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The goblin prince shook his head without opening his eyes. Dakjudr hesitated and then gripped his shoulder again with one strong hand, steadying him as he swayed.

At last he straightened with a grimace.“I think I know what to do.” He met their eyes each in turn and said, “Thank you for your courage. When it is time, Dakjudr, I’ll give you the lance. You must be brave enough for us both. Kill the queen and free our people.”

Dakjudr hesitated and then nodded once, as if she understood more from these words than Gytha did. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Far above, a sliver of moon gleamed bright silver among the uncounted stars. Eshkeshken looked up at the sky for a moment and took a deep breath. Then he set off across the snow-covered plain.

“Where are we going?” Gytha said to his back.

“The palace is not far.” The prince’s voice was strained, and he said nothing else.

For quite some time they walked without speaking. Gytha looked around. The ice beneath their feet was solid and nearly flat.

“Is this sea ice?” She had the odd sense that they ought to whisper; the world was so quiet and strange, withno wind or sounds of life other than their footsteps, that they ought not break the silence.

“Yes.” Eshkeshken’s voice was equally hushed. “We are nearly there.” He strode on another hour before he stopped and faced them. “Are you ready?”

“What do I need to do?” Gytha whispered.

Eshkeshken studied her a moment and then tapped the lance against the side of her head gently. “I gave you a little magic.” He grimaced and pressed a hand to his chest. “Almost everything I have left. You will be able to understand our language until the magic wears off.”

His blue-gray eyes flicked to Dakjudr’s, and he held her gaze for a moment. “Do what must be done, even if it kills me. You understand?”

Dakjudr bowed deeply to him. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Eshkeshken turned and led them forward. Within three steps, he vanished. Gytha hesitated but followed him.

Chapter 13

The magic felt like walking through a thin film of water, a frigid rush of power from her head to her toes. She looked around in amazement. A great white city rose before them. Starlight glittered on a thousand spires that reached to the heavens. A thousand windows glowed with cool blue light.

Gytha had never seen anything so beautiful or so cold in her life.

Eshkeshken walked straight up to the towering wall and pulled open a door which Gytha had not even noticed. He strode through as if there were nothing to be afraid of at all, leaving the door standing wide open for Gytha and Dakjudr to follow.

He led them through many expansive halls and wide courtyards. The walls of the city and the buildings within it were made of gemstones, ice, packed white snow, and what appearedto be magic itself, gleaming with a pale light that made lanterns unnecessary. When they walked through empty halls, the ceiling glowed softly, like bright moonlight through ice, so that it was always light enough to see.

At last they approached a wide, open courtyard which was not empty. More ice goblins walked toward the end of the courtyard far off to the left, which they could not quite see from their position in the narrow alley. On both sides, the snowy walls glowed as if lit from within, and the floor of the alley glittered as if it were made of diamonds. There was notmuchlight, to be sure, but what there was gleamed and sparkled on every surface.

Eshkeshken paused some distance from the end of the alley; the walls were close on both sides but above, the black sky above was scattered with thousands of bright stars. The courtyard was so wide that the details of the opposite wall were indistinct, but it rose high above their heads, dotted with windows.

He glanced back at them, his gray eyebrows drawn down in what Gytha took to be concern.

“I’m ready,” she whispered. “Although I don’t know what we’re doing.”

His gaze held hers for an instant and then flicked to Dakjudr’s face. His jaw tightened, and he nodded to her.

“I understand,” the goblin woman whispered.

For a moment more, he hesitated. Then he turned, raised his chin, and strode out into the throng with his head high.

They followed.

At first, no one seemed to notice them as they joined the rear of the gathering crowd. As they made their way to the front of the crowd, a few of the ice goblins began to take notice.

“Your Highness?” A goblin some inches taller and much older than Eshkeshken grabbed at the prince’s arm.

The prince turned and his eyes widened. “Arenenak?”