An idea shot into her mind. If there was one thing Lily Knight was good at, it was being underestimated, and that was what she would rely on. She dug her nails into her palms, the pain making her eyes water, and then rubbed her bloody hand across her cheek. She was still on her knees when two women appeared at the mouth of the hidden cave entrance.

‘What the—?’

The first woman walked headlong into Lily’s crouched form and tripped, tumbling to the ground with an almost amusing lack of grace. She quickly regained her feet and brushed herself off, her face glowing like it had been branded with the humiliation she felt.

‘Who are you? Why are you here?’ the woman asked. She sounded firm – confused but not unkind. When Lily looked up with her bloody, tear-stained face, the woman stepped back, shocked. ‘Do you need help?’

Lily stuttered. She surprised herself at how choked up she sounded. ‘I was sent a letter,’ she sniffed. ‘It told me to come here. That I had powers… I’ve been travelling for five days. I had a terrible fall two days ago and I wanted to arrive here looking presentable but, well, I am as you see me.’ Lily looked down, inwardly praying to the universe that they’d believe her.

The two young women exchanged concerned glances. The one closest to her had a kind face, with large dark-green eyes. She reached down to help Lily regain her feet, much to the clear chagrin of her companion who rolled her eyes.

‘You really ought to stop taking in lost causes.’

‘The last one hasn’t worked out so badly though, has it?’ The woman fired back, smirking at her companion. She then turned her attention back to Lily, who was brushing herself off, trying desperately to keep up the appearance of a lost injured girl in need of assistance. The more vulnerable she looked, the easier it would be to hoodwink whoever she was about to face. If they all thought her harmless, that could only be a good thing. She wondered what Jem would do though, and hoped he wouldn’t decide to charge in after her.

The nicer of the two guards took her arm and led her into the cave. Inside, it opened into a long corridor, but it wasn’t dingy or damp like the interior of the cave in which she and Jem had spent the night. Instead, it was well-lit with flaming lanterns attached to the wall with iron, and underfoot, the floor was paved with flat, highly polished stone. The general impression was one of quiet, understated opulence. The corridor snaked through the rock, until Lily felt sure they were in the middle of the mountain, miles from any escape route except the winding one down which she was currently walking, the one taking her further and further away from Jem and any hope of liberation.

The woman guiding Lily must have sensed her lost sense of direction, because she dropped her arm, safe in the knowledge that she wouldn’t be able to leave even if she wanted to. They don’t fully trust me, Lily thought. But they don’t have to; they just have to get me to Alice and the rest will come later.