Sapphire was unable to look away, nearly tripping backwards as the queen reached her. The woman placed a slender hand on Sapphire’s right cheek.

Sapphire recoiled. Her blood ran cold at the queen’s touch, her mind screaming at her to run. And despite the queen’s kindness, her instincts urged her to put distance between them. She glanced over her shoulder, trying to calculate how far it was to the doors through which she had entered, but the queen’s voice broke through the haze in her mind.

‘We can’t help you go home because …’ The woman seemed to be struggling for words. ‘Because you are home. Sapphire, I believe you are our daughter.’

Sapphire’s vision blurred as she processed the words, her heart pounding in her ears like a drum. She gripped the soft fabric that hung from her body in hopes of grounding herself.

Our daughter.

Oh, mercy, that couldn’t be right.

She felt lightheaded as she rocked on her feet, unable to find her balance.

The queen’s teary green eyes were the last thing Sapphire saw before she passed out.

CHAPTER FOUR

You will be Home. You will see grey, chipped walls. You will feel the light flooding through the open window on to your skin. You will hear Martia’s sturdy footsteps as she moves down the hall to wake everyone. You will gather your dagger and your hunting cloak and you will head to the woodlands.

You won’t be in Eriobis.

After repeating this mantra a few times, Sapphire forced her eyes open, then frowned as she took in the arched ceilings of the castle. To her right, the queen hovered with a worried look.

She immediately shut her eyes once more, willing it all to go away.

‘Sweetling, did you hit your head?’

What a question to ask in a moment like this. And nobody had ever called her something affectionate like sweetling.

‘I know this is overwhelming. But … you … you look so much like …’ The queen choked back a sob, rubbing her arms as if trying to console herself. ‘We lost our daughter eighteen years ago with no explanation. She simply disappeared from my arms only minutes after I first held her and you –’

‘I fit the timeline,’ Sapphire stated, slowly sitting up.

The queen eyed her closely, clearly unused to being interrupted. ‘It’s more than a timeline.’

She reached out an uncertain hand, intending to help Sapphire stand, but her eyes widened as Sapphire held up her own to accept. A loud sob escaped the queen’s lips. Sapphire looked at the king in confusion, but he looked only at his wife. The air stiffened, a new tension enveloping the three as the queen continued to stare at her outstretched palm.

‘Everyone, out.’