I tried to stand. My legs were like water, my whole body trembled, and a red darkness swam before my eyes. Someone lifted me, pushed back my hair, and fingered the welt on my face. My vision cleared.

Amasai alone was with me, as dusty and dishevelled as I was. “That was an impressive beginning, Elsha,” he murmured, with a pale smile. “You caused a riot. I don’t doubt you’ll cause worse.”

I must have shown my dismay, because his face softened, and his fingers on my cheek grew gentle as they brushed away the dirt. “But for now, you are safe. We are at the house where my high lord stays.” He looked at me straight, and his eyes were deep and full of fervent things. He added very quietly, “More than any other woman’s, Elsha of the Quelled, I have enjoyed your company.”

He sighed, turned to the mule behind us, and smoothed its wet and trembling neck. He took a water skin out of one of the travelling bags, and washed his face and hands. He was obsessed with cleanliness. Our first night in a cave he had made me wash, all over, while he waited outside in the freezing wind.

I looked at the place we had come to. We were in a large courtyard with walls on three sides. On the fourth side was a high, long building, painted white. It had ten rows of windows going up, and many doors leading from the courtyard to the lowest floor. The doors were all painted around the edges with vivid greens and golds, and the windows had richly carved shutters of metal and wood. Brilliant banners hung from the windowsills, and bright flags fluttered from the high roof.

“Stay here while I find my lord,” said Amasai, when he had finished his wash. He looked pale and apprehensive. “When I have spoken with him, I will send out a servant to bring you.” He strode away across the courtyard, and vanished through one of the painted doors.

I could hear my heart drumming, and the sounds of the distant marketplace. I could hear children laughing, and men shouting. They were fierce, bold, brazen sounds, unlike any I was used to. More than ever before, I felt alone – utterly alone.

A door opened at one end of the house, and a man came out. He came to me across the blowing yellow dust, gazed into the air above my head, and commanded me to follow him. As we neared the house I realised how high it was, how huge and overpowering. Never had I been inside any place except the mine and our tents. Now, as I stepped across the threshold of this place, darkness swallowed me, and a deep musty silence. There were smells of sweet incense, ancient woven hangings, and old wood. I followed the man through vast rooms painted white and hung with immense flags and tapestries. The rooms were dim, and through the cracks in the carved window shutters came shafts of pale light, and shimmering clouds of dust. There were dark, twisting passages, smaller rooms containing statues and wooden furniture, and steep shadowy stairs. All the floors were wood, and some were covered with carpets.