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A door opened to our right, and we turned. Arcturus stepped into the hallway.

‘Warden.’ Nick cleared his throat. ‘Good to see you awake.’

Arcturus wore his usual black clothes. His brown hair was awry, the way it always was when he woke up. It was the only part of him that ever looked untidy.

‘Nick,’ he said. ‘Paige.’

I was too aware of my breathing, the tender skin around my collarbone, the brush of a stray curl against my cheek. The light in his eyes had returned to gold, with a greener tinge than usual.

‘Sorry if we disturbed you,’ Nick said, saving me from having to speak. ‘Everyone is waiting for you downstairs, but there’s no hurry. We can always come back.’

‘Time may not be in our favour,’ Arcturus said. ‘Sooner or later, my absence from Capri will be noted.’

‘If you’re sure.’

Arcturus nodded. His aura skirted mine as he passed, leaving me stippled with goosebumps.

Nick and I followed him to the parlour. Terebell beckoned him to sit beside her on the couch, speaking in low Gloss. Maria made a point of pouring wine for everyone but Errai.

‘Warden, this is my girlfriend, Veronika Norlenghi.’ She corked the bottle. ‘She’s a Domino recruiter.’

‘Hello, Warden. I’ve heard so much about you.’ Verca offered him a glass and a smile. ‘I’m sorry for your poor welcome to Italy, but I hear you like wine, so you’re in the right country.’

Arcturus took the glass. ‘Thank you, Veronika.’

‘Verca is fine.’ She glanced at Maria. ‘I’ll leave you to it. See you back at Domino?’

‘All right, love.’

Verca swung on her raincoat and left. I settled on the window seat beside Nick.

I still felt almost nothing from the golden cord. At first, I had thought it was overstretched to the point of shock. We had been so far apart, for so long.

Now I realised the obstruction stemmed from his end of the cord. He was making a concerted effort to conceal his emotions from me, in a way he never had before. I sensed his intent, and it punched me in the gut.

‘Are you comfortable with us being here, Warden?’ Nick used his bedside voice. ‘If you’d prefer some of us to go, that’s fine.’

‘No,’ Arcturus said. ‘You should all hear, as members of the Mime Order. Ask what you wish.’

‘Paige has already told us about the night you were captured, but we’d like to hear your side.’

‘Take your time,’ Maria said.

Arcturus nodded.

‘The Vigiles came to the safe house when I was sleeping, armed with the windflower,’ he said. ‘After the confrontation in Versailles, I was weaker than my wont. Paige had left, so she was not taken.’

I looked away.

‘To hide my position from her, I was dosed with alysoplasm and driven to the outskirts of Paris,’ he said. ‘Nashira arrived in due course. She reminded me that I had once sworn to serve her, and she meant to hold me to my oath. Of course, I could not return to being her consort, given her belief that I have been … intimate with Paige.’

Errai made a sound of disgust. I kept my face blank as memories came, unbidden.

‘Nonetheless,’ Arcturus said, ‘Nashira has always tried to bring her enemies back into the fold. My crimes were grave, but if I endured my punishments and aided her in the conquest of Earth, she assured me that I would not be sequestered or starved. I could be forgiven.’

Nashira was famous for this. She went to great lengths to avoid executing her fellow Rephs, but that meant she had to twist and hammer them into a shape that suited her needs.

‘For my first act of penance, I was to help her destroy the Mime Order,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had a visitor in my cell – a human I had once known as David Fitton. His true name is Cadoc Fitzours.’ I stared at him. ‘I had thought him an oracle, but I soon learned that he is a dreamwalker.’ His eyes met mine. ‘There is another, Paige. And he is strong.’