The air is brisk. When she closes her eyes, it is only a little darker than when she keeps them open. Soon she falls asleep, her hand on the hilt of her sword. She dreams of Domrémy, that she has returned to her father’s house, and there on the doorstep two women call her by her name. One has a face like her sister’s; she has seen it before in a book. The other resembles the statue that stood in front of the church. They tell Joan to sit and offer her fresh water, a piece of bread. They move swiftly, and wherever they step, a light seems to follow them, making their bodies glow. Joan drinks the water. She wolfs down the bread, and she is surprised. A single piece makes her feel full. She asks if her father has sold the house, if her parents and brothers have moved away from the village, and they smile. How little she understands, their expressions say, and they tell her they have known her all her life, from even before she was born.

She wakes. It is not yet dawn; she has slept at most two hours, but the forest is already lighter. Her mind picks up where it left off, but now she can see better. The voice says, Watch out for that stump, Joan. Turn here. Do you remember this tree? Its trunk was twisted. You noticed it in torchlight, its strange shape. Yes, yes, I remember. And from the tree, she reads the path just as easily as if she were turning the pages of a book from back to front.

The first spear of sunlight falls at her feet. She looks up. Ahead: a narrow opening of pale light. Her exit.

This is a night of small miracles. As she leaves the forest, she hears a rustle over her shoulder. Her breath catches. When she looks back, she sees the clear outline of a stag, watching. The crowns of beasts are no less glorious than those of kings. The stag is framed in the gathering mist of morning, like a host come to see her off, and he does not move from his place until she is well on her way.

The guards at her door were bribed to leave their posts, le Maçon later explains. He has already dismissed them, but now La Trémoille has hired them, so what has that achieved?

“It was a cruel test,” he says. “When did you return?”