‘Have you tried to remind her?’

‘I’ve tried everything, but I also remember very little. In the end we both just accepted that her memory was lost forever and our new life started there. It was easy to pretend that she and I had been born, fully grown, there on that beach. But that’s not quite true. I also hit my head pretty hard and ingested a sickening amount of sea water, so my memory comes back to me in snippets, flashbacks, stolen moments. I remember red dust everywhere. On my skin, under my feet, covering my clothes, swept up in the gusty, warm winds. It wasn’t in the Shadow Lands, that’s for sure.

‘It was a temperate place, but I remember the sea breeze, which I think is why the lighthouse immediately struck me as home. The smell of the sea grounded me.

‘I have snippets of memories, but nothing solid. I remember evenings crowded round a huge campfire with terrifying flames that made everyone’s faces glitter and glow in the lowlight. We all shared similar features: a strong nose, russet hair, and furrowed brows. I think that was the family we left behind. You’ll know Grace as soon as you see her because we’re both so similar. Except I think she’s a lot more patient than I am.’ Jem paused.

‘We’ll get her back, Jem.’

He nodded, his eyes swimming with the tears of lost memories. ‘You’re right. All this walking, all the heartache of leaving behind the children. It’s for her. For them both.’

Lily reached out and placed a comforting hand on his back, and then pressed him further. She was eager to think about anything other than her aching feet and tired eyes. They still had so much further to walk. ‘Do you remember anything else?’

‘I remember the day we left – or at least most of it. Grace and I were dragged from our beds in the dead of night. We were tied up and blindfolded, and the next thing I remember, we woke, still tied up but able to see. We were moving up and down in a kind of motion I’d never experienced. We were on a boat, you see, in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight. It was terrifying. There were so many of us there, all young and wide-eyed and too terrified to ask what was going on or where we were. We were crammed in, body upon body, manacles scraping the walls and each other’s cold, bare arms. We were surrounded by hulking men and we were only allowed out of the hold in the ship once a day to stretch our legs. Other than that, we were kept tied up below deck. I can still remember the stench of seaweed and human waste. It was so strong that our eyes were constantly watering and we never really had an appetite.

‘I don’t remember how long we were aboard that ship. Every day was monotonous, never-ending. All I cared about was Grace’s safety and making sure we got enough food and water.