One of the beautiful female figures approached, looking at Mayang with a cold yet graceful gaze. “You’re not from here,” she said in a soft voice that sent shivers through their souls.
Mayang swallowed, her heart pounding hard. “Where are we, really?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Joenathan clasped Mayang’s hand tightly, as if giving her courage amid the uncertainty. The Hidden City was not only captivating but threatening as well, blurring the boundary between the human world and the jinn realm—something they had never imagined before.
“Are you lost?” the woman asked again.
Mayang slowly shook her head, her face stiff and pale.
Then the woman left Mayang and Joenathan there. She followed the Prince’s group as they entered the hotel.
Joenathan immediately pulled Mayang’s hand, urging her to run out of the hotel.
As they ran outside, both of them came to an abrupt stop. They stared at the view beyond the hotel. The ceramic streets floated in the air, and cars flew overhead. No one used the lower lanes—only a few cars passed beneath them.
And what nearly made their eyes pop out of their heads was that every car there was a sports car or a Ferrari.
They took several steps backward. “W-where are we?” Mayang’s voice trembled.
“This isn’t our realm. We’re in the jinn realm,” Joenathan answered softly, his eyes fixed on the flying cars.
“All the buildings here are shiny yellow,” Mayang said, looking confused.
“They’re all made of gold,” Joenathan added.
“Am I dreaming, Joe?”
“We’re lost, May. This isn’t our realm.”
“Then where are we?” Mayang looked as if she were about to cry.
“We have to find a way out.” Joenathan tried to remember where they had entered. “Follow me.”
They walked along a sidewalk made of gleaming white marble, occasionally ducking their heads as sports cars floated over them. The cars made no sound as they streaked through the air like jets.
“This is where we first met that woman. We should’ve gone straight, so why is there a fork in the road?” Joenathan said, standing with his hands on his hips and breathing heavily.
“Here, drink this first.” Mayang held out a bottle of water to Joenathan, and he immediately gulped it down. But just as the water was about to go down, he remembered the warning never to eat or drink in a strange place unless they wanted to remain there forever and become part of its people.
Joenathan spat out the water, then quickly turned toward Mayang, who had already drunk some.
“Where’d you get that water?” Joenathan shouted, his face panicked.
“Over there. I got it from that place. Everyone else was getting water there too,” Mayang replied casually, tilting her face toward the right.
“What?” Joenathan’s eyes widened in shock. “Did you drink any?” he asked, growing even more panicked.
Mayang lifted her bottle of mineral water, now half empty.
“Here. I already drank half,” she answered casually with a smile.
Joenathan’s eyes widened even further, and his face went pale.
“May, we don’t even know where we are. Don’t just drink anything. Don’t you know that when we’re in a strange place, we’re never supposed to eat or drink anything there? Otherwise, we might never be able to return,” Joenathan said softly but emphatically, gripping Mayang by both arms.
“I know, but this is just plain water, not colored food or drinks. If it’s only plain water, it’s fine,” Mayang replied casually.
“Either way, we have to get out of here first. And remember what I said—never eat or drink anything from this place,” Joenathan said.
“Okay.”