Pari stopped walking and put a hand on his bracer, turning him to face her. She pulled on his arm until he looked down into her eyes, which were unusually serious. ‘Nidra may have forgotten who she is, but so long as you haven’t, there’s hope. You have to be the anchor, and the more lost she gets, the stronger you have to be. Do you understand? She is not gone until you let her go.’

‘You really believe that don’t you?’

‘With every fibre of my being.’

There was such intensity in her face, and such sadness, that he didn’t know what to say. She held his gaze for another moment, then let go, her manner becoming light again. ‘Now, let’s get back to the rest of this mess we find ourselves in.’

‘Mother said that Rochant had accomplices.’

‘Yes, at least two of them. They carried him.’ A slight frown creased her brow. ‘He wasn’t in a state to move himself. They’d left a false trail to mislead us and by the time I caught up with them there was …’ she trailed off.

‘It’s not like you to be stuck for words.’

‘Well I’m not sure what I stumbled onto exactly, some kind of fracas between the Red Brothers and a young man. Not much more than a boy, really. I think he’s the one that left me here.’

‘You hunted demons without armour?’

‘Yes.’

‘Without weapons?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Yes.’

‘Alone?’

‘You’re missing the point. This boy, he was dressed oddly, like a Wild-born, but his features were familiar. Sky-born features.’ She tapped Vasin’s chest plate with her fingernail. ‘Sapphire features.’

‘Which family?’

‘No prizes for guessing.’

Vasin tried to keep his mouth from hanging open. ‘He’s had another vessel hidden away all this time?’

‘Yes. We shouldn’t be surprised really. It’s a very Rochant thing to do.’

‘But this ruins everything! With Satyendra at the castle, and this other vessel, his line is more than secure. Suns! He doesn’t even need to leave the forest, all he has to do is kill himself and wait for the rebirthing ceremony to happen. That’s it. We’ve lost!’

‘That seems a little premature, my dear.’

‘Are you making a joke?’

‘No. There’s still a chance to turn this around. Lord Arkav and I are here on official business, to bring High Lord Yadavendra Sapphire to the council of high lords to face judgement for his desecration of Nidra’s Godpiece.’

Vasin scoffed. ‘He’ll never go with you.’