Anna shrugged. ‘I’m going back anyway. The ship is due to sail soon and I don’t want to miss it.’

With that, she began to walk, her boots splashing through the shallows before crunching as she moved through the snow and onto the ice-covered lake.

‘Come back,’ Paula called. ‘It’s too dangerous!’

But Anna paid no heed, and there was no sound from her footsteps now as they slid across the ice.

‘Shit,’ Paula swore. She squinted hard in the direction that Anna was walking. Were there lights there, twinkling across the icy lake?

She looked back the way she had come, remembering how long it had taken, battling through the pines, grabbed and scraped by their snow-covered branches. She was freezing now, desperate to get back to the Ruby Spirit. If she could take a shortcut, she wouldn’t hesitate.

But she was hesitating. Did she really want to be trapped on an ice-covered lake with Anna?

No, but neither did she want to risk getting lost in the woods behind her and having the ship set sail without her on board.

She looked at the lake again. Making her mind up, she took two steps forward, the gravel crunching under her feet. With a gulp, she walked out onto the ice after Anna.

As she moved forward, she glanced up at the gloomy sky. The sun had been out earlier, making the temperature just about bearable. Surely the ice wasn’t thick enough to walk on; wouldn’t the sun’s rays have weakened it? Beneath her, it shifted ever so slightly. She gasped and looked up again. She couldn’t see the lights of the harbour, nor the shapes of ships. But it didn’t mean they weren’t there. Visibility was poor, that was all.

If she were to make this crossing, she needed a distraction. She sped up as much as she dared, and when she was within touching distance of Anna, she called out to her.

‘What were you doing with Tommy last night?’

Anna turned, and regarded her with narrowed eyes. ‘We watched the Northern Lights,’ she said, her voice a thin whisper on the wind. ‘You might as well know, Paula, I’m going to have him for myself.’

Paula barked out a laugh at the absolute nerve of the woman. But Anna’s expression didn’t change, and she wondered if she’d misheard her. Who would actually say that?

She coughed, feeling it deep down in her chest, and lights flared in her head as the motion sent another wave of pain through her temples.

‘Excuse me?’ she said, and her voice sounded weak and pathetic. ‘I-I didn’t hear you.’