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Amelia was sitting in her parents’ kitchen, taken there by Harriet for ‘a talking to by someone you might listen to.’

‘Amelia, we didn’t raise you to get tangled up in something like this,’ said her mother, standing with her hands gripping the back of a kitchen chair like she wished it was Amelia’s neck.

‘I know,’ Amelia replied, contrite.

She couldn’t bring herself to defend Tara despite somehow wanting to. So she was taking it. Her mother’s lecture couldn’t last forever, could it? At some point, she’d have to go to bed.

‘What were you thinking?’ her mother continued. ‘Bringing that woman here?’

‘I was thinking—’

‘I knew she was trouble the moment I laid eyes on her,’ her mother exploded.

Ah, so that had been a rhetorical question.

‘This is exactly why a mainlander has not stepped foot on this island in more than a hundred years.’

Amelia wondered if she should mention Tom. Probably not the time.

‘And now you’ve been the one to break that rule and look! Look at what’s happened! Destruction!’

Amelia was not going to reply that really only a small piece of a door that had been broken. It wouldn’t help matters.

‘What was she doing, anyway!? What was she hoping to steal?’

Amelia didn’t believe it was theft on Tara’s mind, but beyond that, Amelia didn’t know what she was up to. So she wasn’t about to defend Tara on that point. What had she said? Something about finding out if there was something in the shed that she should see? What did that mean?

Why was she even thinking like this anyway? Tara had done wrong and paid the price, just as Amelia had been told she would. It wasn’t the time for curiosity. It was the time for the kind of anger that her mother was currently displaying. If only Amelia had had time to get some real answers out of Tara before Harriet had caught her.

‘Honestly, Amelia. Lately, I keep asking myself if I dropped you on your head as a child,’ her mother declared, breaking into Amelia’s thoughts.

Actually, a good bonk on the head sounded pretty appealing. Smack. Darkness. Mmm, lovely.

***

Many hours later, after Amelia had finally escaped her mother’s rant, she was at home, watching the fire crackle in the hearth. Amelia’s brain, which should have been numb from the longest lecture of her life, whirred and whirred—around Tara and the shed.

The shed. The shed. The shed…

Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore. The urge was too strong. She put out the fire and left her house. She walked slowly, hoping to come to her senses before it was too late. But no such thing occurred.

When she reached Harriet’s shed, the door had yet to be fixed, though it had a sign saying, ‘KEEP OUT.’

That gave Amelia pause. But ultimately, the damage was already done, in just about every way. Amelia had to know what Tara needed to see. She had broken the rule, gained the anger of an Elder, and, worst of all, made a fool of Amelia. For what? Amelia had to know the truth. Even if she was making the same mistake Tara was.

Amelia opened the door.

At first, she didn’t know what she was looking at. Pipes and tubes bending and curling like strange metal roots, leading to small bulbous copper containers. Amelia didn’t know what to think.

But then, she caught a whiff of the liquid—it had a tangy, sharp scent that reminded her of the drunk man she’d met on the mainland. It smelled like alcohol.

She stepped back, shock coursing through her.

‘I knew I should have nailed it shut,’ a voice said, and Amelia span to see Harriet behind her, looking tired and angry but unsurprised. History was repeating.

But Amelia wasn’t about to take any more lectures. ‘Harriet, what have you been doing?’

‘Don’t speak to me like that—’ Harriet began.

Amelia was oddly uncowed. ‘This is alcohol,’ she spat at the Elder.

‘What are you talking about?’ Harriet said, the words coming out too quickly. ‘It’s nothing, just... I’m making disinfectant. Nothing to get worked up about.’

Amelia’s gaze hardened. ‘Then why is there a drinking glass next to it.’

Harriet didn’t respond right away. Instead, she pushed Amelia deeper into the shed, shutting the door behind her. ‘You didn’t know her, Amelia. Don’t think for a moment you did.’

Harriet’s eyes narrowed. ‘Amelia, go home. This is fine.’

‘Fine?’ Amelia’s voice rose. ‘You have done nothing but tell me about rules my whole life. And here you are, breaking them. For what?’

Harriet shook her head, a bitter laugh escaping her. ‘You think you understand my life because Mabel handed you one responsibility?’

Amelia stared at her. ‘My grandmother would be shocked.’

‘Your grandmother knew all about it. She knew when to turn a blind eye,’ Harriet told her.

‘She knew?! What do you mean?’ Amelia asked, panic rising in her chest.

Harriet’s eyes glinted in the dim light. ‘Don’t ask that unless you want to ruin Solhaven more than you already have.’

Amelia’s breath caught. ‘How—’

‘You’ve already made a mess of things,’ Harriet said, her voice low but hard. ‘So think carefully, Amelia. Do you want to make it worse? Do you really want to destroy everything by ruining me?’

Before Amelia could reply, Harriet turned and opened the door. ‘Come on,’ Harriet said softly, her tone almost pleasant. ‘Let’s get you out of here. You need to spend some time in the shack so you can think about how much worse things could get for you.’