Shrugging as if it were no big deal, Binah leaned into Lottie, holding her close. ‘We’ll always be here for you, remember.’

Lottie nodded, not able to speak, knowing she’d start crying again.

‘What the hell happened?’ Saskia asked bluntly, wrapping round the other side of Lottie as they all began walking back into the light. ‘Why are you all the way in town, and how are you so fast?’

Lottie laughed weakly, but she knew she had to tell them.

Together they stepped into the light and she paused, not able to keep going. Something on her face must have caved in, because their expressions softened, turning patient and thoughtful.

‘I think –’ Lottie began, struggling to find the words, because she hadn’t quite admitted it to herself yet. Reaching inside herself, feeling the ache where the wolf lay across her chest, hollow and empty, she knew what had happened, and she had to say it out loud.

‘Ellie’s left me behind,’ she said, voice catching. ‘She’s gone.’

38

They stayed in town until the sky turned pink and the clouds turned lavender. Lottie explained the situation to them over hot tea that Anastacia treated them to. She told them about the dates, and about the Flower Festival, and Ellie leaving, and her friends listened intently, comforting her when she cried, waiting patiently for her to find the words.

When they arrived back at Rosewood, Dame Bolter was furious, saying she had been about to call the police, but as soon as she saw their faces, as well as the concerned look from Professor Devine, she let them off with a warning.

Grabbing a pillow and Mr Truffles, Binah walked with Lottie to Stratus Side, deciding it would be best for her to stay with her that night, so she wouldn’t be alone.

Humming to herself, Binah prepared some loose-leaf tea in her copper dining set, Lottie finding the stirring sound of the spoon against the metal strangely mesmerizing.

Wandering around, Lottie stroked the leaves on the plants in Binah’s private garden that she called a room, tracing long hanging vines with her fingers and breathing in the sweet lilies and herbs on the windowsill. On her large bookshelf was an array of crystals. One in particular caught Lottie’s eye, a cracked amethyst geode, the light bouncing off its jagged lilac edges, beautiful and pointed, sharp and wonderful, like a storm in summer. It reminded her of Ellie.

Where are you? she thought, and swallowed down another ache in her throat.

‘You can stay with me and my parents in London over Easter and the summer,’ Binah said suddenly, placing a teacup in front of her, steam wafting into the air from the amber liquid.

‘Thank you. I’m sure it won’t come to that,’ Lottie replied, but her voice wavered, unsure, so she took a sip of tea to try to hide it.