‘Cat! Over here.’

She turned to find Shane struggling to get through the horde of dancing fairies.

‘I–I tried to get to the stage,’ he gasped, his voice breathless. ‘But everywhere I turned it seemed like … like they were blocking my way.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Cat said, still scanning the crowd for the creature’s face. Someone – or something – didn’t want them to get to the children and she was pretty sure she knew who was behind it. Unease settled in the pit of her stomach and all she could think about was getting to Mikey and Jenny before anything else went wrong.

‘We need to speak to the queen right now,’ she said.

‘I know,’ said Shane, his voice high with desperation. ‘But how can we do that if we can’t even get close to her?’

Cat sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was so very tired. It had been such a long night and she had already gotten them so far. Right then she wanted nothing more than for someone else to step in and take charge. To tell her what to do. She opened her eyes and her gaze fell on the table of food. Somehow it still looked as full as it had when they first arrived. It gave Cat an idea.

‘If we can’t get close enough to talk to the queen, then we’ll just have to find a way to get her attention.’

Without stopping to consider whether or not it was a good idea, Cat strode forward and with one sweeping motion, knocked platters of roasted autumn vegetables to the ground with a clatter loud enough to bring the music to a screeching halt. Then she hoisted herself onto the table and turned to face the room.

‘Excuse me!’ she yelled, ‘My name is Caitriona Donnelly and I need to speak with the Queen of the Fairies right now.’

Silence descended like a thick blanket as one by one, every single person turned to face Cat. She spotted Nancy standing by the entrance to the Great Hall, staring at her in open horror. A few feet away from her stood the creature, leaning back against the wall with an enormous grin plastered across his face. Then there was the queen. She looked at Cat with a mix of curiosity and annoyance. All at once she knew she made a big mistake.

‘What happened to “be polite”?’ Shane hissed up at her.

‘I panicked!’

The King of the Fairies jumped to his feet. Even halfway across the room Cat could feel his eyes piercing her.

‘Who dares to address the Queen of the Sídhe so?’ said the king. ‘Step forward.’

Cat scrambled down from the table and brushed off the scraps of food sticking to her jeans. The crowd parted before her like a wave and, with Shane at her side, she began to walk uncertainly toward the stage. She hoped no one could tell how much she was shaking. When she reached the stage, Cat dropped into a clumsy bow and nudged Shane until he followed suit.