"She can't be one of us."

"No one here has hair that colour."

"Give her room, will you!"

"Best be careful — she might be a spy."

"She's an angel: she can't be a spy. And I said to give her room!"

Kiki struggled to consciousness. Whose voices were these? She lifted her head and looked up, her vision blurry, at the purple-haired youth who'd just spoken.

"Are you Pit?"

The young man looked at her, his face an expression of concern.

"My name is Jayce. And yours?"

"Where's Pit? I have to find Pit."

"She's an assassin," someone piped up from the back of the small crowd who'd gathered around this mysterious newcomer. "I told you we should have taken her weapons."

Kiki heaved herself up onto all fours. Her whole body ached and her wings felt heavy. It had taken 8 nights of flying, plus various encounters with the deadly denizens of the sky, to arrive here and she was worn out. Was this even the right place?

"I'm sick of this, Father. Can't we do something else?"

"On your feet, Kiki, come on."

Kiki let out a growl of irritation as she heaved herself up. "I'm not even better from the last time," she complained, clutching her arm. "One of these days you'll kill me with your training — and then I can think of some people what will be sorry for some things!"

Callimachus sighed. "If you'd only hit the stone as I told you, you wouldn't have got hurt."

"And don't bury me somewhere manky," Kiki continued. "I want somewhere with flowers, somewhere nice."

"Sure." Callimachus picked up another pebble. "Hold your dagger properly, come on, don't slouch. Now for the last time, Kiki, please hit the blessed stone! Ready?"

She nodded.

Callimachus threw the pebble.

Kiki side-stepped.

"I'm going inside."

I am very lucky, thought Callimachus as he watched Asteria at her spinning wheel. I have a beautiful wife, a whole island to myself and a flock of sheep that keeps growing and growing. I have everything I need, and no troubles at all.

Except maybe for Asteria's fiery temper. Sometimes it took only the smallest thing to rile her — but that was a small price to pay for her companionship.

He'd heard in Skyworld that happiness was often hard to find for Overworlders, but he knew, and they were wrong. I am very happy, he thought. Very happy.

Asteria gave Callimachus's foot a playful kick. "I wish you wouldn't stare at me so," she muttered. "It's hard to concentrate when you do that."

Callimachus laughed. "I can't help it. I've never seen anyone spin moonlight into thread. It's amazing, how do you do it?"

"I've already told you — it's pointless trying to explain it to you, because you can never understand."

"Okay."

Asteria sighed. That was the only thing that annoyed her about Callimachus. He conceded to whatever she said so easily, there was never any opportunity to bicker. She'd confronted him about this once before.

"You never disagree with me," she had complained.