Ahead is a huge house, like a grey mountain in the middle of all the white. We land beside a shed, our boots squeaking in the snow. Inside, the shed is dark and warm and fuggy and when Efa shines her torch around, I see wooden benches stacked with potted plants. We’re in a heated greenhouse.

‘I can tell she’s here,’ I say. I’m chilled to the core except for my fingers, which are burning. Can Mum smell me already? Is she looking out the window for me right now?

‘Well, of course she’s here!’ Efa smiles as she unwinds her scarf. ‘So, this is Elin’s place, where your mam works. My mam and I have been at the birth of the four children in this house. And they were looking for a nanny. That’s what your mam has been doing for a week. Apparently, they already adore her.’ She raises her eyebrows. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s used a bit of magic to make things especially fun for the kids. Now, I don’t know which room she’s sleeping in but I do know that all the bedrooms are on the first floor. You’ll just have to figure it out once you’re inside.’ She pauses. ‘I don’t think you should just knock at the door, like you did with Deborah and Bethan. Elin won’t understand how you got here without a car, and it could get very … awkward.’

‘Aren’t you coming in?’ I ask, dismayed.

‘No way! Too risky. If Elin were to catch me, it would be impossible to explain. We cannot have anyone getting a whiff of the fact that we practise magic. And if she catches you, you mustn’t mention me and Mam.’

My heart squeezes. If she catches me.

I try to sound casual. ‘So … what spell would you use to open a locked door?’

She peers at me. ‘How much magic have you really done, Tulsi?’

Now that I’m so close to Mum, surely it doesn’t matter if Efa learns the truth. ‘Not much. I’ve only had three weeks of magic training.’ It’s a relief to finally confess.

‘Are you serious!?’ She’s smiling in what looks like disbelief. ‘How have you come all this way with next to no magic?!’

‘I’m sorry, I –’

She interrupts. ‘Listen to me. You’re clearly … talented and super-charged.’ She actually sounds impressed. ‘But if you go blundering around in there without the right spells, you’ll give things away and put us all in danger. I’m going to teach you the spells you need and write them down for you.’ She fishes around in the dark and finds something which she transforms into a pen and sheet of paper.