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“What sort of queen is she?” Gytha asked.

“A usurper,” said Dakjudr darkly. “Eshkeshken has been denied his birthright for far too long.”

Eshkeshken said in a low voice, as if justifying himself, “I would have let her keep the throne if she had not been so cruel.”

“But you are the rightful ruler?” Gytha pressed.

“My mother was Javethai’s older sister, and when she died soon after her father the king, the throne was meant to go to me. But Javethai is much older than I, and crueler, and I did not want to risk war for the sake of status.” His steps were steady, but his voice grew quieter and rougher with emotion. “I should have intervened before now, when I learned of her cruel bargain with the human prince. He did not deserve these centuries enmagicked into a beast.

“But I thought her pride would not let her break her word as she has. I thought, if I let it play out, she would release the human.

“Now I see she has lost all semblance of honor, and I can no longer excuse my own cowardice. The time for patience and peacemaking is at an end.”

They continued walking in silence.

Hour after hour they walked, and at long intervals the ice goblins handed Gytha bread and cheese and cold sausage to eat.

Finally, when she was so tired her steps were uneven again, Eshkeshken changed his path and clambered up a low ridge to the snow-swept top. Gytha followed, breathing hard, and found him standing at the very top, with the icy hill falling away before him.

When they were gathered, he called in a loud voice, “East Wind! Please hear me.”

A voice rang out. “What do you ask of me, goblin?”

“My companions and I wish to go to the castle at the end of the world, east of the sun and west of the moon, where Queen Javethai rules in my place. I am Prince Eshkeshken of the ice goblins, and this is Dakjudr, my friend and ally.”

The wind whirled and spun and the swirling dust of snow coalesced into a vague figure in front of them. Fine snowflakes caught the dim starlight, lending the translucent figure a strange, ethereal beauty. No clear features were discernible, but there was a sense that the figure was looking at them each in turn.

“And what will you give me for my help?” The voice hissed and sighed like a winter breeze over frost-covered stone.

“As the rightful king of the ice goblins, I will give you my gratitude.” Eshkeshken bowed low and remained with his head lowered.

The snowy figure turned a little toward Gytha, its translucent shoulders wisping away and then reforming. “You have a human with you. It is strange for a human to travel with ice goblins.” There was a question in this statement, but Gytha was not entirely sure what it was.

Eshkeshken straightened and put a hand on her shoulder in a way that seemed to Gytha to be somewhere between protective and possessive. In his low, cold voice, he said, “She is a friend and an ally against the usurping queen, at least as regards the bear prince. Will you carry us there, East Wind?”

The wind whispered against Gytha’s cheeks. “What willyougive me, human child?”

Gytha licked her lips. “I don’t have much to offer,” she said carefully. “But I will tell you of my family, if you would like to hear.”

The wind laughed softly. “I have never been so far south. The lives of humans are of little interest to me, but I have no love for the goblin queen. Tell me of your family, child, and I will do you a favor of my choosing.”

Gytha opened her mouth and Dakjudr put a restraining hand on her arm. Eshkeshken said, “A favor? Will you take us to the ice goblin palace?”

“No.” The wind whipped briskly around them, throwing snow into a glittering cloud. “I will take you to my sister, the West Wind. She knows the mountains better than I do.”

Eshkeshken bowed slightly. “Thank you.” He looked at Gytha and said, “The East Wind is just and honorable. Speak without fear.”

The snowflakes swirled so dizzyingly that for a moment Gytha entirely lost her bearings. She closed her eyes and felt the ice beneath her boots, the strength of Eshkeshken’s grip on her shoulder, and the steady pull of gravity and fatigue on her body.

“My father is Ivarr Bjornsson, and my mother is his wife Hlif. I am the oldest of eight children. My little sisters and brothers are Sigrid, Solveig, the twins Ashild and Dagney, Randulf, Halvard, and Brinja. Halvard learned to read while I was in the queen’s prison. The bear prince saved all our lives with healing magic and with elk and fish he brought my family to eat. He is?—”

The wind spoke suddenly. “Healing magic? How did he come by that?”

Eshkeshken said, “I lent it to him to use in the south, for what purpose he chose. It was my personal magic. The queen hasno such power of her own.”

The wind sighed softly. “Have you any magic left, prince?”

“Very little.” Eshkeshken straightened, his sharp face raised proudly. “When I take my rightful place, I will take the scepter from my aunt and regain the power that is mine by birthright.”