Fated

letting everyone forget about me, had been the only way to survive, and that’s what I’d done.

But despite all he’d done for me, Helikaon and I never became master and apprentice, and now I remembered why. There was a coldness to him, a distance, which I was repulsed by and yet envied him for. I knew that the way Helikaon shut out others gave him a clarity of vision I couldn’t match, but I still couldn’t bring myself to share it. I’d fled to my shop in Camden, stayed away from other mages, but I hadn’t stayed detached. I’d made friends: Arachne, Starbreeze, Luna. Did that make me a worse diviner than him, or had I gained something as well?

By the time I made it back to Hampstead Heath, the sun was a red glow in the western sky. I leant against the tree, thinking, looking at the branches above me. Their tips were glowing red in the sunset, the contrast vivid against the blue sky. The earth was still warm from the day’s sunlight, the Heath gradually becoming quieter as more and more people turned their footsteps towards home.

For the first time I seriously considered taking Helikaon’s advice. What if I did as he said and walked away? I’d be safe again, just as I had been since I escaped from Richard’s mansion …

Did you?

The thought startled me. I came to a stop, wondering where that had come from. I was safe, always had been, since then. I’d kept away from other mages, kept to myself. I wasn’t in danger any more. If I left I could stay that way.

But even as I imagined leaving, I realised I wasn’t going to do it. When I’d been in greatest need, Lyle and everyone else from the Council had abandoned me. If I ran now, I’d be doing the same thing to Luna that they’d done to me. I shook off my doubts and reached up to open the tree.

It’s always risky introducing two people who’ve never met. You can never be quite sure how they’ll get on, especially when one’s human and the other looks like the star of a high-budget horror movie. So I was pretty nervous as I returned to Arachne’s chamber. I couldn’t help thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong: Luna panicking and running off alone, Arachne losing her temper with Luna and kicking her out. So far Luna had been bearing up well, but it was a lot to absorb in a very short time. What if being left alone with Arachne had been one shock too many?

Lost in thought, I didn’t recognise the sound I was hearing at first. When I did, I slowed, puzzled, then turned the last corner and walked in.

Luna was laughing, though her voice was distant. I couldn’t see her, but from the sound she was in one of the small side chambers to the far left of the room. Arachne was in the centre, working at a table. ‘There, you see?’ Arachne said. She was working on a dress in white and green, altering something in its design. She worked with all four front legs at once, needles and scissors moving so fast I couldn’t follow what she was doing. ‘Now, I think your instincts were right the first time. Pale colours look much better on you. I’ve taken out the green, so why don’t you give it another try?’

‘Okay!’ Luna said from across the room. ‘I really like the pink one as well though.’

‘It does set off your skin … I’ll keep it out just in case. Oh, hello, Alex.’

‘Hey.’ There was a pile of dresses on the sofa nearest to the changing rooms. ‘Been busy?’

‘Hi, Alex!’ Luna called from behind the curtain. Her voice was muffled, as though she was pulling something over her head. ‘Have you seen these clothes? They’re amazing!’

I grinned at Arachne. ‘Arachnophobia’s no match for shopping, huh?’

‘Don’t be graceless,’ Arachne said, and glided across the room to pass the dress over the top of the curtain. Luna’s bare arms reached over to take it. ‘Here you go, dear. Have a look at both while I see to Alex.’ Arachne drew the curtain back from another side chamber. ‘Now, Alex, before you put these on, I want you to promise you’ll take care of them.’

‘Sure.’

‘I mean it. You hang them up properly, have them washed in that funny way, what’s it called—?’

‘Dry-cleaned.’

‘—and don’t get them slashed or dissolved or chewed up or burned.’

‘It hasn’t happened that many times.’

‘Oh really? What about the first set I made for you?’

‘That was ten years ago! Would you have even noticed if it had been me that didn’t come back instead of the clothes?’

‘It was a full wardrobe. Some of my best work, too. With a little work they’d still fit …’

‘Look, you know what happened there. I couldn’t exactly have gone and asked for them back.’

‘And the outfit I made you for Unicorn’s Run. Have you any idea how hard it is to get blood out of silk? Then there were the ceremonial robes for the investment ceremony. You said to make it fire-resistant, and I did. I even told you exactly what temperature it would tolerate. And then—’

‘I didn’t say fire-resistant, I said fire proof. Besides, that thing with the inferno elemental was not my fault.’

‘What are you two talking about?’ Luna called from behind the curtain.

‘Nothing,’ Arachne and I said at exactly the same moment, then looked at each other.

‘I think it’d be a good idea if she went with you to the ball,’ Arachne said.

I blinked. I’d been trying to decide the same thing but … ‘A mage’s ball isn’t exactly the safest place for a newbie.’

‘She has to learn sometime. Besides, Alex, I think you should have a talk with the girl. You aren’t doing her any favours by sheltering her.’

Before I could ask Arachne what she meant she’d scuttled away into her private chambers. I shrugged, then went into the changing room and took a look at the outfit laid out on the table. I probably should have asked for