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‘I swear by the water in my blood.’ Rayenne drew her hands across her chest. ‘Besides, as you might have noticed, magic is less strong away from Hudsbury. And you are quite a way from the centre of power here.’

Amrita slowly unlocked her door. ‘So, you’re saying I’m protected here? Because the magic won’t work here?’

Some does. Mine – a little.

‘A powerful witch could still work outside of the bounds of the town, and some artefacts imbued with power or spells could carry their magic further – but they still lose efficacy after a while.’

‘Do you have any of those with you?’

‘Just this.’ She pointed to the necklace and bluey-grey crystal resting between her collar bones. ‘A family gift and protective talisman. I left the rest but rarely take this off.’

Amrita nodded. ‘OK. You can come in. But you’ll understand if I make the drinks.’

Rayenne smiled. ‘Teas and herbs are more Ophelia’s and Aiden’s thing than mine. But I understand. And thank you.’

Amrita let Rayenne follow her into her flat, feeling incredibly nervous. How was she even supposed to start this conversation? She kicked off her shoes and dumped her bag and coat by the door. She’d deal with them later. She busied her hands making tea – something she understood that she could focus on while trying to not think about the terrifying conversation she’d just agreed to have.

‘It doesn’t have to be scary, you know,’ Rayenne murmured softly. ‘I’m not going to force anything on you. It’s up to you what you want to ask or not. And I promise to do my best to be honest.’

‘Are you reading my mind?’

‘That’s not something usually within my gift. And certainly not without a lot of work, and especially not outside the home of power – Hudsbury. I can read people’s energies and auras – that helps with my healing work. But it’s not much different to you being able to guess the source of pain for one of your patients based on how they move.’

‘It seems a lot different.’ Amrita handed Rayenne a steaming cup, then hesitated. ‘I’m sorry… do magpies drink tea?’

No tea for me, thanks.

‘Thank you. It really isn’t that different though,’ Rayenne explained. ‘And psychic abilities are hardly needed to imagine how you’re probably feeling right now.’

‘Was it like this for you when you found out?’

‘My journey was a little different from yours.’

‘Can I ask how?’ Amrita waved towards the sofa.

‘Thanks.’ Rayenne swept multicoloured skirts out as she sat. ‘My family have always been strongly gifted, so I was born into magic. There were other challenges I faced along the way, but I’m glad for it being part of me. And I certainly wouldn’t change it, because my life is far better with magic than without.’

There was something in the way she said it that made Amrita want to know more. She had thought she was pretty happy with her decision – her commitment to staying away from Hudsbury and anything she associated with it. But now she was starting to wonder.

‘It doesn’t change that Jamie lied to me.’

‘It does not,’ Rayenne agreed. ‘But understanding that he could not tell you, does that help?’

‘Not really.’ Amrita sighed. ‘My… ex. He told a lot of lies. And hurt me badly. Trusting people isn’t something that comes so easily to me any more.’

He would have told you, if he could. Lunar hopped over to Amrita, and gently ran her beak through her hair.

After a minute or so of the gentle movements, Amrita was starting to feel a lot better. ‘You said you’d been… looking into me.’ She wasn’t sure how to word her question to Rayenne.

‘Scrying. Yes.’

‘Right.’ She licked her lips. ‘So… um… what has your scrying told you?’

‘That you are gifted – that you have magic – but we already knew that because you were able to help Susan.’

‘Did you know before that?’

‘Not really.’