At least if Alice had gone willingly, she would have been guarded and sensible. And last night was the full moon, so the warden in Kelseth might have some information to share. Lily tried to regulate her breathing. Alice would be fine … wouldn’t she? She was more than capable of looking after herself. Hadn’t she survived all this time against all the odds? And this woman, Lily thought, this Hecate Winter, she wanted to nurture Alice, to help her, not hurt her.

But for some reason she couldn’t relax. She couldn’t help but feel that hidden somewhere in between the lines of the letter, there was a threat. A threat to hurt Alice. The thought made Lily’s hair stand on end. She knew that if someone, anyone, hurt Alice, then they would be tracked down and punished. She just wasn’t sure who would track them down, and who would punish them. Because it couldn’t very well be her … could it?

Chapter Three

Lily hurtled into the apothecary, letting the door slam shut behind her, the bottles on the shelves rattling precariously.

‘Uncle!’ she shouted.

She didn’t know what she should do, only that she felt like she needed answers and in order to get answers, she was going to have to find Alice. The thought had occurred to her several times as she was running back to the town, but she had pushed it from her mind each time.

Mysteries, lost friends, magic … these were all things that happened far away, beyond the peace of Alder Vale or in dusty old novels. The rest of the world had left behind the people of the Shadow Lands because they were gentle, simple folk; they had no use for the new technologies, weapons, and societal structures that the world beyond relished and valued. This was the world in which Lily belonged and she knew it in her heart of hearts: she was a quiet, settled girl in a quiet, settled country. Adventure had never once crossed her mind. She couldn’t just run away from her life to chase a bad feeling.

Even if she could manage it physically, could she ever be strong enough emotionally?

Her fears were momentarily abated when her uncle materialised at the bottom of the oak stairs that, only a few hours ago, she herself had skipped down, fresh and bright from her morning excursion. His presence was an eternal comfort to her, even in her darkest moods.

‘What is it, child?’ His brows furrowed, lines of concern stretching across his forehead.

She held out the letter, her hand shaking. He frowned, curious, and beckoned her towards the work desk. He sat behind the desk, placing his half-moon spectacles on his nose.

‘Alice is missing,’ Lily began. ‘I found this in her cabin… I don’t understand why she would leave without saying goodbye. She didn’t even leave a note.’ She placed the crumpled letter down in front of her uncle, flattening it and then watching his face for any sign of recognition.