“Third time lucky,” Thoth muttered, grabbing the last of the paper bags Toby had managed to swipe from the market the day before. He closed his fist around the neck, leaving a small gap for the air to filter through, inhaled deeply and breathed into it.

Having nothing to do was the worst part of this new life. With no library, laboratory or animal rescue centre to tinker with, there was nothing to distract him from how wrong everything was. No condensation on the window to write equations on with his finger, no backdoor routes through the servants’ quarters to avoid bumping into people, no waking up to the smell of Nimueh’s baking – all wrong. The world was wrong without Arthur. It was wrong to put Mordred on the throne and Tristan on a wanted poster.

It was as though the deceased king had kept everything safe and right and ordered, and without him the whole world had turned upside down.

Thoth’s fist clenched around the neck of the paper bag, trapping his breath inside, and he leant back to study it. The bottom of the bag had blown out where he’d exhaled but there didn’t appear to be any tears. So far, so good. Thoth frowned, concentrating specifically on the carbon dioxide molecules hidden behind the brown paper. A darker shade of brown started to creep up from the bottom of the bag where damp was growing; this was where it had gone wrong on the previous two attempts. Thoth held his breath, focusing hard on the damp patch, reaching for the same source he used whenever he wanted to turn water to ice. The bag started to feel heavier and cooler in his hand. He loosened the neck slightly and was rewarded with an eruption of grey-white fog. Morveren, who had been dozing on the floor next to him, lifted up her head curiously.

“Check it out, Morv.” Thoth opened the neck a little wider and held the bag out for her to sniff. “Dry ice.”

Morv snapped at the fog, trying to grab a mouthful.

A familiar thundering of paws made her squeal in excitement. Toby, who had been asleep in the corner, lifted his head and wagged his tail a few times cheerfully as Celidon pushed his head and part of his body into the tent. Thoth had to back up a little to give him room, but Morv leapt forward to bump noses with her friend.

“A unicorn?” Thoth asked, baffled. What was a unicorn doing out here?

He dropped the bag, accidentally releasing all of the dry ice fog and obscuring everyone’s vision. Cel backed out, enabling everyone else to be able to follow after him. Toby came last, yawning pointedly and throwing Thoth a very put-out look. Thoth ignored him and started after Cel, who was already heading back out into the woods with Morveren trotting cheerfully along beside him. After a moment of grumbling, Toby followed on behind, bringing up the rear.

It took an age to cross the forest. Thoth folded his arms across his chest, warding off the cold, but the two dogs and the water-fox seemed unaffected. The canopy thickened, blocking out the light of the moon and stars; if it weren’t for Cel’s lantern, they’d be in total blackness. Morveren kept trying to steal it off him but the cu-sith just lifted his head out of her reach each time. The sound of water tinkled in the distance, drawing ever closer.

Finally, Cel pushed aside the shrubbery to reveal a mossy clearing with a small, low brook trickling through it. The light fell onto Tris’ back, glinting off his brown hair. Just beyond him, the dark figure of a large, fallen animal lay still on the ground. Thoth crossed the distance between them and crouched down next to his friend, unfolding his arms.

It was definitely a unicorn, and it was definitely dying. Now he was closer, he could just about see her chest moving – just. Her eyes had been shut, but they flicked open when he drew closer, staring vacantly off into the distance. She didn’t even seem to have the presence of mind to panic.

Thoth swore expressively in French and beckoned Cel closer with the light, wanting to get a better look at the wound.

MASTER OF THE ORBIS . MASTER OF THE WATER ELEMENT . SON OF AURA