After Ruben had coaxed Cora (who had been staring at the cobblestones in silence) out of the alley, Saffie turned to Nate.

“We’d better get out of here too.”

“In which direction?” said Nate.

“It doesn’t matter. We just need to get away from the restaurant in case anyone comes looking for us.”

With the Onyx still tucked under Nate’s jacket, they headed west towards Regent Street, with Acorn hurrying ahead and sniffing around corners for any potential lurkers, and Talia keeping an eye out for them above the rooftops.

As they went, Saffie pulled out her phone and loaded up the website for National Express, the same coach service Dax had been planning to use to get to South Wales.

“How soon can you get there?” said Nate.

Saffie did a search for coaches from Victoria to Swansea. There was one spare seat on a coach leaving at 8:30 the following morning.

“If I order this now, I can go tomorr-”

Saffie cut herself off as she realised Nate had stopped walking and his eyes were darting from left to right.

“What’s wrong?” she said, worried that he had spotted someone who was about to attack them.

“It’s fine - well, it’s not fine. It’s just, I messaged one of the guys at the guild. Take a look at this.”

A new message from Nate popped up in the top left of Saffie’s vision.

Forwarded Message: “Mate, you won’t be going out to Tusker Rock this week. There’s a storm coming. That place is dangerous enough to get to on a calm day. Griff - the guy who hires out the boats to get there - he’s closed up shop until further notice.”

Saffie shoved her phone back into her pocket with a frustrated sigh and started pacing back and forth.

Nate put his hands on her arms and stopped her gently.

“In one week’s time your uncle is going to wake up. And when he does, the storm will have passed by then. You and him can take this thing to the Oracle together.”

Saffie took a deep breath.

“It’s just… I couldn’t do the one thing he asked me to do,” she said. “I’m a failure.”

Nate raised an eyebrow.

“You hunted down the guy who put him in a coma, got that guy to create an antidote for you, and you rescued the Onyx from the clutches of a twisted maniac. Maybe I’m wrong but that doesn’t sound like someone who’s a failure to me.”

Saffie couldn’t help the small smile that crept up one side of her mouth.

“What do we do with the Onyx while we wait for Ruben to brew the antidote?” she said.

“Hide it,” said Nate.

“Any ideas where?”

Nate bit his bottom lip and went silent.

Saffie tried to think of anywhere in her house that could be used as a hiding place. It would be no use in her bedroom - her parents didn’t even allow her to have a lock on her door, never mind own any kind of safe like Dax had kept it in at his own place. Then again, a safe hadn’t deterred Jade the first time.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“It needs to be somewhere out of the ordinary,” said Nate, still pondering. “Somewhere Jade would never think to look.”

Saffie wondered if she could somehow make the Onyx look like an innocent rugby ball, just like one that had got lodged in Oakley’s hollow not long ago, and suddenly she had the perfect plan.

“Inside Oakley,” she said.

“Oakley?” said Nate. “The tree in your garden?”

“Yeah, there’s a cavity in the trunk that’s the perfect size for the Onyx. If I enchant it to make it look like there’s bark covering the cavity, it’ll look like a solid tree trunk.”

“That’s… actually a really great idea.”

Saffie held out her arms for Nate to hand over the Onyx, but he shook his head.

“I know you can look after yourself, but after what just happened in that restaurant, there’s no way I’m letting you walk home alone with this thing.”

Saffie couldn’t deny that the thought of Nate accompanying her home did make her feel a little safer.

“And don’t worry,” he added. “I know your parents would disapprove of you hanging out with me. I remember the stuff your mum was saying to you that time I hid in your wardrobe. I’ll make myself scarce before they see me.”

Saffie nodded and they turned to head north in the direction of Hampstead.

By the time they reached Saffie’s house it was well past midnight, and they stopped to say their goodbyes outside the garden fence, but before Saffie could thank Nate for his help, a harsh bright light lit up their faces.

Saffie looked up to see her mum shining a torch down on them with a face like thunder.

“Oh shoot,” said Nate. “I’d better make a run for it before I get you into any more trouble. You gonna be okay if I leave?”

He was hopping on one foot, ready to dash, but Saffie said, “Nate, wait.”

She was sick of hiding him from them.

“I want my parents to meet you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Nate said. “Based on your mum’s expression, I don’t think they want to meet me.”

But before Nate could voice any more concern, Holly appeared from the front of the house with Peter following closely behind.

“Where exactly have you been, young lady?” she demanded in a furious whisper.

“Out,” was all Saffie said.

“Out?” Holly snapped. “Out where?”

“Out with my friend Nate.”

Nate waved timidly and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Sparkes.”

The look on both of Saffie’s parents faces as they eyed Nate up and down was one of pure and utter disgust.

Holly’s eyes slowly moved back from Nate’s to Saffie’s.

“We are going to have a serious talk about this in the morning,” Holly said. “Come on Pete, at least we know that our daughter’s alive.”

When Holly and Peter were out of earshot, Nate said, “Wow, they don’t just disapprove of you hanging out with me - they hate me. They absolutely hate me.”

Saffie wanted to storm into her house after her mum and dad and tell them that Nate had been the only one to have her back in her entire journey to save Dax, that Nate had only ever looked out for their daughter, but she knew they wouldn’t listen.

“They don’t really hate you,” she said. “How can they hate you when they don’t even know you? If they knew you at all, if they knew anything about you, they wouldn’t hate you. They’re just so obsessed with me fitting in with the popular girls at school that they hate you on principle.”

She led Nate to the lowest part of the garden fence where they both hopped over and approached Oakley.

Nate pulled the Onyx from his jacket and handed it to Saffie. It felt strange in her hands, like it was brimming with static electricity, and it dawned on her that she was holding the very thing that Jade had been willing to put Dax into an eternal sleep to get her hands on. She quickly shoved it into Oakley’s cavity and cast a few concealing enchantments on it, including the one that covered the area in fake bark, making it look like there was no cavity at all.

“What do you think?” Saffie said as they stepped back.

“Perfect,” said Nate.

“There you go with your ‘perfect’ again,” Saffie said playfully. “You really love that word.”

“Didn’t even realise I was doing it,” Nate chuckled. “But it’s true. There’s no way anyone would know that there’s something in there. That thing will be well and truly hidden until your uncle wakes up.”

Saffie couldn’t wait for that day to come, but as she envisioned it, something about it didn’t feel right.

She turned to Nate.

“I want you to come with us,” she said.

“Come with who?”

“Me and Dax. When we take the Onyx to Tusker Rock. I want you to be there too. You were there from the start of this journey, and I want you to be there at the end of it. That’s… if you want to come with us,” she added.

Nate smiled.

“I would love that.”

When he eventually said he had to head home, Saffie realised she didn’t want him to leave. She rested her arms on the fence and watched his moonlit silhouette walk away.

Nate was no longer the irritating boy who had tried to steal her advantage at the beginning of the summer.

He was something very different to her now.