I glance down at the footnote.

After he fell at the Battle of Camlann, King Arthur was taken by boat to an island by his half-sister Morgan le Fay. It’s possible that Morgan extended the invitation to Merlin also.

I turn the page, my eyes widening as I read.

Several locations have been put forward, including Bardsey Island off the west coast of Wales, which is the nearest island to Camlann on the mainland. Exactly how they entered the mystical realm is a matter of speculation. One theory suggests that a portal exists between the worlds, acting as a gateway between Earth and Avalon. Morgan and her sisters were said to live in a shining fortress, a palace made entirely of glass. A glass tower features in many stories associated with Merlin, leading some scholars to propose that the tower itself may act as a gateway. However, as a portal has yet to be found in this world, one must presume it is either invisible or does not exist.

In my vision, Merlin and the girl were in a glass tower and there was a shimmering portal. That’s where he called upon the shadows that rushed inside her. That’s where he killed her.

I turn back to the section about Merlin using demonic magic to make the girl fall in love with him, then Tom enters the room.

‘Are you getting up some time today?’

I hold up the book. ‘Why did you put it on my pillow?’

‘What?’

I wave it at him. ‘This.’

‘I didn’t. Are you all right?’ He takes the book from me and opens it to the page with the feather. After reading for a moment, he smiles wryly. ‘All those times I’ve wished a girl would fall in love with me. Shame I didn’t know about demonic magic. I might’ve given it a shot.’

‘How could you say that?’

‘Come on, you’re telling me you’ve never wanted an ex back? Never had feelings for someone who didn’t feel the same way?’ I don’t answer and he pulls a face. ‘Looks like it’s just me in the loser camp then.’

I snatch the book from him and he gives me a strange look.

‘Lighten up, would you, Ivy! It was a joke.’

I gaze at an unfamiliar mark on the back of my right wrist. The wine-coloured stain looks like a burn, or a birthmark. Something like that can’t appear overnight, so how did it get there?

‘Ivy?’

I can’t keep it in any longer. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I have to tell someone what’s been happening.

‘Last night I woke up and there was someone in the house. I saw them run across the landing. It was dark and I couldn’t see properly, but …’ I pause, unsure how to tell him.

‘You saw your mum?’

‘No, at least I don’t think it was her.’

His eyes widen. ‘Who, then?’

‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

He sits on the bed opposite and I tell him my mum’s story and he listens without interrupting. When I’m finished, he rubs the back of his neck. ‘Let me get this straight. Your mum saw a group of witches around your cot the night you were born. She managed to grab you, but then they used dark magic against her. These shadow demons, or whatever they are, possessed her father and made him try to hurt you. So she took you to the mainland, but then she realised the shadows were inside her too. That’s her reason for abandoning you.’