As usual, the morning was warm and bright. After eating the lavish breakfast that Bertie the maid brought for her—a massive bowl of creamy porridge with maple syrup and fourflower jam, and soft toasted muffins with peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips and marshmallows, and a pot of tea—Effie dressed in the blue silk jumpsuit that Clothilde had made her. She brushed her hair and scraped it into a slightly more tidy ponytail than usual. Then she put on the long necklace that held a vial of deepwater that her friend Maximilian kept topped up for her. She didn’t have to put on the golden necklace that held her Sword of Light, because she never took it off. She’d stopped wearing her Ring of the True Hero. She’d stopped wearing it lately because it seemed to drain her in ways she didn’t understand. She’d threaded it on a string to wear around her neck, but she usually didn’t even bother with that.

Soon there came a knock at the door, and her cousin’s voice.

“Are you ready?” Clothilde asked.

“Nearly,” said Effie. She took her wooden caduceus from where it was propped against the wall and used her magic to shrink it to the size of a hairpin. She admired the two snakes wrapped around it, and the wings carved into it. It had been a gift from her Otherworld cousin Rollo. She tucked it into her hair at the back. “But do come in.”

Clothilde entered the room. She was wearing a long flowing dress in one of the Otherworld colors that was close to what we would call yellow. It was something like summer parties and pale marzipan and the middles of soft cakes all mixed into one.

“So, are you very excited about going to Frog Hole?” Clothilde said.

“Yes,” replied Effie, grinning.

“And getting your consultation at long last . . . ?” Clothilde raised an eyebrow.

“Double yes,” said Effie. “I mean, I don’t think they’re going to tell me that I’m not a true hero interpreter but . . .”

“It’s good to have it confirmed,” said Clothilde. “And there’s your shade, of course. I guess you’ll already know all about it? I know what you’re like with The Repertory of Kharakter, Art & Shade. You must have read it fifty times by now.” Clothilde smiled. “Do you already know what you think you are?”

Effie shook her head. “No. I heard that if you find out too much about the shades in advance it can distort the results of the test. So it’s all still a complete mystery to me. I’ve saved that part of the book for after today.” She smiled. Clothilde squeezed Effie’s arm gently. Effie knew how excited Clothilde was for her. It was so wonderful having someone who understood her so well.