Now that he had said it, I was seized by terror. This was real: the ship, the perilous voyage, the island at the end of the world, the monster . . . I’d had a choice, and instead of a quiet summer’s stay with my sisters and a safe ride back to Sevenwaters, I had chosen this. “I must tell Svala,” I said and, turning toward her, I took her hands again. This time the picture in my mind showed the two of us on Liadan’s prow. Svala stood as before, a living figurehead, proud and lovely. Beside her, I was somewhat green in the face but doing my best to match her bold look. Among the others on the boat, I included Gareth, Felix, Knut and the dark-skinned, smiling figure of Gull. On the jetty, watching us, I pictured Johnny, Biddy, Muirrin, Evan and Clodagh. Cathal, I did not put anywhere. The ship in the image sailed off to the north under the sky of a rosy dawn, her sail filled by a fair wind.

Svala dropped my hands and threw her arms around me. When she let go, I saw that her mouth was stretched in a wide smile, and that her eyes were streaming with tears. At last, at last! She moved to kneel before Johnny and, taking his hand, touched her brow to his fingers in a gesture of acknowledgment. Before he could say anything she was on her feet again and bolting away through the garden.

“Gods have mercy on me if I’ve made the wrong decision,” Johnny said. “Now to rest, all of you. Remember Sibeal’s words of hope, and make sure your doubts, if you have them, are not aired in public. We’ve a strong team, and we’ll perform this mission as we always do, with courage and professionalism. I’ll bid you good night now. Gull, I wish my father had been here to see you volunteer.”

“I wonder if he’d have said yes or no.”

“No, if he had any sense,” Biddy commented, though she had her arm linked with her husband’s. If she was angry, I thought it was not with Gull himself, but with the complex set of family loyalties that had obliged him to offer his services. “But more likely he’d be getting on the boat with you. Every old warrior believes he’s got one more adventure in him.”

CHAPTER 11

~Felix~

Liadan returns to the island within ten days of Johnny’s decision. I am at the place of the boat burial, high on the hill, when I spot her approaching the bay with a steady westerly filling her square sail. My heart lurches. We can go, I tell my brother. The ship is here.