The room had gone silent as I entered. Sam glared; the others didn’t look much friendlier. I tried to ignore them all and perched on the footstool, still sipping my coffee. The TV was on. I couldn’t tell what was being said, but it was obviously about the Crusaders and the Faithful again. There were crowds of hundreds on the screen; signs bobbing in the air; people shouting in frenzied Spanish.

“Shouldn’t you be with Seb?” said Liz. I looked up. She was watching me, her sharp-featured face hard. “I thought you were supposed to be practising your aura stuff.”

“We’re practising outside today,” said Seb, appearing in the doorway. He had on faded jeans, and his blue sweater with a white T-shirt peeking out from under the collar. He nodded at me. “Are you ready?”

Relief. We hadn’t discussed going outside, but it sounded like heaven; the atmosphere in the house would choke me if I had to stay here all day. I put my coffee down and scrambled to my feet. “Yeah, I’ll just get my sweatshirt.”

He held it up, and I felt like hugging him. “When’s Alex back?” he asked the others as I moved to join him.

For a change, Brendan was sitting almost without moving, staring stonily at the screen. “He said around three.”

“Yeah, so that gives you two lots and lots of time to be alone together,” drawled Sam. His muscular body was sprawled on the sofa; he flicked a glance over us. “Don’t go runnin’ off again.”

I stiffened; decided not to answer. “I can see all your secrets, you know,” Seb said to him mildly as we turned to leave. And nothing was funny just then, absolutely nothing...but even so, the look of guilty alarm on Sam’s face was priceless.

Outside it was a gorgeous sunny day, with a cool breeze. I shifted my aura to dull, lifeless grey and pulled on my hooded sweatshirt. As Seb and I started to walk, I took my phone out and sent Alex a quick text before I could think about it: I’m sorry we fought. We really need to talk. I love you.

No reply came.

Seb and I walked for blocks. The shabby businesses around us turned into department stores made of sedate old stone, with bright signs and large windows. The sidewalk grew busier, bustling with people. Satin angel wings, briefcases, morning bags of shopping. I clutched the phone in my hand, glancing down at it every few seconds while my heart slowly died in my chest.

Finally Seb gently pulled the phone away from me and tucked it into his jeans pocket. “I’ll tell you if it goes off,” he said. “Come on, are you hungry? Let’s get some breakfast.”

I had never been less hungry in my life. “No, I’m fine,” I said distantly.