The scraping at the door wakened Melcorka. She lay still for a moment, trying to work out what had made the sound, and where she was. The air was damp and chill, the ground hard beneath her hip, and stone surrounded her. The scraping continued, louder.
Rolling over, Melcorka looked around. She and Alva were alone in the small chamber within the walls of the broch, with their few possessions rolled up on the ground and Defender in her scabbard, leaning against the wall. Minimal grey light seeped through the small square window.
"Who"s there?" She stood behind the heavy door, a hand"s breadth from Defender.
The door opened slowly and Conall stepped in, smiling. "You know that I have taken a liking to you," he said.
"I did not know that." Melcorka glanced at Alva, who lay curled up like a
