I was not even allowed to walk back to the infirmary alone—Cathal went with me, moderating his long stride to keep pace with me. My brother-in-law had his dark cloak wrapped around him. He was not saying much at all.

“Thank you,” I said. “I wasn’t sure if you would hear me. It was the only way I could think of to fetch someone quickly. If we’d had to wait until someone noticed I was gone, he might have died.”

“So might you,” Cathal said, but he did not sound as if he was judging me. “I don’t suppose you thought of that.”

“It did occur to me, but it seemed . . . I don’t know quite how to describe it, Cathal, but something drew me out there.” I thought he might understand, where others would perhaps think I had taken a foolish risk. “Part of me knew that man was still alive and needing to be found. There must be a reason for all of it.”

“You worried Clodagh and Muirrin. You’re their little sister and they see you as their responsibility. As for my part in this, all I can say is that your summons reached me clearly. Proving, I think, that you are druid first and little sister second.” Cathal was a man who seldom smiled, but he did so now, his somber features transformed by it. “You’ve saved a man’s life. Your sisters may scold you, but they were impressed. We all were. As for why you were called to do it, this whole episode is troubling. It was no ordinary storm.”

“You think uncanny forces had a hand in it?” I was not prepared to ask him directly whether he thought his father responsible.

“Who knows?” Cathal said lightly, but the smile was gone.

We had reached the infirmary. Cathal saw me in the door, then headed off.

Unusually, Muirrin was not working, but standing by the fire, staring into the flames. Behind a makeshift screen, Evan and his father, Gull, were tending to the survivor.

“I’d like to help look after him,” I said. “That would feel right.”

“There’s nothing you can do to help, Sibeal,” Muirrin said bluntly. “Maybe you don’t realize how sick he is. There’s the immersion in water—that’s affected his lungs. He’s weakened by cold and exhaustion. And I think there’s something else wrong. I must be honest. Even with the attention of skilled healers, he may not get through the next few days.”