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'Some well, some badly?' she said with a smile.

Cal nodded. 'As is always the way.'

'The burden of leadership … you can never please everyone.'

'If we find a way to thaw the north, I may achieve just that.'

'Whenwe find a way to thaw the north, many will complain about the way we went about it … about the return of dragons, the use of magic we don't understand, alliances that will surely never hold …'

'That may come later,' Cal conceded, 'but first, they will be universally pleased. Believe me when I say times for the Black Hoods have not always been easy.'

Fyia longed to know more about what his people had been through, but the view changed, the window climbing the lengths of the trees until open sky filled the glass, and a knock sounded at the door.

'Your Majesty,' said Adigos' voice through the wood, 'we are ready for you.'

Fyia didn't believe for a second that Essa and Opie were already at the long banquet table in the dining room. 'I will be there in a moment,' she said. She waited for the sounds of Adigos' retreating footsteps before addressing Cal once more. 'Would you care to join us?'

He nodded. 'I would.'

He made for the door, passing so close that Fyia put out a hand to stop him before considering if it was wise. She knew she should drop her hand from his arm, but her fingers itched to do so much more, so leaving it on his bicep felt like a compromise. Cal looked at her hand, then into her eyes, and Fyia found it suddenly hard to breathe. 'I like your hair,' she said eventually.

'Thank you,' he said, leaning in a little, as though to kiss her. Her pulse spiked, and her eyes flicked to his approaching lips, but the kiss never came. Instead, he said, 'How did you get that streak of white in your hair?'

She turned her head away, shrugging off her disappointment. 'I was born like this. Some say it's because of my magic, but if it is, I know not what it signifies.'

A knock sounded from the door once more. 'Your Majesty?' said Adigos, his tone urgent.

Fyia dropped her hand with a huff and threw open the door. 'What?'

Adigos moved back a little, and his eyes flicked to Cal, probably to see if he was still fully clothed. 'It's Essa,' he said. 'She's gone.'

Cal took a seat halfway along the table in the airship's plush dining room. The dining room—like every other inch of the ship—was lavish, intricately decorated, and luxurious. No detail had been overlooked, from the crushed velvet upholstery, to the carvings around the windows, to the rugs that half swallowed up his boots.

He tore his attention away from the finery to assess Fyia's entourage—minus her inventor, who'd apparently made a getaway just before take-off.

'She told me she was coming to see you,' said Opie—the ship's pilot, and a man of the Kraken Empire, from what Cal could tell.

'And nobody saw her jump the rail?' said Fyia, her tone full of disbelief.

'She's crafty,' said Adigos. He kept throwing curious, possibly hostile glances in Cal's direction. Had Adigos and Fyia had a tryst? Did the noble harbor feelings for his Queen? For although Fyia had not formally introduced the man, he could be nothing but a noble, given the set of his shoulders, his fine attire, and the entitled way he moved.

He was good-looking to be sure, and had the air of someone who knew his way around a sword, but there was something about the man that made Cal nervous … like he acted too often on impulse … like he subscribed to some unknown code of honor that only those from his privileged circle were privy too, clinging to it regardless of circumstance.

'No one saw her,' said Edu.

Cal didn't dislike Adigos, per se. He seemed loyal, but the way he was looking at Fyia now she'd turned her attention to Edu …Mother spare him. He was pining like a lost puppy.

Cal moved his gaze to Edu, who seemed a little on edge … unusual for him, given what Cal had witnessed in Anvarn. Was it just the loss of Essa—Fyia's most prized engineer—or did something else trouble him?

'Shall I send guards after her?' said Edu.

'No need,' said Fyia. 'We know where she's going … I just hope they don't kill her.'

'Or take her hostage,' said Edu.

Fyia laughed cruelly. 'They can try, but I won't pay a copper to save her, regardless how brilliant her mind might be. She's betrayed me one too many times.'

Despite Fyia's harsh words, Cal could feel her disappointment. 'Where has she gone?' Cal said into the heavy silence.