What happened in A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab - Recaptains

The basics

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V. E. Schwab

Series: A Darker Shade of Magic #1

- A Darker Shade of Magic (February 2015)
- A Gathering of Shadows (February 2016)
- ADSOM 3 (2017)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.

Read a full summary of A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab below. If you can’t remember what happened in A Darker Shade of Magic and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.

in short

what happened in A Darker Shade of Magic?

• Kell returns to Red London from his visit with Grey London’s king and prince regent.
• Kell works as a messenger between the three Londons (since Black London is off limits) and he delivers official letters from RL’s king and queen. He also illegally smuggles harmless items between the worlds – something that is considered treason so shhhh, don’t tell anyone.
• He returns to RL’s palace and it is revealed that Kell was pretty much adopted by the king and queen and grew up with them as a part of their family. But he still considers himself property. He also reveals that the first five years of his memories were removed by magic so he doesn’t know his birth name or where he came from.
• Prince Rhy is visited by Holland and given a necklace, although the guard isn’t entirely sure what Rhy and Holland were talking about. Holland removes the poor guard’s memory of the incident.
• Kell is sent to White London to see the Dane twins, who rule together and are hella creepy. Athos is busy torturing some boy when Kell arrives. Astrid and Athos drink Holland’s blood, and Holland can’t resist because he is bound to them and you can’t break a soul bond like that.
• Meanwhile, Lila (from Grey London) sets a boat on fire because the owner (her landlord) tries to force himself on her. She goes back to the tavern that she was at a year ago, which is owned by a man called Barron.
• Kell gets a bit drunk with the Dane twins and staggers back to the tavern in White London. A woman hands him a letter and a package just as he’s about to go back to RL. She asks him to deliver them to someone in Red London so Kell is like, eh, what’s the harm in that. Despite having promised Rhy that he would stop smuggling.
• Kell arrives at the address that the woman sent him to and is attacked by two cutthroats – killers for hire – who want the stone that was in the package. He kills one and disables the other. Kell  then escapes to Grey London.
• In GL, Kell is robbed by Lila. He follows her back to the tavern and demands the stone back. Lila summons another Kell using the stone’s magic, and it’s all cool until other!Kell attacks her for trying to send him away. Kell manages to get rid of him and traps Lila to the wall before he leaves with the stone.
• Holland finds Lila near the tavern and tortures her in an attempt to get Kell to come to her. There’s a fight, and eventually Kell and Lila get away.
• Kell and Lila take supplies from the tavern because Lila has convinced Kell to take her with him on a parallel universe roadtrip. Kell needs to get the stone back to Black London, where it came from, and Lila wants adventure. The pair get split up in Red London, their first stop, but eventually Kell finds Lila. They travel to the Red London version of the tavern only to find that it has been burned down.
• Holland kills Barron because he didn’t know where Kell and Lila went. He then travels to RL, shows up at the tavern, and tries to torment Kell and Lila to come out of hiding. Kell uses the stone to cloak himself and Lila. This makes them corporeal so Holland thinks they’re not there. Lila finds out that Barron is dead and gets very upset.
• Lila and Kell use the stone to cloak them while they go to Fletcher’s shop to get a chess piece which will act as a talisman to get them to White London. Turns out that using the stone too much is affecting Kell and so Lila takes it.
• Fletcher turns Kell into the royal guard, who show up shortly after Fletcher alerts them. Lila cloaks herself but Kell is taken away and then knocked out. One of the guards stays behind and slits Fletcher’s throat. Lila grabs the chess piece and then goes off to save Kell.
• Kell is taken to see Prince Rhy, except it’s not really Rhy – it’s Astrid Dane from WL possessing his body using the necklace that Holland gave to him. Lila shows up and helps Kell out, and Astrid makes Rhy STAB HIMSELF NOOOO before coming out of his body and fleeing.
• A drunk guy called Booth has been possessed and is going around spreading the Black London Magic Virus in RL.
• Kell takes Rhy and Lila to a sanctuary where he was taught. He has a room there, which is handy. Here, Kell binds Rhy’s life to his IN A FANTASTIC SHOW OF TRUE LOVE, meaning so long as Kell lives, Rhy will too. Kell and Lila leave Rhy behind with the owner of the sanctuary, but not before the guy comments on Lila’s glass eye. (Amber: I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR DEMON EYE REASONS, Y/Y?)

how did it end?

anything else

This is a full plot summary of what happened in A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!

Other recaps for this series:

• A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2)