Chapter One

On a cold October day, Mika Moon meets fellow witches on a remote Hebrides pier under Primrose’s strict rules: keep apart, avoid connections, and never reveal magic. Mika, younger than most, needles Primrose with joke names for the not-society and questions the need for secrecy. The meeting covers minor spell exchanges and gossip, during which Primrose challenges Mika over her public witch-themed videos, reigniting their feud.

Mika reflects on her past: witches are always orphans, and Primrose rescued child-Mika from India, installing rotating nannies who left once they glimpsed magic. Grateful yet resentful, Mika grew up safe but unloved, and now lives independently, seeing Primrose only at quarterly meetings. Her online “witch” persona, which she insists is performance, is the latest point of contention.

In Norfolk’s Nowhere House, Ian, an elderly charmer, shows Jamie and Lucie one of Mika’s videos, asserting she is truly magical. Jamie doubts both her authenticity and the safety of inviting an internet-famous stranger. Ian insists he can sense her power and pushes for hearing him out.

The debate shifts to stakes: they’re running out of options with Edward looming, and the three girls—magical and isolated—need guidance to live safely and openly enough in the world. Jamie worries about exposure, but Ian argues they cannot provide everything the girls need and that someone like Mika could chart a safer future for them.

By the time Lucie brings Ken, consensus forms: they should contact Mika, with strict boundaries about Nowhere House and the girls never appearing in her content. They discard Ian’s cheeky “WITCH WANTED” message idea and plan outreach, while, far away in Scotland, Mika remains unaware of the decision that is about to upend her life.