‘Pendathran,’ Roisin said, ‘your experience of battle is greater than any other here. What do you say?’

‘Makes sense,’ Pendathran said. ‘This war won’t get won by sitting on our arses. Options are few, as they’re going to be coming in here and stabbing us.’ He nodded thoughtfully. ‘Time to move out.’

‘We don’t have to make things easy for them, though.’ Edana looked at Camlin as she said that.

I’m liking this girl more’n more.

There was a fluttering from above and a big black bird crashed onto their table.

‘Edana,’ it squawked. ‘Edana, Edana.’

There was a moment’s silence, all of them looking on in shock and surprise.

‘Craf!’ Edana cried.

CHAPTER FIFTY

CYWEN

‘Drink this,’ Cywen said to the man sitting before her. His name was Gorsedd and he was on the ship’s deck, back to a rail, pale-faced and gritting his teeth against the pain. His arm was purpling already, a shard of bone poking through flesh a handspan above his wrist. With his good hand he sipped at Cywen’s flask. Buddai lay against the rail, snoring through the whole thing.

He was one of the villagers who had joined them during their flight through Narvon; he’d been stacking barrels below decks, unused to the pitching of a ship at sea. There’d been an accident. Pax the oarsman – Atilius’ son – had heard him screaming and helped him onto the top deck.

Where’s Brina? The old healer had told Cywen to prepare Gorsedd for resetting his broken bone, which mostly meant filling him up with seed of the poppy.

‘Another sip,’ she said to Gorsedd, and with a wince he complied.