Lottie stared at the thick band of gold in her hand, tilting it from side to side where the buff metal revealed its stardust pelt. The whole Milky Way rested there, etched on its skin in painstaking detail; it wasn’t the harsh, judgemental gold you found in the palace – it was candid and crisp like autumn leaves, warm and smooth. Angling it against the light, words exposed themselves, glowing from the inside, letters she couldn’t make out.

‘Why are you giving this to me?’ she asked, matching Hanna’s whisper.

‘Because –’ Midori sounded almost pleading as she closed Lottie’s fingers round the band – ‘out of all of us, we think you are the only one who can bring him back.’

They both stared at her – two sets of eyes, one blue and one brown, and both glossy like crystal balls, seeing a future that they believed Lottie could bring them. She could feel it as clear and consistent as the beating of her own heart, that despite finding her crying and scared and alone, they believed in her. She only wished she could believe in herself.

‘I’ll try my best.’ The words woke something up in her she was afraid she’d lost. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to give him this ring and bring him home.’

Usually Lottie was so sure of herself, but now her voice wavered, pricked with fear, because she’d always had Ellie and Jamie with her.

She needed to get Ellie on board. She was her Portman, and they were stronger together. No matter what had happened between them, this was more important; they’d tackle it together, like they always did.

A sound from the hallway broke the moment, and Lottie quickly put the ring away while they all went back to their desserts.

Ellie’s face appeared round the door, bruises from exhaustion under her eyes and lips chapped from the dry flight over. She seemed unusually uncomfortable under Hanna and Midori’s gaze but shook it off. ‘Hey, how are you –’

‘What’s the conclusion?’ Lottie asked, still not sure she could handle talking to Ellie about how she felt; they had more important things to think about. ‘How are we going to get Jamie back?’

Ellie pursed her lips, guilt turning her skin even paler than usual. ‘We’re staying in the palace for the rest of the Christmas holidays, then we’re going back to school to finish our exams.’

Lottie’s mouth fell open, dropping her fork on to her plate with a loud clang. ‘You can’t be serious? We need to act now; we don’t have time to –’

Ellie held her hand up, gesturing for Lottie to follow her out of the room and away from the maids.