When Silvius asked him what it was, he simply said, ‘They have lost another city,’ and moved onwards to check the final loading, and to make a sacrifice to Apollo.

‘Is it Lavinium?’ called Silvius, running after him.

Helenus shook his head. ‘No. But they are close.’

The news hit Silvius hard, like a blow to the stomach. Mouth dry, he went to join the others. He wished he could hurry things up. They were fortunate that the wind was in the right direction. Helenus was now preparing the final sacrifice for Apollo. He called to Silvius, and he was only too glad to help. The priest, the white bands in his hair shining in the sunlight, blessed him. ‘My kin,’ he said. ‘The Lord of Light will guide you in this.’ Then he touched Tisamenos on the head briefly, his hand betraying just a shiver of anxiety. And finally, he muttered words to Elissa that Silvius could not hear. But Elissa stood up, looking stronger and more determined than ever.

An hour or so later, the ships sailed out of the harbour, a good wind in their sails. Silvius listened to the navigator describe the route: through the Gulf of Corinth, and then hugging the coast until they were opposite the northern part of Italia.

He enjoyed hearing the name of his homeland in the mouth of an Achaean. If only he were returning in triumph, crowned and bearing gifts, not adversity.

Although the sky was clear, dark clouds hovered at the edge, and sometimes the breeze would shift and bring with it something cold and frightening.

The sailors would look at each other and make the sign against the evil eye. Helenus kept checking the sky, as if scanning for auguries. Elissa pulled the Bow nearer to her body, as if seeking warmth from it, whilst Tisamenos was stony and distant.

Silvius lingered by himself in the prow. Tisamenos and Orestes eagerly talked together about things that he did not understand, and he did not feel that he could join in with them. Elissa spent more and more time with them.

He had chosen to take this path. Nobody had forced him to steal his father’s horse; nobody had forced him to take the ship nymph’s offer – he had made the decision himself. He’d sensed the light of Apollo in the Arrowhead, and he’d been drawn in by the visions of Python. Often as he watched the foam he would remember Stargazer the centaur, and how lonely it must have been for him with all his brothers and sisters gone.

Now, the Arrow whole and safe on his back, he knew that he would not have been able to withstand its pull without Elissa and Tisamenos.

He would make sure that he honoured Stargazer and his sacrifice. The darkness would not prevail.