‘I think so,’ I say, looking down at myself. My clothes are soaked through and clinging to me, there are scratches all over my arms and legs and a nasty gash on my ankle, but other than that, I seem to have survived.

‘Oh,’ I say, when I lift both my hands to check for damage.

‘What?’ Kit turns them over in his own, searching for wounds.

‘My ring,’ I say. ‘It must have fallen off.’

Kit checks the ground around us, his mouth set.

‘I can’t see anything,’ he says. ‘Was it expensive?’

‘It’s not that,’ I say, taking a breath. ‘It was my mother’s.’

‘Ah, shit.’ Kit crouches down on his haunches. ‘I’m really sorry.’

‘That’s OK,’ I say weakly. ‘It’s only a ring – I’ll get over it.’

Kit helps me to my feet, and we walk back to where an overjoyed Tui has been reunited with Beavis. I can’t seem to stop shaking, and after helping Tui back up on to Keith’s saddle, Kit removes his shirt and wraps it around my shoulders.

‘You don’t have to,’ I argue feebly, only to be silenced by the sight of his bronzed and muscular torso. The tattoos that start on both his arms extend right across his chest, to where an image of an eagle stands proud and noble, just like Kit is now.

‘Aaaah, hunky Kit. You hunky man,’ announces Tui, looking at me with great amusement. The only thing to do is to laugh. Kit joins in, too, and Tui cackles with trademark abandon. She has been allowed to carry Beavis up on Keith’s back, while Kit and I lead both him and Ekara, and as the six of us make our slow way back towards the stables, she keeps lifting him up and kissing the end of his nose. Seeing her happy and safe is worth every single thing I have just endured. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Neither Kit nor I say much to each other, but every time I look across at him, our eyes meet. There is so much I need to tell him, about who I am and why I’m really here, but for now it is enough to simply relish this moment with the two of them, the half-sister I didn’t even know I had, and the man I didn’t even know I needed. Because the truth is, I have grown to need Kit – it is time to stop pretending that I don’t.