‘He said I should go back, for I was needed. He said Maruman was calling to me. Then the wolfman came and he wanted to bring me down, but I was afraid. But Straaka kept telling me I had to go down,’ she whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment, and I took her hand in mine.

She opened her eyes to look at me, and I asked, ‘Dragon, can you tell us why the man who held you captive brought you to the mountains? Did he make you tell him where to find us?’

She frowned. ‘He said he had to take me into the mountains and I was to lead him to you and his sister. I told him that I did not know him or his sister but he did not hear. Sometimes he said that he would kill us both and other times he said he would let me go when I brought him to his sister. He had some food to begin with, but he was sick when he took me prisoner and he got worse in the mountains and then he did not care about food. He thought I might try to run away because he was sick so he bound my hands and feet and tied me.’ She was trembling and her eyes had gone glassy. ‘He smelled so bad but his eyes were worse than his smell. Sometimes he thought I was his sister. He said she had run away and that he had to find her and punish her. He hurt me …’ She stopped and swallowed, and then she said in the same childish voice as she had used when first she woke, ‘He was a bad man.’

‘He was,’ Analivia said fiercely, drawing Dragon’s blue gaze. ‘But now he is a dead bad man, so he can’t hurt anyone ever again.’ She was trembling too, I saw, and Swallow came to put his arm around her and draw her away, saying they would prepare some food.

Ahmedri and I exchanged a look, even as Dameon took Analivia’s place and laid his hand unerringly over Dragon’s. Seeing him, she smiled. ‘Guildmaster,’ she murmured, and when he shifted his hand to her face, she turned her head to press her cheek to his palm.

‘Rest, child, and we will watch over you,’ Dameon said, and because I was holding her other hand, I felt him emanating comfort and serenity to her. But when she closed her eyes again, I felt a jab of panic. Dameon shook his head at me and said softly, ‘She is sleeping naturally. Do not fear, Elspeth. Let her rest. You can ask her all of your questions when she wakes. It is more than fortunate that she woke here when we have a hiatus in our journey.’

‘Yes,’ I murmured, hardly able to take in that she had woken and remembered me.