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‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. ‘Sereh, where have you been? What do you mean?’

‘How dare you kiss me,’ she reiterated. Erann flashed in her mind. What would he think of her if he knew of this.

‘What?’ he gasped, looking from Sereh to Emma.

‘Now isn’t the time, Jon,’ Emma offered firmly. Still, he paused, his expression turning ever paler, his eyes hardening.

‘Then so be it.’ He stormed away, and Sereh was pleased to see him go.

‘Jon,’ Elen called after him, her own expression puzzled as it switched toward Sereh and then back towards where Jon had run away.

‘Why did he do that?’ Sereh demanded, seeking answers from Finn, Elen and Emma. She expected to see revulsion for Jon’s actions mirrored there. They all knew about Erann. They all knew why she was here.

Instead, she was met with a furrowed brow look from Elen, mouth open as though to ask more. Equally, Finn winced, while Emma simply shook her head, lips twisted.

‘Sereh, sit by the fire, with Arrow. I’ll get more furs. Elen, is there any more tea. She’d been out there for half of the night, I’m sure of it.’ Emma quickly took control.

Elen sprang towards the kettle, as Finn led her towards a chair, But as Sereh settled herself, thankful for the heat now she had some feeling back in her toes and fingers, her eyes settled on Emma. The other woman’s expression was difficult to interpret, even as she worked methodically to ensure Sereh’s comfort away from the icy ledge.

No one spoke. No one asked any questions, and soon, Sereh felt her eyes grow heavy, and sleep claimed her. As she slept in the wooden chair, the comfort of soft, constant movements assured her she was safe and warm.

But, she was plagued by dreams of Erann shouting her name. In them, she could see him, and the desolation on Erann’s face was unbearable. Sereh turned away time and time again, only to have him reappear wherever she looked.

Sometimes Jon intruded on her dreams. Then the men would argue about her and who she loved. Even in her dreams, she couldn’t make everyone happy. She felt weak, as though she bled from a wound that nothing could stem, no matter what.

Jon patched her wound temporarily and she felt reinvigorated, but the wound always started to seep again. Erann could heal it with a glance of his vibrant green eyes, but Jon would rip it open again in anger and frustration.

‘Sereh,’ Emma called to her. She blinked open her weary, heavy eyes, and was pleased to see Emma for once, and feel her soft hand on her shoulder.

‘You should wake. Your dreams are troubling you.’ Such kindness from Emma astonished Sereh.

Only she, Emma and Arrow remained in the common room. She looked for Pal, but his cot was missing, and so was he. Emma caught her glance.

‘Elen has him. I don’t think you should look after him tonight. Do you feel up to coming with me? The Speaker would like to see you.’

‘Yes, I want to see him too,’ she admitted wearily. Keeping her warm cloak over her shoulders, she followed Emma, the end of the cloak trailing along the floor. Emma was equally well-wrapped in a cloak of deepest grey with a matching fur cap. Before her, she carried a tray with filled pot of herbed tea and mugs for them both. Even Emma anticipated it being a long night.

This time, instead of stopping on the frozen ledge, Emma led her across the exposed, windswept jut and into a larger passageway. They stopped inside a cavernous black room, dimly lit by green lamps, with a huge green stone at its centre. Skaldi paced backwards and forwards in great agitation, his tail held high behind him, his wings folded flat against his huge flanks. His great head swayed from side to side, and in him, Sereh sensed the same agitation she felt.

He paid them no heed as Emma deposited her tray carefully on an enormous dark stone table. Arrow was busy exploring, her nose to the ground, pacing from corner to corner and end to end in almost as much turmoil as Skaldi. While all was silence, Arrow eventually came to rest in a curved dip of stone only for Skaldi to roar in anger.

The sound echoed around the chamber, and with a yelp, Arrow rushed to her and stood between them growling. If she hadn’t been so terrified, Sereh might have laughed at the thought of her wolf-dog protecting her from the giant dragon.

In contrast, Emma barely raised her head from the task of pouring tea.

‘Arrow, don’t go in there,’ she murmured. ‘That’s where the Speaker sleeps.’

Arrow’s growls stopped.

‘Sorry, girl. I didn’t know,’ she murmured, hoping Skaldi would also be listening and realise it was an honest mistake.

Slinking aside, Arrow made herself comfortable under the table. Sereh was surprised by the dragon’s behaviour. She didn’t think the gentle dragon was capable of anger. Skaldi was as unsettled at the loss of Erann as she was.

When calm had been restored, and Skaldi came to a stop before them, Emma began to speak in monotone.

‘After I left you here, I journeyed back to the glacier. I decided to stand vigil at the site where Erann was last seen. Although Arrow sniffed around and searched, I hoped that without the two of you there to distract me, I’d be able to pick up on Erann’s scent. And I did. I found the scent immediately, but it went nowhere. It stopped at the point where we last saw him. I was at a loss. I hoped that perhaps, wherever he’d gone, he’d be able to return on his own. So I waited, day and night on the glacier, hoping he’d reappear.

‘In all that time, I’ve called to him regularly and received no reply. I’ve had no company save the sun, Gemini and the stars, the howling wind and the bitter cold. He couldn’t have survived the last six nights on the glacier. I don’t think he’s there. I think he’s somewhere else, a long way away. Finally, last night, I decided to journey home, to feed, and to check on you, Sereh. The passage of time away from here was longer than I realised.’