‘Chloe,’ Amos said.

She looked at him with horrified eyes and followed his gaze to see him looking at Sophia’s chest. She bit her lip. At first Chloe doubted herself when she saw her sister’s novice’s robe stir. She stared intently, praying for it to be true. Then she saw her sister’s breast rise and fall.

There was movement, she realized. Her sister was alive.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held Sophia’s hand.

Sophia groaned as she opened her eyes. Through blurred vision she could see a high stone roof overhead, glossy and white, reflecting the daylight. She blinked and suddenly tasted bile at the back of her throat as her stomach churned. She rolled and heaved. Someone held a bowl as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Afterwards, a gentle hand wiped her mouth with a cloth.

She pushed the bowl away. Her ears were ringing. Her head throbbed with every beat of her heart. She gingerly put a hand to her head and moaned when a burst of agony struck like a stabbing dagger. But she was a healer, and she needed to know the extent of her injuries. Undeterred, she continued to press her face, feeling lower down and wincing at the bruises on her cheek. Her lip was swollen and painful to touch. Despite the fact that the Temple of Aeris was shadowed, the light was so strong that she was forced to close her eyes.

The ringing in her ears slowly died down and she was able to hear words, spoken in a soft, feminine voice. A familiar voice. She felt confused; she wondered if she was thinking clearly.

‘Sophia . . .’ The voice sounded wretched. ‘Oh, Sophia.’

With a gasp, Sophia suddenly remembered. She again saw the sword plunging into Philippos’s chest. Isobel’s struggles as the men took her away . . . The high priestess slamming against the wall . . . The hunchback who gave the orders.

‘Isobel,’ Sophia gasped.

‘The men who took her are long gone,’ a grim male voice said. Recollection penetrated through the haze of pain.

‘Amos?’

‘I’m here,’ Amos said. ‘No one’s going to hurt you again. Not while I’m here.’

‘We’re both here,’ the female voice said. Experienced hands began to dab at Sophia’s face with a moist cloth.

Sophia felt as if she couldn’t breathe. ‘Chloe,’ she whispered. ‘Chloe?’ She started to cry. ‘It can’t be you.’

‘I’m so sorry. I came as quickly as I could.’ She could hear tears through her sister’s voice.

‘I don’t understand. You’re alive?’ Sophia briefly wondered if she was dreaming, but the pain told her this was real. She’d been alone for so long, with no one to turn to.