepared for us to teleport elsewhere. "I don't know how to explain it, but I know that this will work. I can feel it. Put the sword down."

The prospect of falling to our deaths or being killed by the bird-human monsters doesn't sound very appealing. As far as I'm concerned, both the compass and staying in place mean death. "No, we have to think of something else," I plead doubtfully.

"There is nothing else, Callie. You'll just have to trust me."

Seeing no other option, I reluctantly lower the sword, but I don't let go of it. I throw my now free arm around the man holding onto me and close my eyes tightly in anticipation. As expected, we continue to descend. My stomach flips at the abrupt drop, and Maddox's hold on me tightens. I finally open my eyes again when I hear the harpies whoosh past us. The compass glows bright red once more and then we stop falling.

The joints in my body are burning in protest when the compass finally spits us out into the unknown. The familiar sting in my lungs tells me that we're in the ocean. I know that I'm not the best at swimming, so I can't risk holding Juniper down here for too long. Maddox is already trying to swim to the top with Juniper and I in his arms, but I know that his attempt is foolish. I push my sister into his arms and swim away from him. I motion for him to take her to the surface. He gives me a worried look but obliges. I paddle upwards after them, but I'm not nearly as fast as him. His expert swimming skills would explain how he was able to save me from drowning just days ago. The déjà vu of this situation is definitely not lost on me.

We're not as far down as I was the first time I woke up in the sea, so I'm able to reach the surface without losing consciousness. I gasp for air immediately when my head pops out of the water. Maddox is keeping Juniper afloat, who is still not waking up. He sighs in relief when he notices me. I don't know if we've somehow made it back to the island, or not, but the sun is setting. We're stranded in the middle of the ocean with an unconscious child, and it's about to get dark. Could this be any worse? The sky rumbles in response to my thoughts, making me groan internally.

"Which way do we go?" I choke out almost incoherently. I'm still coughing uncontrollably after taking on so much water.

Maddox looks around, but he doesn't seem certain about where we are either. "I'm not sure. I suppose we'll just have to choose a direction."

A familiar, but unexpected voice from behind us makes me jolt up in surprise. "Well, it isn't that way," Atlas announces, pointing back in the direction he came from.

I'm awestruck at the sight of my older brother. "You're okay! You're here."

"Of course. You didn't think this place got the best of me, did you?"