She gave a reluctant murmur. “But we’re going to try to keep him alive, aren’t we? He’s a really good kid. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him.”

“We’ll try our best.”

“Fair enough. Turn round.”

Skulduggery turned his back to her, and she started undressing.

“How’s Savant?” she asked.

“Recovering,” he said. “He only started to regain his independence this morning. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him, a lot of rehabilitation. He’s got to reconnect with who he was. Doctor Melior is helping him, as you would expect. It’s going to be hard on both of them. Aside from the extraordinary circumstances of their situation, to lose somebody for that long and then to get them back …”

“You think they’ll make it?”

“They love each other. Love conquers all.”

“That’s surprisingly upbeat of you.”

“I have had my faith restored, Valkyrie. Humanity will do that to you, every once in a while. Beneath Lethe’s mask was a good man clouded by other people’s darkness. He’ll step into the light again, I have no doubt.”

“Love conquers all,” she echoed. “Is that what’s going to happen between you and Abyssinia? Next time we meet her, are you going to run into each other’s arms in glorious slow motion while music swells in the background?”

“Seeing as how the last time we spoke I was cutting her heart out, I sincerely doubt it.”

“How worried do we have to be, Skulduggery? Now that she’s alive again?”

Skulduggery hesitated, then started to turn.

“Oi,” she said. “Eyes front, Mr Pleasant.”

He turned back. “Ah, yes, sorry. We’ll deal with it, Valkyrie. We’ll deal with Abyssinia and with her anti-Sanctuary the same way we deal with everything: with remarkable style and unerring good grace.”

“That does sound like us,” Valkyrie admitted, pulling on a fresh T-shirt. “I’m dropping in to see the family tomorrow, by the way.”

“You are?” Skulduggery said, sounding pleased.

“Sent Mum a text before you arrived, just to check they’d all be home.”

“And how are you feeling about that?”

She didn’t answer for a moment. “Nervous,” she said. “I don’t know what I’ll say. I know how it’s going to go, though. Mum will be cool and Dad will be making stupid jokes and I’ll be sitting there, trying to remember how I used to act when I was comfortable around them.”

“It’ll come to you,” Skulduggery said. “You’ll slip right back into place there. What about Alice?”

Valkyrie shimmied into her trousers. “What about her?”

“Do you think you’ll be able to relax when she’s around?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“Do you want my advice? Give yourself a little time. And allow in the possibility that someday you might forgive yourself.”