When I came to, I was completely disorientated. I thought I was back in my own bed and had dreamed up the entire thing, until I tried to sit up and felt the pain in my head where he’d struck me. I raised my hand and gingerly touched my temple. It throbbed and was tender but I didn’t appear to have suffered any lasting damage. Then it occurred to me that the brute of an enforcer might still be around and I leapt to my feet.

I was back in Taylor’s living room, lying on his sofa with my head propped up on a cushion – which made no sense whatsoever. Of the monster man there was no sign.

‘Hello?’ I called out cautiously. There was no response. I cast a wary glance upwards to the ceiling. Had he gone back upstairs? The crack seemed to have grown, threading its way out across the white surface. I stared at it and made a decision. Whether my attacker was there or not, I was done. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge.

I half ran and half stumbled out of the door, almost colliding with the warm, familiar figure of Brochan.

‘Hey!’ he said, catching my arm. ‘What gives? I came round to see if Taylor was alright and I saw his door.’ He pointed at the semi-destroyed frame. ‘I’m going to guess that wasn’t you.’

‘We need to get out of here,’ I told him. ‘Now.’

I filled him in on the details as we half walked, half ran back to my flat. Brochan listened, his face expressionless. When I was done, he stared at me with an intensity that I rarely saw. ‘You should leave, Integrity. This is Taylor’s problem. Not yours.’

‘Taylor’s problems are my problems. And vice-versa.’

He shook his head. ‘You can’t spend the rest of your life beholden to him.’

‘If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what I would have done.’

‘You’ve paid him back tenfold.’

I straightened my spine. ‘And I’ll continue to pay him back.’

Brochan sucked air in through his teeth. ‘It sounds to me like you’re in over your head.’

‘And that’s the fun part,’ I said lightly, punching his arm. ‘Besides,’ I joked, ‘I live for danger.’

Brochan didn’t crack a smile. ‘I know what it’s like. We all know what it’s like. We’re just as Clan-less as you. It might be a bit different for you because you’re Sidhe…’

‘It’s not different,’ I interrupted. ‘I’m not different just because I have Sidhe blood running through my veins.’

‘Every Sidhe has a place. Every Sidhe has a Clan. That can’t be said for the rest of us.’

‘There are mermen in the Clans.’