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time, and this was the first in the right direction,the first step towards keeping everyone she could safe from the threat of Orlac and, more so, the evil Dorgryl.
    When must I leave? It will not be easy.
    You must make your preparations immediately. You have access to Sarel and, most importantly, you have her trust. Use that now and get her away from this place. Take only what you can carry. Jewels and gowns are not necessary. Wear peasant clothes but carry money. Pay for passage across the seas and when you reach Caradoon, look for a woman there called Eryna—she runs a brothel. She will help you. You must tell her you are a friend of Tor. You can tell her the truth and your secret will be safe.
    How will I find Tor? Hela asked.
    He will be making his way into the Great Forest—I know this means nothing to you but all will be plain when you reach Tallinor. The Heartwood, within the Forest, is a sacred place—it is where you will find him. Right now Tor is back at the palace in Tal.
    With the Queen he loves?
    You know about that?
    Before she died—that same morning in fact—Sylven mentioned something to me about a proclamation that King Lorys had married a beautiful, young commoner. She remarked that this woman was Tor’s former lover.
    Oh, she is far more than that, Hela. Alyssa is Tor’s wife.
    Tor took his leave of the Queen and their children just prior to daybreak. It was the hardest of partings. Gidyon was stoic but Lauryn’s face betrayed her feelings; theyboth understood the need to remain at the palace whilst their father completed this journey to find their brother. They had learned the incredible news of their brother’s existence while huddled over tea and honeycakes in their mother’s rooms. Sallementro and Saxon had rejoined them and even Gyl, in better humour, was permitted to join this intimate gathering.
    There had been silence when Tor told Sorrel’s tale.
    It was Gidyon who gathered his thoughts first. ‘So do we presume that Lauryn, Rubyn and myself form the Trinity?’
    Tor nodded. ‘It is my belief that once we find Rubyn, yes, we will have assembled the Trinity.’
    Lauryn looked alarmed. ‘But what is expected of us?’ She gazed at the Queen as she said this.
    Alyssa shrugged slightly, a faint smile playing around her lips. ‘When you start to hear a woman speaking in your dreams, then you’ll know more.’
    ‘You mean Lys? This woman who speaks to Father and Sax?’
    It was Tor who nodded. ‘And Cloot, Sallementro, Arabella, Solyana, Figgis…all of the Paladin. I agree with the Queen, Lys will probably advise what is required of the Trinity.’ He ignored Alyssa’s slight scowl at his formality. Considering they had only recently kissed so tenderly, it did seem a fatuous pretence, but she understood the need for his caution.
    Lauryn’s eyes narrowed. ‘Does she speak to you, your highness?’
    ‘Please, Lauryn…I would like it if you called me Mother.’ Alyssa looked hopefully at her daughter. Even though she was a queen and used to giving orders, it wasa difficult request to ask of someone who was still very much a stranger to her. ‘No, Lys has never spoken to me,’ the Queen answered, brushing the crumbs of her light meal from her gown. ‘I don’t know why this is so but I have given up wondering over it.’
    Gyl’s patience was wearing thin. He had made a silent promise that he would try very hard this morning to find a level of understanding; one which was generous enough to cope with all these strange stories and concepts. He clamped his jaw tight for fear of saying something he might regret and yet all of this was so far-fetched. And now the conversation was drifting into banality. An old woman had died on this very seat before him just hours ago—where the corpse had disappeared to remained a mystery and although her death had set off some frantic decisions, here they all were sipping tea, munching honeycakes, politely talking about strangers being allowed to