Randur didn’t think it mattered much who led the Jamur Empire – nothing seemed to change anyway, and the Council made all the decisions. Didn’t fancy explaining that to her just yet, though. Instead he muttered, ‘There was me thinking I’d got the girl and that was it.’

Denlin said, ‘And I can kiss goodbye to putting my feet up and growing old disgracefully.’

‘Denlin, Randur – I owe you great rewards. Please, will you stay with me?’

‘I’m going where the lad goes,’ Denlin replied.

Randur turned to Eir. ‘I go where this one goes.’

Eir shrugged. ‘Well, I don’t fancy being constantly hunted down and then slaughtered. So I guess we’re all in this.’

Her sister leaned back with a sigh.

Doesn’t anyone just want a quiet life? Randur thought.

‘Thank you,’ Eir whispered, words meant for his ears only. Her glistening eyes fought back tears of exhaustion.

Given all the problems of this world, Eir offered him so much comfort, and that was maybe enough, wasn’t it, just to find someone to love, and to get through life with that person alongside you, because there were no certainties in this world except maybe uncertainty itself.

As the boat was dragged by the breeze, he could see the orange glow of light in the windows of a handful of houses along the shore, warm and inviting but distant and untouchable, and it was as if they weren’t just sailing away from Villjamur, but from all the comforts and luxuries they had been used to, from their own lives as they had been lived.

From the world as they knew it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere love and gratitude to my parents, Kamal and Mick, for their continuing support.

Immense thanks to my agent, John Jarrold, who has been both consul and oracle; without his deeply valuable guidance and belief, this book would never have reached publication.

Peter Lavery, possibly the smartest man alive, and with a pencil in his hand, certainly the most ruthless. My deep gratitude to him, and also to Julie Crisp for helping to shape this book into something better.

Thanks to: Graeme Harris, for the late-night conversations; Robert Thompson for the crucial advice; James Long for the wide-ranging discussions. And a special thanks to George Mann, good friend and sounding board.

And many writers continue to inspire and influence me, and I’m doubtlessly in debt to them all; but they are too numerous to mention here.

Mark Charan Newton