I blinked, surprised to see him but also taken aback by his assertion we were still engaged. How the hell did he assume that now? I didn't want him anywhere near me, let alone believing he had some claim over me.

"Marcus," I said. "It's over. We're not together anymore. What the hell are you doing here?"

Marcus's blue eyes bore into mine. "I thought I could live without you, Evie," he said. "But you're mine and no one is going to take you away from me and that includes some parochial local council who has no authority over you."

Before I could respond, he rushed towards me, and his hand closed around my arm. I stumbled forward as he pulled. I should have felt strong. In the short time we had been apart, I had discovered who I was. Instead, I felt weak and vulnerable, as I realised I always had done in his presence.

I looked at Agnes and Fiona. Their faces showed concern, surprise, and a little anger. I knew the discovery I had just made about my ability to heal the earth should have left me feeling empowered. But it didn't.

In my mind's eye, it was as if I was a small child with bows in my pigtails waiting for someone to rescue me.

I realised in a few short weeks I had changed. I felt like the old me before I met Marcus. I was no longer the one who lived in his shadow, who followed his lead. The Evie who nodded along to Marcus's plans and kept quiet about her own dreams.

"Marcus," I said, but my voice was lost in the sound of the waves crashing against the lighthouse. My heart thudded in my chest. I wanted to pull away from him, but as he pulled on my arm, telling me we were leaving together, I felt my courage drain away. The man who had promised to love and cherish me now felt like a threat,

Fiona made a move towards us. Marcus spun me so my back was against his front and I felt something sharp on my neck.

"You can't take me away from here," I said. "There are wards, Marcus. I can't leave Llyncroft, remember?"

He snorted at that, dragging me towards the car. "Wards be damned, Evie. There are places beyond their reach, and that's where we're going."

I felt like a bird caught in a net. The earth's heartbeat was distant beneath my feet, drowned out by the fear and confusion.

He marched me towards the car. I felt the skin on my neck piece when I stumbled. He simply held me to his chest whilst I regained my balance before pushing me forward.

He flung open the passenger door and pushed me in. I felt dizzy as he slammed the door and walked around to the driver's side. The car lurched as he pulled away, making my stomach flip.

I looked out of the window as we drove away from the lighthouse. I fingered the pendant, knowing I wasn't alone if I could call Fiona to me again. I tried, but I didn't seem to be able to focus enough.

I blinked back tears. Where could he possibly take me where no one would think to look? I thought of a few places, and each one was worse than the last.

Marcus was silent as he drove, his jaw set. I looked at him. This wasn't the man I knew. The man who was warm and charming had been replaced by someone who scared me. I might have thought he was a jerk, but I never feared for my safety with him until now.

As Marcus's car crunched along the gravel path to Old Man Miller's farm, my heart rose a little. I thought he'd take me somewhere I didn't know, somewhere I wouldn't be able to find my way back from.

But the farm? I knew it and maybe I could find my way back from it if I escaped him. I concentrated harder on what I could see. We weren't going wasn't towards Geraint's farmhouse and the warmth within. Instead, Marcus was driving us around the back of the farm, where a bunch of old buildings stood together like forgotten memories. How did he know about this place?

One barn loomed ahead. Whilst it wasn't derelict, it looked a if it hadn't been used for years. Not the sort of place someone would accidentally come and find me in.

The barn, which I guess had once been used for storage, was separated from the rest of the property, lost in the overgrown weeds.

I felt the tension pouring off Marcus as he parked the car and turned off the engine. He sat still, hands on the wheel, as if he were trying to tame some wild emotion.

I tried to open the car door subtly. Only to discover it was locked.

The silence that filled the car was heavy. I was overwhelmed with my racing thoughts and unspoken fears. He unbuckled his seatbelt and looked at me. There was no warmth in his eyes, only a steely determination. I shivered.

"Out," he said, pressing a button, and I heard the door unlock.

I hesitated and shrunk back as he reached over to open my door from the inside. He gestured for me to step out. My legs felt heavy as I got out of the car and into the late afternoon chill as the sun had hidden behind dark clouds.

Marcus directed me towards the shed.

The ground underfoot was uneven and full of hidden pits and loose stones. I felt as abandoned as the place looked. In the lighthouse, I knew Agnes, Gethin, even Fiona were close by. I just had to trust they would come when I could use the pendant to summon Fiona.

But here, in this desolate place with Marcus, the man I thought I would marry, I felt completely alone.

"Why are we here?" I said, my voice trembling.

Marcus didn't answer as he led me to the barn. The building seemed to grow larger as we approached, its open doorway like a dark mouth. Inside was only darkness and secrets Marcus seemed intent on keeping from me.

As he pulled me over the threshold into the darkness, I shivered. I was more afraid of whatever Marcus had planned than I had ever been of being locked in the lighthouse.

My senses were assaulted by the musty smell of decay and neglect. The air was thick with the scent of old hay and rust, a stark contrast to the vibrant life that pulsed outside these walls. I stumbled on the uneven ground, my heart pounding in my chest as my eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light filtering through cracks in the wooden slats.

"Why are we here?" I asked again, my voice steadier this time.

Marcus didn't respond. Instead, he walked to the centre of the barn, where a solitary beam of late afternoon sunlight cut through the darkness. He stood there for a moment, his silhouette outlined against the pale light. The atmosphere in the barn shifted, charged with an energy that made the hairs on my arms stand on end.

I took a cautious step forward, trying to discern his expression. "Marcus, please," I implored. "Talk to me."

He finally turned to face me, his eyes gleaming with an intensity that made me take a step back. "I'm showing you why you can't leave Llyncroft and why I could cross the ward," he said cryptically.

I frowned, confusion mingling with fear. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

"You will," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Before my eyes, Marcus began to change.