‘Uh, Adeptus Exemptus, it wasn’t really a zombie. It was an animated—’

Winter interrupted them again. ‘I know damn well what it was!’

I groaned, opened my eyes and looked around. As far as I could tell, I was lying on a narrow camp bed in one of the Enchantment trailers. It was tempting to close my eyes again and rest but then I remembered what had just happened and felt sick instead.

Jerking upwards with a violent movement that made me feel even worse, I searched around desperately for a container. I only just grabbed a plant pot in time before I threw up. Most of the vomit landed inside but some spattered the leaves of what had been a pretty bonsai. I regarded it morosely. Very Zen.

‘Ivy!’ Winter appeared from the depths of the trailer, rushed over and knelt down beside me. ‘How are you feeling?’

I pointed to the plant. ‘Not great,’ I said weakly. Then I burst into tears.

Sheer panic flitted across Winter’s face before he drew me into a loose hug. ‘It’s alright,’ he murmured. ‘You’re alright.’

I hiccupped. ‘It was my fault. Belinda’s dead because of me. I saw that thing in the woods earlier and I didn’t tell anyone. I was too afraid they’d think I was crazy. If I’d said something maybe she’d still be okay.’

He pulled back and smoothed my hair away from my face. ‘Shhh. Everything’s fine. Belinda is fine. The only person who got seriously hurt was you. And that,’ he said in a hard tone, ‘was because we have too many incompetent witches in Arcane Branch.’

‘It wasn’t their fault.’ I sniffed. ‘I was in their way.’ I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and stared into his eyes. ‘How can Belinda be alright? That thing ripped out her throat.’

‘That’s another story. For now, you need to rest.’

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a monogrammed linen handkerchief. I wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised that he was old school enough to carry one. I took it gratefully and blew my nose into it then I offered it back to him. A ghost of a smile crossed his face and he shook his head. ‘Keep it.’

I sniffed again. ‘You don’t want my snot?’

‘Not particularly.’

I twisted the handkerchief into a ball, my fingers clutching it for dear life. ‘Are you lying to me? Is Belinda really okay?’

Winter smiled. ‘She’s really okay.’

‘And the zombie?’

‘It’s been taken care of.’

‘Do we know who the necromancer is? I mean, it’s obviously not Belinda Battenapple, is it?’

‘No.’ He sighed. ‘And no, we don’t know who’s raising the dead either.’ He cupped my face in his hands. ‘Stop worrying about it. You should lie down and rest. I’ll stay here with you.’ His eyes searched mine as if he still wasn’t convinced that I wasn’t dying. ‘You took a really nasty hit, Ivy.’

Clearly being smacked by a devastating spell designed to bring down a creature of the undead had caused some seriously adverse effects because I shook my head and stood up, wobbling ever so slightly. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ I said, lying through my teeth. ‘Now explain to me what happened with Belinda. How on earth is she still alive?’