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He threw back his head, tossing his gray hair out of his eyes. Then he looked toward Alexander and Gytha, who crouched together some distance away. Alexander’s fingers were white and nearly frozen, but he held them against his bruised throat as he watched everything unfolding.

Eshkeshken strode over to Alexander, who looked up at him with wide, dazed eyes. The ice goblin extended a hand to him. “Stand, bear prince.”

Alexander reached for him, and when their hands touched, a great crack like thunder rocked the world. Gytha cried out.

The goblin prince gripped Alexander’s hand, steadying him as he staggered. “That’s better,” he said under his breath.

A grinding roar swept over the crowd, and only with effort could Gytha make out that it was goblin voices clamoring for answers. Some sounded angry. The ice goblin king offered Gytha a hand, and he pulled her to her feet, too.

Eshkeshken’s silvery eyes focused on Alexander a moment longer. Then he turned to the crowd.

“The North Wind whispered in my ear that if I waited too long, my heart would stop forever. Only the lance could break the ice, and only the ice would save me from the lance.

“Without Dakjudr’s courage, all would have been lost.

“The lance pierced my heart, breaking the ice and the queen’s hold upon the royal magic at once.

The power the queen had stolen poured into me, filling me with life despite the wound, and I now hold what is rightfully mine, the full might and authority of the ice goblin king! ” His voice rose, sharp and strong.

“My first act as king is to free the bear prince, unjustly enmagicked and held captive for two and a half centuries. We ice goblins are more than petty tyrants! We will not be defined and known only by Javethai’s cruelty.

” With his head high and proud, he turned to look at Alexander.

“On behalf of my people, I beg your forgiveness for the misdeeds of the usurper, and if it is in my power to make some recompense, I will do so.”

The ice goblin king, slim and hard and gray, his chest darkened by his own blood, bowed before Alexander.

Trembling and pale, the young man said, “It wasn’t your cruelty that kept me here.”

“No, but it was my hesitation to act that prolonged your suffering.” Eshkeshken straightened. “Be our guest now, and we will aid you to return to your home, when you are ready.”

A voice cried out from the crowd, “What of the dead queen?”

Eshkeshken turned to look for the speaker. “Bring your complaints about the usurper’s rule to me, and I will seek to do justice.”

“What of the body?” Arenenak had made his way to the front of the crowd, and he looked up at Eshkeshken with grave eyes.

“Feed her to the sea. Perhaps the kraken will want her.” Eshkeshken’s voice was hard.

Other arrangements were made, but Gytha lost track of the voices. She focused on Alexander, who stood motionless as the new king continued to answer questions and direct his allies, of which there were many.

Dakjudr remained kneeling where she had presented the lance to the new king. Her shoulders moved with jerky breaths, but she was otherwise motionless and silent .

When Eshkeshken had answered another question, he turned to look at her. He frowned.

“Get up, Dakjudr.” His voice was as soft as Gytha had ever heard it.

Dakjudr glanced up at him and then back down at the ice. “How am I to face you, Your Majesty?”

The goblin king extended a hand to her, but she did not look up again.

“I cannot forget the sound you made when I yanked the lance from your heart.” Her voice was low and rough. “I am glad I was able to serve you, but the grief of my crime is too heavy to bear.”

Eshkeshken stood over her a moment, as if waiting for her to reconsider. Then he moved to sit beside her. For a full minute he sat in silence, until at last he said, “Well, that is unexpected. How am I to rule without my most trusted confidant beside me?”

Dakjudr chuckled grimly. “There are thousands eager to serve you, Your Majesty.” She was still kneeling, her face turned slightly away from him.

“That is true. But none of them were faithful through many long years of exile, not only to my name but to my person, to accompany me into hiding. None of them gave me courage when I had none of my own.” He leaned his shoulder against hers for a moment.

“I am glad of their support, but I do not need them by my side. I need you, Dakjudr.”

Her head dropped even further, and she put her hands over her face. “I am sorry,” she whispered.

He tugged her hands away from her face and threaded his fingers through hers. “I grieve because you are grieved. But the pain of the ice in my heart and the pain of the lance are gone.”

He stopped and waited for her to say something, but she only shook her head .

“I need you, Dakjudr,” he said even more quietly. “By my side. How will I be wise and kind and courageous without you beside me? You have given me hope and courage for many years.”

She huffed softly. “You ask a great deal.”

He laughed, an oddly bright sound for all its sharp edges. “Yes, I do. You’d have to put up with me. Will you, please? Be my queen? Rule with me?”

She looked at him at last, her gray eyes catching the lamplight. “After what I did?”

“I asked it of you because I trusted you more than anyone else. Can you forgive me for it?”

Dakjudr bowed her head and stared at their clasped hands for several long seconds. “I can,” she allowed at last. “But do not ask me to hurt you that way again.”

He laughed again. “I hope there will never be a need.” Then he sobered. “I would have no one else do the hard, needful thing, because there is no one I trust more. Know that.”

“Then I will be your queen.”

He drew her to her feet and stood looking out at the crowd. Some of the ice goblins had watched their conversation, but their voices had been so quiet that no one had heard their words.

“May I tell them, or would you like time to reconsider before I make it public?”

She glanced at him. “I know my own mind.”

He grinned fiercely, his sharp white teeth flashing.

“Behold now your new queen, Dakjudr my bride!” Eshkeshken’s voice rang out like a peal of joyous thunder. “She is worthy of all your respect as a fierce and honorable warrior, a beacon of hope and courage in my darkest moments, and a just and merciful queen.”

All this time, Alexander had stood dazed a few feet away. Only the shock of the magic being broken had kept him upright this long. Now, as the crowd quieted and looked toward the new king and his betrothed, Alexander crumpled senseless to the ground.

Gytha bent over him, her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t die now,” she whispered. “After all this!”

She pulled off one glove to feel for his pulse. The skin of his neck was so cold that she gasped. “He’s nearly frozen!”

The ice goblin king knelt beside her.

“What do we do?” Gytha asked.

The hard lines of Eshkeshken’s face softened. “I have more magic now. I can warm him a little, and we can build a fire. Come.”

He gathered up Alexander’s limp body in his arms and carried him into the palace, leaving the crowd behind. Alexander was much taller than Eshkeshken, but the goblin king had no difficulty carrying him. Eshkeshken did not even seem to notice the wound that had seemed so grievous.

The king spoke over his shoulder to Dakjudr and the other goblins, who jogged off in different directions.

A few minutes later, he installed Gytha and Alexander in a room she had not seen before. There was a large flagstone section of the floor in the center of the space with a pile of thick furs near one side. Far above, a small circle in the ceiling showed twinkling stars in the infinite sky.

“Lay out those furs,” he directed Gytha.

When the furs were spread upon the stone, he lay Alexander on them. Wirkelshen hurried in carrying several poles and a large piece of thick cloth; he drove the poles into the ice and stretched the cloth upon it to form something like a wall just behind Alexander.

“What is that for?”

“It will reflect the heat back on him.” Eshkeshken bent over a box made of stone in the center of the flagstones. A moment later, Gytha felt warmth on her face .

“We have very little wood here,” Eshkeshken said. “But I have enmagicked it to burn without being consumed for many hours. The stove is too hot to touch, but you may come close to it. The heat is good for your human bodies.”

Alexander still lay pale and unmoving.

“Will he live?” Gytha could not help asking.

Eshkeshken’s cold eyes flicked to her and then to Alexander’s face.

“The magic that kept him prisoner also preserved his life,” he said in a low voice.

“He has lived far beyond human years, and suffered cold and torments humans were not meant to endure. Perhaps he has suffered too much to continue.”

Gytha’s heart twisted into a knot, hard and hot inside her chest, and she said fiercely, “No! He can’t die now!”

The ice goblin king put a hand on Alexander’s forehead. “He can,” he said softly. “Perhaps he should.”

Gytha pulled off her gloves and took Alexander’s icy hands in hers. His fingers were so cold they were stiff, and she thought wildly that he was half-frozen already. Eshkeshken’s gray hand rested on Alexander’s head a moment longer.

“I have done what I can for him,” he said at last. “If he wakes, get him to eat. Whether he lives or dies, we will return you to your people.” He turned to meet her gaze. “You have been a friend to me and to my people, and I will repay the debt I owe you.”

Silence filled the room, broken only by the muffled hiss and pop of the fire.

“I didn’t do much,” Gytha said.

Eshkeshken shrugged one shoulder and gave her a sharp-toothed smile.

“Perhaps not, but your kindness was given when I most needed it. Out of your own despair and loneliness, you chose generosity and kindness when I had chosen bitterness. You presented a very clear alternative to me when I did not know I had a choice at all. ”