The pup was shivering.

He had never seen his parents so weak and helpless.

It made him feel weak and helpless, too.

He wished they were back in the Floating Forest, in their den. All curled up together in a warm heap.

He wished he had never heard of the Lady. And that she had never heard of Spellhounds.

Beside him, Flax whispered, ‘Why did your father apologise, pup?’

‘I don’t know,’ said the pup.

‘Aunt Delilah was threatening them, wasn’t she?’ said Rose. ‘She was threatening to do something nasty to you if they didn’t help her. Do you think she meant it?’

‘She meant it,’ said Flax.

Rose twisted her fingers together. ‘I knew she was bossy and particular. And that she thought I wasn’t a very good queen. But I didn’t think she’d actually hurt anyone.’

‘That’s the Lady for you,’ muttered the toasting fork. ‘Lies and hurt. Hurt and lies. All mixed up with powerful magic.’

‘Maybe my parents will get away from her,’ said the pup. ‘Maybe they’ll attack her.’

But he knew they wouldn’t. Not while the Lady had him locked up and at her mercy.

‘I wish we knew what she’s going to do,’ whispered Flax. ‘Why does she need the Spellhounds? Why does she need her magic to be even more powerful? It can’t be good.’

They fell silent. The mountain creaked. The scorpions scuttled.

‘I should have waited for a soldier after all,’ mumbled the toasting fork. ‘Oh why didn’t I wait for a soldier?’

The pup sat up. Somewhere far away, a storm was brewing.

He couldn’t see it. He couldn’t hear it.

But he could smell it. And he could feel it, deep in his Spellhound bones. The rumble of thunder and the snap of lightning.

‘My parents are calling a storm,’ he said.

‘Where is it?’ asked Flax.

‘A long way away.’

He tried his hardest not to move. But as the storm came closer, the hair on his back stood on end, and his teeth ground together.

‘Where is it now?’ whispered Flax.

‘Right overhead.’

Flax’s eyes lit up with sudden hope. ‘Pup, could you call a bit of it down here, to strengthen my thread of magic? We might be able to escape before the Lady comes back.’

Rose put her hands over her mouth. ‘And then we could find a way to rescue your parents.’

Rescue his parents? Was it possible? Inside his chest, the pup’s heart zigzagged like lightning. The storm at the top of the mountain crackled and sparked, and some part of him crackled and sparked, too.

He braced his legs.

He braced his Spellhound heart and his Spellhound soul.

He called the edge of the storm.