Eyvind smiled. “Ah. That was not quite the way of it. She and I, we watched the burning, and it was sad to see her things go up in smoke; that was indeed an act of barbarism. When Somerled’s men sought to find us in the howe, I stepped out to confront them, I and the dog, Shadow. My body was still weak, I doubt if I could have fought them off if it had come to that. But they fled in fear, thinking me some ghostly warrior. That night we slept in the howe, and in the morning Shadow was gone, and so was Rona. I don’t know where they went, Nessa, but there is at least some cause for hope.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “And I know what she would advise. In the morning, I will cast the bones and see what the signs tell us. Maybe we will go on together; maybe each of us must take a different path. I cannot think of this now; my mind is crowded with other things, my heart is too full to let me see my way clearly.”

Eyvind nodded, thinking her heart and her body could not possibly be full of as many conflicting feelings as his own. He could hardly think straight, so powerful was the longing in him.

“You’re exhausted,” he said. “You must sleep. I have no blanket, not even a cloak; still, the wolfskin is warm. Lie down there; I will sleep over at the other side. A warrior is accustomed to a bed on hard earth. Your dog—have you given him a name?”

“Guard, I called him.”

“Guard will listen for intruders, though I think there will be none here; all fear to approach this place.”

“You did not fear it.”

“I was beyond fear, I think, once I thought you were lost. Now I know it again; I can scarcely bear to think of you going on alone.”

“Hush,” Nessa said. “Tonight is time out of time; there is no place for fear tonight.”

“You must rest.” He made himself move away, settle on the earth as far from her as he could go. Not far enough. For him, there would be no sleep; the aching of his body would torment him, her presence would ensure he fought back his desire, moment by moment, until dawn. “I don’t like to see you so pale, so troubled. Have you held back your tears all this while, for those you have lost? You should not fear to weep; it does not make you any less strong, to let your tears flow. Shall I blow out the lamp?”

“Not yet.” Her voice was very small, and wobbled. “Eyvi?”

He waited in silence.

“I feel so lonely,” she said in a whisper. “They are all gone: my family, my people, all of them taken. And I’m tired, but I don’t want to sleep, not here in the dark; I don’t want to see their dead faces in my dreams.”