Mika had barely had a chance to turn the ignition off before the front door opened and Ian flung himself down the path, with Lucie, Ken, and two young girls right behind him. Mika’s eyes went straight to the children: Rosetta and Altamira, the oldest and the youngest of the three girls. They hung back behind the adults a little, like they were either shy or unsure, but their faces were bright with interest and Altamira couldn’t stop bouncing up and down on the balls of her bare feet.

Mika was struck once more by the friendly, welcoming energy of the magic around them and the way it called to her. She could hear its song and she could see the gold dust in their hair, settling on the tips of their noses and curling around their ankles.

But where was the last of the girls? There was no sign of Terracotta, or of prickly, scowling Jamie, either.

“You’re early, my dear!” Ian said happily, beaming at her through her open window. “We weren’t expecting you until this afternoon. When did you leave Brighton?”

“An hour ago,” said Mika.

Lucie and Ken glanced at each other in confusion. Ian screwed his forehead up like he was trying to make the math make sense. “I beg your pardon?”

“The Broomstick can get me places pretty quick,” Mika explained. “It’s a bit of a risk, so I don’t do it very often, but I didn’t want Circe and the fish to be stuck in a car for four hours.”

“Where,” Ian demanded, looking around, “is this broomstick?”

“I call the car the Broomstick.”

“Extraordinary,” Ken said from behind Ian, patting the bonnet of the yellow hatchback.

“I am a witch,” Mika reminded them, amused by their astonishment. Had Lillian never showed them the kinds of things witches could do? “Isn’t that why I’m here?”

Lucie tutted at Ian. “Let the poor girl out of the car,” she said. “You’re in the way.”

Ian grinned at her as he backed away from her door. “Ready?”

No, Mika was not ready. She’d almost hoped Ian would stand by her door and keep her talking until next year.

As she got out of the car, her palms started to sweat and she was abruptly seized by the total conviction that this was, frankly, madness. What was she thinking? These girls were children. Meanwhile, she was a barely functioning adult. Was she really going to be one of the first grown witches to enter their orbit?

Christ, what if she became their Primrose?

The thought was so horrifying that Mika almost got right back into the Broomstick and bolted, but it was much too late for that.

Then, with impeccable timing, Circe nosed her way past Mika and bounded straight for the two girls. Their faces lit up.