No Galean would have chosen the volcanic island to beach on: Mount Oden was the home of the gods, and their whims could never be predicted. Children listened to stories that told of shipwrecked sailors being stranded on the island. Some stories ended with the traveler being sent home, traveling on a cloud. Other times the victim was changed into a goat or a horse.

Chloe’s stomach growled, clenching itself painfully. Kargan’s men had given her food and drink but she struggled to keep any of it down; she vomited the contents of her stomach whenever she had anything more substantial than a sip of water.

‘Lady,’ a voice said. Glancing up from pondering the sea, Chloe saw a ragged Salesian with pockmarked skin, crouched on the deck as he looked up at her. ‘Here,’ he said, holding out something. ‘Grapes. From your city.’

She hesitantly took the proffered grapes. There were a dozen of them, green and fresh, still clustered to the vine.

‘Eat them slowly, one at a time,’ the Salesian said. He spoke with a stilted accent and his manner was fearful. ‘It will be good for your stomach.’

‘What is your name?’ Chloe asked.

‘Kufi, lady. I am a slave from Efu, in Haria.’

‘Thank you, Kufi of Efu. Do you know where we’re going?’

‘To the great city of Lamara,’ he said. ‘Capital of Ilea.’

‘Does your family live in Lamara?’

‘My family is dead, lady. Killed when the sun king’s army sacked the city. My brother and I both fought—’

Kufi broke off, his eyes widening with fear as he turned and saw Kargan approaching. The master of the Nexotardis ignored the slave as he scurried away.

‘Good,’ Kargan said. ‘I’m glad to see you eating. The sickness will pass in time.’

Chloe felt her strength return as she ate the sweet grapes. She lifted her chin as she scowled. ‘I want you to know that I will escape.’

Kargan chuckled. ‘Have you been so fixated on what is behind that you haven’t seen what lies ahead?’

He pointed with a thrust of his head and Chloe saw that they were approaching a landmass. A black escarpment formed a long line of spiked peaks as far as the eye could see in both directions. She couldn’t yet see the shore, but this place was dark and forbidding, with gray clouds clustering above while the rest of the sky remained blue.

‘Cinder Fen,’ Kargan said. ‘Do you have the same stories of this place that we do?’

Chloe felt fear climb up her spine. ‘It was once the homeland of the eldren,’ she said, gazing at the looming cliffs that grew larger in her vision with every passing moment. ‘Before they lost the war.’

‘That’s what the magi say. Do your wise men explain why it is the way it is?’

‘They say the magic of the eldren has left it. Only wildren inhabit the area now.’