Eirik was telling the household how the two Wolfskins had traveled north to assist Ulf with some delicate business, and were now headed back to Jarl Magnus’s court, and then away on the spring viking. This season, Ulf planned to take one of Magnus’s ships far south, into a territory more frequently raided by the men of Jutland. There would be competition: things were likely to get interesting, Eirik said with some relish. Ulf would be at Hammarsby by the next full moon, to collect Somerled and take him to court before setting off on the voyage. Ulf would surely be grateful to Ingi and Eyvind, for Somerled was looking very well indeed. Maybe they’d make a Wolfskin out of him too, Eirik added with a grin. But Somerled was not smiling. Like a small creature of the shadows, he slipped away from the room without a word, and when Eyvind went out later to find him, the boy was lying in bed, curled up tightly with the blanket over his face.

“Somerled?”

There was no response.

“Somerled! I know you’re not asleep. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The voice was muffled. “Why would anything be wrong?”

“I just thought—”

“Go away, Eyvind. I’m trying to sleep.”

It would have been far easier to obey and go back out to the hall where his family and their guests still sat over ale and good talk. Somehow, Eyvind found he could not do that.

“We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” he said quietly, sitting down on the sleeping platform next to Somerled. “But I’ll stay here, anyway.”

There was a long silence.

“You don’t have to.” Somerled’s voice was a whisper.

“I know,” Eyvind said. “Friends don’t help each other because they have to. They do it because they want to.”

After a while, Somerled spoke again. Eyvind could tell he was trying hard not to cry.

“Eyvind?”

“Mmm?”

“This is something you can’t fix. Nobody can.”

Eyvind could think of nothing to say; the hopeless finality of the boy’s tone silenced him.

“I know you mean well,” said Somerled thinly. It was the closest he had ever come to a thank you.

The time passed swiftly. Still they swam and explored and hunted, but something had changed. Somerled was pushing himself harder, doing his best to keep up and to get everything right, as if to master as much as he could before he must leave. But he had gone quiet again, and that strange darkness was back in his eyes. It was not possible to talk to him about it, for every attempt was cut off by a furious denial of any problem. So Eyvind kept quiet and concentrated on teaching, since learning things was the purpose of Somerled’s visit.