Kyor’s hand remains on my wrist as his mouth works at the root. There’s nothing to do now but wait. Wait to see if Elska found the right plant or if both the prince and I are about to take our last breaths.

‘I know you told Zelle,’ I blurt into the silence. His shift is so minimal I doubt I would have felt it if he hadn’t been holding me. But I do. Still, he doesn’t respond. ‘I know you told him you lied about my mother.’

‘You really think this is the time to have this discussion?’ He scoffs before descending into a coughing fit that has him slumping over his knees. When he finally speaks again, it’s in a barely audible mutter. ‘Fucking fool still thinks I’m redeemable.’

I’m surprised when the comment makes my heart hurt a little. Atoning, Zelle said.

Is Zelle the person who is waiting for Kyor at the end of this trial? The bond between the two makes it more than likely, but would they really allow one of our trainers to be involved in the Retterheld in such a manner? Then again, it’s not like they’re going to ask the king to wait around all night for Kyor to find him. And from the way Zelle spoke, it’s not like there’s anybody else Kyor is close to.

‘How are you feeling?’ I ask, nervous of the silence that’s forming between us.

‘Well enough to ram a fucking sword through your stomach for fucking poisoning me,’ he snaps back. ‘And believe me, if I don’t finish this challenge, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.’

Somehow, the bravado behind the threat makes me feel better. He’s clearly getting better if he can focus on his desire to kill me over his own pain.

Still, time is ticking and I need to find Kay. I pull my wrist out of his grip. A moment later, he’s pushing himself onto his feet.

Before I can explain that I didn’t mean to poison him, he murmurs, ‘Less than an hour until sunrise.’ I’m not sure if he’s speaking to me or to Elska, but his next words are definitely aimed at the wolf. ‘Come on, girl. Let’s finish this.’

The giant creature lowers herself onto her haunches. Without hesitation, Kyor grabs a fistful of fur and leaps atop her. And then they’re racing off into the depths of the woods.

My heart fills my mouth as I watch on, dumbfounded. It’s true. She really does let him ride her.

Unbelievable. I wonder which of the other rumours about Kyor are also true, because I’ve heard a lot. Mostly centring around his skills with women and war.

As Kyor disappears, I consider following him. I’ve no doubt that Elska can sniff out whoever it is he has to find and take the most direct path there. But her footsteps are silent and the two of them are already long gone by the time I think to follow them. Instead, I head up a tree to check my surroundings.

I’m much closer to the lights now – that’s the good news.

The bad news is that slivers of sunlight are breaching the horizon, the first mellow rays of morning lightening the sky as they slink over the trees.

How long does that give me till dawn? Kyor said less than an hour. I don’t know if that was a guess or something Elska instinctively knew, but either way, I reckon he’s right. Sixty minutes at most.

I need to move faster. I don’t even try to be quiet.

‘Kay!’ I cry out into the night, picking up my pace. ‘Kay! Kay!’

I try to listen as I run, praying I’m heading in the right direction. If I don’t make it, then what will happen to Kay? Will she be safely sent back to Artur? If I’m kicked out of the Retterheld, how will I even speak to Jonas or Llinos to work out what I’m supposed to do next? They’ve both offered me a home afterwards, but what if they’re still in the competition for another two moons? What am I meant to do in the meantime?

Panic is rising in my chest, making it difficult to breathe as I run.

‘Rose! Where are you? Rose!’

It’s a whisper on the wind, so quiet it’s hard to believe I’m not imagining it. But then it comes again.

‘Rose! I’m here, Rose!’

Kay! My heart lurches so hard it seals my throat, and I break into a sprint.

‘Kay! Keep calling me, Kay! Keep calling me!’

‘I’m here, Rose! I’m here!’

With every step, her voice gets louder, but I’m still not there. Gods, don’t take her from me now. My chest is heaving as tendrils of light creep through the canopy above me, colouring the grey leaves with golden light.

‘Kay, I’m nearly there. I’m coming!’

‘Hurry, Rose! Hurry up! Don’t you dare screw this up now, or I swear to the Gods I will never forgive you! You hear me, Rose? Hurry the fuck up!’

Her voice is so loud I can hear the enunciation in every word, but I struggle to reply. My lungs burn. My body is wrecked.

‘Rose!’

‘I’m coming, Kay. I’m⁠—’

The word is swallowed from my throat as I break into a clearing and see her standing there, bound to a tree with whips made of white light.

I don’t know if it’s the magic that’s holding her there or the way the sunlight is diffusing through the twigs and branches above, but her hair is luminous and her eyes are so vibrant that she looks like a Goddess. She is a creature of the forest, too perfect to possibly be human.

‘Rose, you need to touch me!’ she yells. ‘That’s the way to break the magic. You need to touch me. Quickly!’

It’s more of a grab than a touch, my arms squeezing so tightly around her tall frame that I’m surprised I don’t hear her bones crack. I’ve got her. I’ve got her.

‘You’re alive.’ Her voice breaks as she pushes herself back and wipes the tears from my cheeks. ‘I was so worried. I’ve been so worried. They said you were hurt by other Rettlings.’

‘It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re both all right. We’ll be all right.’ I don’t know if I’m holding her up, or if she’s holding me. All I know is that I don’t want to let go. And yet she steps back, her forehead creasing with concern.

‘They say you scaled a jötunn? That you defeated it without magic? And that another Rettling tried to kill you?’

‘I wouldn’t say I defeated it alone. It was a team effort. And as for Zara trying to kill me …’ I shrug. ‘I guess it didn’t help that I set her alight with a fire bead on our first night in the High Hold.’

She gapes at me. ‘Bloody hell, Rose! Tell me you’re joking?’

‘About her trying to kill me, or me setting her alight?’

‘Both!’

There’s something about the way she’s fretting that’s remarkably comforting. This is my sister, my Kay, gaping at me with bafflement, like she can’t quite understand how I’ve done what I’ve done. It’s a look she’s given me many a time, as though I’ve somehow pulled a miracle out of the bag, a meal from nothing.

‘It’s fine,’ I assure her. ‘Zara tried to kill me first so I was just teaching her that I’m not an easy target.’

‘Rose!’ I can’t tell if she’s scandalised or impressed. But I don’t care. She’s here. With me. That’s all that matters.

We’re both smiling through the salty tang of tears, and as Kay’s grip once again tightens on me, I finally look around. There are six trees like the one Kay was bound to. Five are now empty, while an old man is still bound to the other. His posture is hunched and his grey hair is limp around his shoulders where it blends with an identically coloured beard.

‘What do we do now?’ I ask Kay. ‘Will the priestess come to take you back?’

‘The others released their loved ones and then, after a moment or so, they disappeared.’

She lifts her hand in a wave to signify something disappearing, only to freeze partway through the gesture. Her face pales.

‘Kay?’

‘My ring. Mother’s ring!’ Before I can even respond she throws herself to the ground and starts looking through the dirt.

‘I had it. I know I did! Rose, I can’t have lost it. I can’t!’

Without hesitation, I join her on the cold earth, raking my hands over the leaf litter. ‘Don’t worry,’ I say. ‘We’ll find it.’ We have to. It’s Kay’s last memento of Mother.