There was a rumble from the rocky one, and my guide fell silent. Perhaps it had been a reprimand, who knew? Beyond the hedge the last of the procession was passing. I judged that the folk in it were moving along the path and back to that broad avenue under the trees, the place that was like the grand entry to a royal hall. I heard the tinkling of little bells and a woman’s laughter, high and giddy. The sounds faded. The light had turned to the purple-gray of a spring dusk and in the clearing all seemed hushed. The birds had fallen silent. Our fire had died down, its remnant coals a faint glow beneath a pile of shifting ash.

“It’s time to go now,” said Dog Mask.

Cathal was standing two paces in front of me, still and silent. I cleared my throat. “I won’t be long,” I said, trying for a confident tone.

Cathal’s eyes told me he had seen right through me. He knew I was terrified. He knew I wanted more than anything to have him with me when I confronted the Lord of the Oak. I turned away quickly. He mustn’t come. This was my quest, whatever Cathal believed about the reasons he was here with me. He shouldn’t put himself at risk because of my weakness.

My small guardians were already walking toward the gate, the three of them forming a procession of their own.

“No,” Cathal said behind me. “No, Clodagh! You mustn’t go alone!”

“You can’t come with me,” I said, tears starting in my eyes. “They said so. Please don’t argue; it just makes this harder.”

“Come!” Dog Mask called from beside the gate. “The lamps are lit in Mac Dara’s hall! If you would attend his audience, follow me!”

“I have to go,” I whispered. Despite myself, I turned back, taking Cathal’s hands in mine.

“Wait, Clodagh!” He released my hold to fumble with the pouch at his belt, reaching for something. “Here,” he said, and I felt him slip a ring on my finger. I did not need to look at it to know that it was made of green glass. “It was hers, my mother’s. I want you to wear it.”

For a moment I was speechless. Then I protested. “You must keep this, Cathal, you’ve given me all the other things—”

Cathal lifted my hand. His lips brushed my palm; his fingers clung a moment longer, then let go. “I want you to have it,” he said. The quiet words drifted away into the night. “Clodagh, I can’t bear to see you go on alone. We don’t know what you might be facing. I’ll come after you. I’ll keep a safe distance behind and stay out of sight unless you need me. I can’t wait here while you do it on your own. That would be wrong.”