‘Thank you,’ says Nan. ‘Rather old and dilapidated, much like me, but it serves us well.’

Peg the bird flutters from Nan’s shoulder to mine as I reach for a handful of berries, and he pecks at me until I feed him some.

‘And such a sweet bird!’ Mrs Nassar says. ‘Really, the whole place is somewhat enchanting.’

A rather awkward silence falls over the room, until Teacake, who has been sitting in my lap, decides to make a break for the jug of milk, which tips and spills across the table.

‘Teacake!’ I yelp, grabbing a cloth and swabbing at the milk before it reaches Mrs Nassar.

She jumps up, and after a startled moment watching Peg take flight around the room, while I slap at the table with my cloth, and Teacake scurries around trying to drink as much of the spilled milk as possible, she claps her hands together.

‘Time for home, Zara!’ she says brightly, picking up her bag.

There is no messing with that voice. Peg lands neatly on the mantelpiece, Teacake sits with her tail wrapped around her paws, a perfect picture of kittenish goodness, and Nan flaps her hands at us with a shake of her head. I note she’s getting thin already – it must have taken all her strength to make tea and conversation. I blow her a kiss, and we trail after Mrs Nassar to the front door, calling out our farewells and smoothing down our clothes.

I take a long time saying goodbye to Zara and her mother, but in the end, the car is gone, and I cannot delay the inevitable any longer. It’s time to have that talk Nan promised so sternly earlier.

‘What a day you’ve had,’ Nan says, just about visible as I settle opposite her, Teacake back on my lap in seconds.

I nod. I don’t even know where to start.

‘How is Yanny?’

‘He’s OK. Back at home. Thanks for letting me go—’

‘Tell me about it?’ she asks, and she looks completely uncertain, in an utterly un-Nan-like way, and not very angry at all, so I do. I don’t hold back anything; I just let it all come out. Peg whistles when I get to the end, but Nan doesn’t look impressed at all.

‘So now you know,’ she says eventually. ‘You’ve seen what it’s like – what I’ve been trying to protect you from.’

‘But they’re all in danger, Nan.’

‘And what do you plan on doing about it?’ she asks with a sigh.

‘I’m going to search for the palace,’ I say.

‘I thought I had more time,’ she says. ‘To train you, to teach you of the dangers.’

‘All you’ve ever done is teach me of dangers! What about the good bits? The magic, and the families in there who are helping each other every day?’

‘When I returned to care for you, I swore I’d keep you away from the forest until you were grown,’ she says, staring into the fire.