Alice stumbled back and forth, stuffing her belongings into a black carpet bag. In mere moments, she was ready to do what had always felt impossible. She wrapped a heavy emerald-green travelling cloak around her shoulders before lacing up her strongest leather boots. Strength, she wagered, would be exactly what she needed on this journey.

With a shaky breath, she stepped out into the storm, lifting the hood of her cloak over her ebony hair.

She didn’t get very far.

Chapter One

Lying in the shadow of a great oak tree, Lily Knight held out a hand and let the dappled light of the early morning sun dance between her fingers. She had her other arm behind her head and revelled in the feeling of the dewy grass beneath her stocking-free legs and bare feet. She definitely should not have removed her stockings. According to the matronly busybodies of the town, it was most improper for a young lady to wander about in such a manner. But, rolling her eyes when recalling their scolding, she had removed them anyway and taken great joy in imagining the shocked expression on old Orla McHail’s wrinkly face if she could see her now.

Nature was Lily’s tonic. In those precious moments when the sun was awakening, as the world was bathed in pale, warm light, she felt the most alive. She was sure that this was the only real magic that existed in the world: the magic of birdsong, starshine, burnt-orange leaves, crisp early morning air, and glittering river water.

She sat up, resting her weight on her elbows, enjoying the coolness of the autumn breeze on her bare arms and legs for a few minutes more. Before long, she would have to return home to her little valley town, Alder Vale. Although for now she was content to watch a small nuthatch hopping between branches on the tree above her. Lily wished for a fleeting moment that she too could grow wings and fly up into the sky.

This was a conversation topic that often cropped up when Lily was with her closest friend, Alice Blackwell. They would lie by the river near Alice’s woodland cabin and take turns vocalising their hopes and dreams, speaking them into existence. Lily’s dreams didn’t often stretch much further than the boundaries of Alder Vale, but they always included flying up to the top of a tree or a tall mountain to gaze at the world below, just like the wild birds could. Her hopes were modest and revolved around preserving the little slice of normality that she had come to know and love. She had always pictured herself taking over her uncle Alf’s apothecary, which would make her the first female business owner in the village, perhaps even in the whole of the Shadow Lands. A fine goal to have, she thought.

Lily’s dreams had always been the complete opposite of Alice’s. In fact, almost everything about the two girls was different. They should never have got along. Alice contrasted Lily’s light and easy manners with darkness and awkwardness. They even contrasted in appearance, with Alice’s poker-straight, inky black hair that fell in a thick curtain to her waist. Black hair that shimmered in the moonlight, unlike Lily’s warm, strawberry-blonde hair that was meant to shine under bright, clear sunlight. If Lily was the sun, Alice was the moon, glowing in the rays of Lily’s kindness, and infinitely warmer because of it.