‘No…’ Grace spat.

‘Oh yes, and don’t think you two have got away with it either. I know of your bond, and I know exactly how to break it. You’re all just sitting ducks now, with no home to call your own.’ Hecate started laughing maniacally. ‘Oh, this is all going to be far too easy…’

Jem got to his feet and ran towards her, into the foamy waves, but as he clawed at her, the apparition disappeared. He whirled around, looking this way and that, but she was gone.

Lily gazed up at the burning wreck, cinders whirling to the ground like ash keys from a tree. They had lost everything.

But at least they had each other.

She looked around at her friends scattered across the beach. Morven and Cass were holding hands, staring lifelessly out to sea. Brenna and Maeve clutched at Grace like lost lambs reunited with their mother. They looked afraid that if they let go, she would disappear again, like Hecate had. Alice stood nearby, looking at Grace with fierce admiration in her face.

Jem trudged back to dry land and collapsed, letting the waves lap over his legs. He stared at the sky, unblinking. Lily dragged herself over to him and lay by his side. She took his hand and this time he didn’t flinch. He clung to it, intertwining their fingers, and held it to his chest.

From there on the beach, looking up to the night sky, the dancing ash was almost pretty. A thousand tiny ballerinas twirling around the stars.

Lily exhaled deeply. Their home was destroyed. Their plans were in tatters.

But for now, Hecate was gone.

They were alone in the silence once more.

THE END

We hope you enjoyed Sisters of Shadow!

Don’t miss the spellbinding sequel, Sisters of Moonlight, to find out what happens next…

Be sure to follow Katherine Livesey on Instagram @katherine.livesey and check out her website katherinelivesey.co.uk for all the latest updates!

Author’s Note

Hello, dear readers and friends!

Firstly, thank you ever so much for picking up this book, for reading it. Sisters of Shadow has lived in my mind for more years than I care for admit. For a long time, I wondered whether it would ever find itself into the hands of readers, or whether it would continue to be my own little secret world, hidden away forever.

The idea for this book (and its sequels!) came to me painfully slowly; it was always bubbling away in the back of my mind, like a forgotten cauldron. Occasionally it would boil over, and I’d have a flash of inspiration, and then it would go back to quietly simmering for another few weeks. I had flickers of ideas: the lighthouse, a shadow of Lily, crashing waves, lightkeepers blackening their light.

The only thing I was ever set on was that I wanted the story to follow queer female characters. Growing up I couldn’t see myself in any of the books I was reading, which meant it took me longer than most to realise, understand and accept myself as bisexual. I wanted to read about girls falling in love with girls, but I also didn’t want those books to revolve around the “coming out” romance, I wanted it to be treated as any other romance is treated within a book: a part of the plot, not its defining feature. I wanted to read books that normalised queerness, so I decided to write them. First and foremost, Sisters of Shadow was written for twelve-year-old Katy who was beyond frazzled from trying to work out her feelings. I hope she’d be proud of who she grew up to be.