I felt a bit annoyed that Rosie had ignored my instruction to stay put – which I suppose was kind 326of ironic, given the circumstances – but the priority was getting us all off this lighthouse, so I grabbed hold of Will’s arm with both hands and pulled.

It turns out that hauling a person’s weight up like that is ridiculously hard, and I could feel my arms and shoulders screaming with the effort, the muscles stretching and tearing as I dragged him inch by torturous inch. Will did his best to help, gripping the edge as soon as he could and taking some of the weight, but still the cut glass beneath me dug deeper and deeper into my skin. For a moment, I thought I saw the hunched, angry shape of the bean nighe on the ground far below, then she melted away into the darkness and Will was sprawled on the balcony beside me.

Rosie was on her feet at once, helping us both scrabble back to the relative safety of the lantern room. The rain softened to a gentle pattering, before finally ceasing altogether. When I looked out, I saw that the sky was starting to lighten, already tinged with pink. Dawn had arrived. We had survived the night.

“Jess Oliver,” Will finally said. “You are the most infuriating girl I ever met.” 327

“Thanks,” I replied. “And you’re welcome.”

He sighed. “It wasn’t meant as a compliment, but … thank you. I can’t believe you did that.” His eyes went to my sister. “Hello, Rosie. I hope you’re all right?”

“Hi, Will. And yes, I think I’ll be fine.”

“We should go,” I said. “I don’t know about you two, but I’ve had enough of this lighthouse.”

“Agreed,” Will said. “Let’s get out of here.”

As we made our way back down the spiral staircase, the lighthouse felt different – calmer, more peaceful. There were no weird taps or clicks behind the walls, no ominous groaning from the pipes, no nails scratching over glass. There was just the distant roar of the sea and the call of the birds outside. Yet as we walked I began to feel odd. I was still drenched to the skin and shivering slightly, but I was suddenly hot at the same time, and it became more difficult to catch my breath. I figured perhaps it was just the shock finally kicking in. We reached the ground floor and walked out into the weak morning sunshine.

“I’m never going into a lighthouse again as long as I live!” Rosie exclaimed. She turned towards me. 328“God, I’ve got so much to tell you, Jess, about being lost in the fog and trapped behind the mirror and—Hey, are you OK? You look weird.”

“I don’t know,” I replied, and my voice sounded slurred. “I just feel really…”