She pulls up her sleeve and I point at the arrow leading to the Box. “This isn’t an arrow,” I say. “It’s a shadow. Look out of the window and you’ll see.”

Moonlight shines down on the trees, casting shadows onto the white snow. The tall tree at the edge of the forest has a shadow that stretches across the snow and the sea, pointing toward a small island. It looks exactly like an arrow.

The tattoo, the moonlit scene outside the window . . . they’re identical. Crowky wanted to scare me and make sure the right fear was planted in my mind, and it worked. But he also showed me where the Box was hidden.

“The Box must be on that island!” cries Rose.

I grab Win’s telescope and go to the window. “It’s not an island,” I say. “Not now anyway. The sea around it is frozen, joining it to the land.”

“But if I’d come when the sea was warmer I could have got there,” says Mitch, and for a moment we stare at the moonlit island where we are sure the Box is hidden.

“We should go now,” I say, remembering Crowky’s frantic energy, certain that since he left me he hasn’t stopped thinking about the Box. “If we’re quick, we can get the Box and be back before dawn. The Alisha is faster than the Raven. We can easily outrun Crowky!” I’m imagining getting back to Win’s cave and spending the rest of the holiday as I’d planned—lazy days riding dragons, swimming, and exploring every corner of Roar.

“This is our chance to get ahead of Crowky,” says Rose. “Once we’ve got the Box we can take you home, Mitch!”

“Home,” she says, smiling. “I would love that.”

Suddenly everything seems within our reach, and I’m so sure that we’re going to get to the Box before Crowky that right now I don’t even care what’s inside it. Win, filled with the excitement of the moment, pulls out his wand and shouts, “Whistle fur!” and a clutch of marshmallows burst from the end of his wand, falling over us like snow.

“There is one problem,” says Rose. “The moon’s so bright that Crowky will see us rowing to shore.”

“Leave that to me,” says Mitch, picking a marshmallow out of her hair and popping it in her mouth. “I’ll conjure up something awesome to hide the boat.” Then she selects a bottle from the shelf and shakes it. “Maybe I’ll bring the mist back, or make a snowstorm.” She pulls the cork out with her teeth and starts shaking white drops into her cauldron.