Angela didn’t ask how Sammi knew this. There were things about the girl that didn’t add up, and she did her best not to confront them. Since being struck by lightning twice and taken into the fairy’s Fold, Sammi had displayed talents and tendencies that had not been evident before, as far as she knew. Angela was ready when she wanted to talk about it, but she would not bring it up herself. That felt like too delicate a barrier to break.

“Jay, do you think?”

“No. I think it’s her.”

Angela knew who she meant, and she felt a prickling of anger and resentment. She welcomed it because it was a real feeling, a true sensation, as if she really was still alive and back in the world. Lilou was the reason she and Vince had been pulled into the world of the Kin in the first place.

“Do you think she’ll want some eggs as well?” Sammi asked.

“I’m sure she will.” She smiled. After everything Sammi had seen and endured, kindness shone through. Angela felt she could learn a lot from that.

* * *

Ten minutes later a figure appeared at the end of the lane leading into the woods. Angela recognised Lilou’s walk, her natural grace stiffened with caution. The nymph had to be careful among humans so that her charms did not overwhelm them. She’d seen Lilou a few times since the closing of the Fold, and lately she seemed slower than before, weighed down. Perhaps she was growing old.

Angela had never asked her age, but knew it ran into centuries.

“Changed your hair,” Lilou said as she approached the cabin.

“Again.”

“I like it short.”

“Thanks.”

“Want some scrambled eggs, Lilou?” Sammi called from the kitchen window.

“Hello, Sammi! And yes please, that sounds great.”

“What brings you here?” Angela asked.

Lilou stopped a dozen steps from her, perspiring lightly from the walk up through the wooded valley to the escarpment where the old cabin sat. The lane was steep in places, and rocky, and only navigable by car using a four-wheel drive. Jay had bought them the old Jeep that was parked beside the cabin. Angela only used it once a week to go into the nearest town seven miles away to buy groceries. They were isolated here, and that was how she liked it.

Lilou stared at her for a while, not replying. Sammi started singing in the kitchen, a modern pop song she’d picked up from the radio. It was something about love and dancing, things Sammi had not experienced and rarely done. Just a few more weeks, Angela thought again.

“I wanted to see you both,” Lilou said. “It’s been a while.”

“Six months.”

“You’re keeping okay? Both of you?”

Angela looked around at their beautiful, wild surroundings. It wasn’t really an answer.