Embla’s head, far, far above, tilted as she thought.

‘It’s strange,’ she said. ‘New. I have my old memories and feelings but also all of Nammu’s. I can remember being a seed, growing in the soil right there. And I can remember my mother’s mother, and all the mothers before that, going right back to the first elk herder who built her hut here. All the seasons, all the people. They are with me, woven into every grain.’

‘That . . .’ Liska fumbled for the right words. ‘That sounds . . . nice.’

Embla smiled. A wide, wooden smile that lit up her face. ‘It is nice, shapewalker. It is a history I . . . we . . . thought would be lost forever. And now it isn’t.’

Liska nodded. The Undrentree must be the same, she realised. Not just a source of magic or a place to build houses around, but a living record of her people going back generations and generations. If it was lost, a whole chunk of the world would be gone with it.

If only they could get Nammu’s heart back there in time to stop that from happening.

*

After just an hour of sleep, Elowen was up on her feet again. When Liska told her to rest some more, she shook her head.

‘I’ve said before – I’ve slept enough for many lifetimes. There are still tasks to do. Starting with us taking Nammu’s heart.’

The death of a sacred tree. It was a sad, solemn moment, but also one filled with hope. Against all the odds, Liska’s and Lug’s gamble had paid off and they were finally here, claiming the thing that could save their home.

And yet there was Embla, the last trace of a whole civilisation, about to see her most precious thing in the world die.

They gathered by the trunk of Nammu, looking up at its timeless rugged branches, imagining them filled with leaves in warmer times when noise and life thronged the plains. Now there was just the biting wind whirling down from the glacier, the dusting of frost across the bark, and the last few brave leaves fluttering as if waving goodbye.

‘Should . . . should we say something?’ Liska asked as Elowen stepped forwards towards the trunk.

‘Nothing needs to be said.’ Embla nodded at Elowen to continue. ‘Nammu knows what you ask of her. She has been waiting for her time to end for many years now. Everything is as it should be.’

‘But dying is sad,’ said Fishbone. ‘We should at least do some yowling.’

‘Please don’t,’ muttered Liska.

‘All things die,’ said Embla. ‘But not many get the chance to help others live. It is an honour for Nammu to do this.’