“Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps you are kinder than you are cruel.” Another pause, though a friendlier one. “I don’t know what became of your sister. Her horse bolted, but she was unharmed when last I saw her . . . I hope you find her.”

“So do I.”

Melanna offered no reply. Josiri pulled aside the canvas and entered the cold, clear night.

“Blessed Ashana, I beseech you. Guide your ephemeral daughter.”

Melanna rocked back and forth on her haunches. So much easier to focus on the words than dwell on her thoughts. On her father’s wounds. On her failure. She didn’t even know what had become of Sera.

“Blessed Ashana, I beseech you. Guide your ephemeral daughter.”

Goddess, but it had been all she could do not to break down and beg. She felt certain Josiri had seen clean through her; had recognised the tangle of anger, despair and loathing that had racked her from the moment her father had laid down his sword. Worse than that, she found it impossible to untangle those emotions. They knotted about her throat so tightly she could barely breathe.

She knew only that this was her fault. Her failure. Her hubris.

She clenched her hands tighter until her nails gouged her palms bloody.

“Blessed Ashana . . .” She broke off, her voice swamped by emotion. She clamped her eyes shut. “I’m . . . I’m sorry.” The confession, once begun, would not abate. “You warned me. I didn’t listen. But please, if you love me at all, help my father. He deserves better.”

“Most people do.”

Melanna opened her eyes, scarcely daring to believe. The goddess sat in the opposite corner of the tiny shack, her knees tucked up to her chest and her blue eyes unblinking. One by one, the timbers of the walls peeled away like autumn leaves, laying bare the mist-wreathed trees beyond.

“Goddess . . .” Melanna breathed.

She sighed. “You’re disappointment enough without falling into old habits. Especially as I understand you’ve taken to calling yourself my daughter.”

Melanna swallowed. “Yes, lady.”

“Ashana.”

“Yes, Ashana.”

A small, sad smile. “Better. Do you know why I’m disappointed?”

“Because I ignored you. Because I sought battle, and failed.”

“No. For that, I’d be angry. Fortunately I’m a goddess, and above such things.”

“Truly?”

“No.” She shrugged. The folds of her shining dress rippled. “But I’m working on it. You’re not the only one with much to learn. For example, I need to keep a closer eye on my steward. I tell you, the men in my life are never more dangerous than when they think they’re helping.”

Melanna winced. “You’ve punished him?”