‘We? Us?’ Lily spluttered with a mouth full of the delicious bread.

‘Yes, we. There are several people here in this lighthouse, but we’ll get onto that in a minute. Next question!’ The boy appeared to be enjoying himself, but Lily did not return his kind and easy smiles. She had not yet decided if he was to be trusted. She had read all about men who take advantage of women; those who are easily trusted can turn out to be the greatest deceivers. This boy, with his kind eyes and happy, easy manners, might not be all he seemed. She was hungry though, and her lack of trust didn’t stop her from continuing to devour the food he had provided.

‘What’s your name?’ She felt like she probably should’ve started with that and inwardly cursed herself for being awkward.

‘My name is Jameson Rafferty, but everyone calls me Jem. There are no formalities here. I’m just plain old Jem.’ He held his hand out for her to shake. ‘And you are?’

Lily shook his hand, taking care to grip it tightly to make sure he didn’t fall into the habit of underestimating her. ‘I’m Lily Knight. And I was in that ridiculous boat last night because I was told by numerous sources that this lighthouse belongs to the coven that kidnapped my best friend. I am going to make an assumption now and say, I presume, that you are not a member of, nor the leader of, said coven?’

‘’Fraid not,’ Jem replied, a sympathetic look on his face. ‘However, I do know who you mean, and I know why you were told that they were here. There is an awful lot you most likely do not know, and you are fortunate that it was us that discovered you, and not Hecate Winter.’

‘You know about her?’ Lily asked, her intrigue taking over her reserve.

‘I do. Like I said, we rely on local lore to keep us safe here. I will explain all downstairs, but you’re going to have to tell me everything you know.’

Lily looked at him, frowning.

‘What makes you think I’m going to tell you anything? Look,’ she cleared her painful throat and stood, acutely aware of how exposed and vulnerable she felt, alone with a boy she didn’t know, wearing trousers, bruised and aching, ‘I’m very appreciative that you saved me and stopped me from drowning and gave me warm clothes and a bed and all of that, but I’m not sure you understand. They have my best friend and I need to go and help her. Time is precious and she needs me. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow a boat so I can go back to the mainland and find out where the hell the Shadow Sect are, because obviously it’s not here.’

Lily was flustered and her breath was thick and heavy. She stared at the ground, still unable to meet his eye, and tucked a curl behind her ear. She could feel her face growing hot and itchy; it wasn’t often she lost her temper, but his inability to understand the time-sensitive nature of her situation got the better of her.