“It’s not just that. Diana has a responsibility to her people, the fairy deer. She is their guardian. She has guarded them in this world against the growing dangers here – hunting, pollution, the clearing of the forests – but the deer folk have decided that if the door is closing they will go back to Faerie. Diana feels it’s her responsibility to go with them …” Her voice trailed off as she was overcome with emotion. I patted her arm and exchanged a look with Soheila.

“I’m so sorry, Liz. But maybe she won’t have to make that choice.”

“Have you found a way to keep the door open?” she asked eagerly, drying her eyes and sitting up straighter. “Duncan Laird was here earlier. He said you have great promise. If you can keep the door open, Diana won’t have to choose between this world and Faerie.”

The hopeful smile on Liz’s face was heartbreaking – and reminded me of what I’d come to do.

“I’ll try my best, Liz, but there’s something else I have to tell you.”

I took a deep breath and looked straight at Liz who was regarding me with an expectant half smile. “I’ve been hiding something from you … a few months ago, I went to the Grove to ask my grandmother for a way to break the Ballard curse. I’d found out that one of our ancestors had cursed them. She told me that I was the only one who could remove the curse, but only if I joined the Grove. So I did. I joined them and promised to inform them of any situations at Fairwick that posed a threat to humans. They promised me that no harm would come to anyone as a result of the information I gave them … but I see now that it was probably foolhardy to believe her.”

The smile on Liz’s face had slowly faded as I spoke, replaced by a stony expression – the one that students dreaded when they had committed an infraction. “And have you reported anything to them since you became a member?”

“No,” I told her honestly. “I haven’t seen anything that constituted a threat to humans. I guess the first thing would have been Lorelei … did Duncan Laird tell you that we saw her last night in the woods?”

“Yes,” Liz said. “Are you going to inform the Grove about her? I would have to say that she poses a threat to humans.”

“I’m afraid they’ll learn about Lorelei whether I tell them or not. I met with Jen Davies this morning. She was sent by the Grove to monitor activity in the woods. She already suspected there’s an undine on the loose, and I couldn’t deny it.”

Soheila sighed and tucked her hands into the sleeves of her burnt umber cardigan as if she were freezing.