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‘Sorry, I didn’t mean…’

‘I’m teasing, Jamie.’ She laughed, and the sound vibrated through his magic, sending another shockwave of visions clamouring through his brain. ‘But it’s not the first time I’ve seen you do that, sort of… zoning out for a few seconds. The first time I thought you were being rude – that I’d annoyed you – when we met at Sylvie’s, but now I’m worried I might be boring you. You would tell me, wouldn’t you?’

‘I would. But I promise, you are the furthest thing possible from boring to me.’

‘I think there’s a compliment in there somewhere.’ She laughed again. Again, the sound reverberated through him. ‘Hey, you did it again!’

‘I’m sorry, again?’

‘Now I really want to ask… Can I?’ She waited for his nod. ‘What are you thinking when that happens? What’s going on?’

Jamie took a deep breath, knowing this might be his best chance. He really liked Amrita, and didn’t want to lie to her – but how did you even start a conversation like this? It wasn’t exactly a normal thing to say – at least to anyone from outside of Hudsbury. And most of his close friends were already awake to magic, so he hadn’t had to tell them. ‘There’s something you should know about Hudsbury.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s not… exactly the most “normal” of places.’

‘It is very pretty.’

‘It’s more than that…’ He tried to find the words, wanting to test his theory that maybe she did have some awareness of magic, and could understand. She’d said she didn’t believe in magic any more, but did that suggest that she had before? Any maybe could again?

‘OK?’

‘The people here… me… we’re different.’

‘It is very friendly.’ She smiled again. ‘And I’ve certainly never seen a store like Glimmers, or met anyone who talked to cats and birds before. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like you, either.’

‘That’s what I mean. Not about me, about the store and animals and…’ The thought fogged over in his brain as the magic fought him. He clenched his fists, using the bite of his nails into his palm to clear his mind. He needed to focus. ‘The thing about Hudsbury is, it really is… quite… special… Magical.’ He forced the word out.

‘It is lovely,’ Amrita agreed. Far too easily.

‘No.’ He gritted his teeth and tried again. ‘I mean it really is magical.’

She blinked a couple of times, and for those moments Jamie thought she might have truly heard him and understood what he was trying to say.

Then she blinked again and her gaze softened, the focus fading as she smiled brightly. ‘It must be nice to live somewhere like this. Where I live is fine – I mean, it’s well-located, safe, quiet, not too expensive and perfectly nice. But it’s nothing special like Hudsbury.’

Jamie forced back a sigh of disappointment: he’d tried, but it hadn’t worked. The magic had fought him, and clearly any hope he’d had that she was aware and able to understand was dashed. Either she wasn’t gifted, or the magic had decided to protect itself. That idea irked him – Amrita was kind and sweet and wonderful in so many ways. He didn’t for a moment think she’d try to abuse Hudsbury’s power, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he walked on in silence.

‘Oh wow.’

He followed her gaze to the fountain in the centre of the square, which was a lot pinker – and more populated – than usual as a couple of pixies splashed water and spells at each other. He looked at Amrita, who laughed as the pixies sent streams of bubbles through the air.

‘You see them, right?’

‘The bubbles? Of course. They’re pretty. I can’t imagine my council spending time or money to light up a fountain and install bubble machines. Is this what you meant about Hudsbury being special?’

He nodded. Not wanting to lie, but not able to say what he really wanted to.

‘Do your town officials do this often, or is it a Valentine’s thing?’

He watched one of the pixies send an arc of magic through the air, where it hung like a rainbow. ‘Bubbles and lights? It’s not the first time I’ve seen them.’ Another half-truth.

‘Is it for charity? Do we just drop money into the fountain and make a wish?’

‘I guess you could.’ He wasn’t sure if pixies would be interested in granting wishes – and knew the traditional gifts were milk or honey and bread, but he was pretty sure they liked shiny things too.

Amrita fished out a coin and held it tightly in her hand, eyes closed, for a couple of seconds before launching it towards the fountain. It seemed to hang in the air for a few moments before splashing into the water, sending up a shimmer of glistening rainbows. She laughed as a couple of big blobs of water – thrown by pixies she couldn’t see – splashed against them, speckling glistening droplets against his coat.