He searched and searched. He had finished the last drop from his water skin.

After a while, Elissa came to him. ‘I’ve found nothing,’ she said gently.

Tisamenos approached from the other side. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, clasping his hands to his chest.

The sun was beginning to set, and it was almost twilight. Bats zigzagged about above their heads.

Silvius threw himself down in frustration, grazing his hand on the stone. ‘Oh, Apollo … if only you could help us now!’

But there was no answer. Only the wind in the stones, and the last rays of the sun.

Their situation became clear to Silvius. They had not much food left, and no way of returning home. They didn’t even know how far the nearest settlement was. Had any of the Trojan allies survived the devastation, or had they all fled to the interior?

They had to find the Bow of Apollo, or they would surely die.

The Trojan breastplate bumped against his chest. Whoever had worn it, he reflected, would be ashamed of him. He had to show himself a true Trojan. Resolute now, he decided that he would lead, like his father.

Elissa was scratching in the dirt with a stick. Tisamenos was leaning against a wall. Silvius called them together. ‘Let’s rest for the night. We can drink water from Simois, and we’ve still got some provisions left. Tomorrow maybe we can catch a bird or a rabbit.’ Though he hadn’t seen any evidence of rabbits. His heart began to sink again.

‘Let’s do one more round,’ Elissa said, her voice falsely bright. ‘We might have missed something.’ She looked askance at Tisamenos, but he shook his head. ‘I would do it for you, if I had the power.’

‘It’s not power … it’s dark and strange and I wish I didn’t have it …’

Pain shone in Tisamenos’s flinty eyes. Silvius caught the look. It might be painful, but he would have to try.

Elissa grasped Tisamenos by the hand and felt the stump of his finger. ‘I can’t possibly know what it’s like to be you. But you have to do this.’

‘Sometimes I wonder why,’ said Tisamenos, gently. ‘One city falls, another rises. What will there be left for me when I return home?’

Elissa looked up. ‘Why do you have to go home? You could come with me. Then the stones will not haunt you any more. The curse on your house is ended. When this is finished, you can start again.’

Silvius felt his cheeks burning and the anger dissipating into something else.

The stars were beginning to appear. A breeze rushed over them, making them shiver slightly. Silvius watched as the son of Orestes looked out across the darkening plain, and said, ‘I’ll do it. If we can’t find it tomorrow, I’ll do it. And then, Elissa, I’ll come with you, wherever you go.’