‘Elysium?’ Daniel exclaimed. ‘You’re telling us we need to find some elysium for your mother? I don’t want to end up in the Citadel!’
‘No, no,’ Esme reassured him. ‘The keeper says he’s got some elysium already, but keep quiet about it.’
She and Lillian sat opposite Daniel on the striped, squishy sofas in No 8’s living room. Esme’s notebook lay on the glass-topped driftwood table between them. She leaned forward and underlined the ingredients they needed in red.
‘I’ve never heard of crimson thrallbark,’ said Lillian, peering at the list, ‘and auroral nightshade is the rarest flower in existence. I’ve got no clue where you’d find one.’
‘Flowers!’ hailed a voice from outside. ‘Get your flowers, right here! Half a dozen tulips for five merles!’
Esme’s head swung toward the glass doors th
