“So you are,” said the Lady of the Dead. She gave Nadya a thoughtful look. “You went to one of the Drowned Worlds, the underground lakes, the forgotten rivers. Many of them touch on Our borders. They aren’t Underworlds, but they’re under the rest of the world.”

Nadya paled. “You know how to get to Belyyreka?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“I didn’t say that,” said the Lady. “We have no power over the Drowned Worlds. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—open a door there if you asked Me. But I know the place. It’s beautiful.”

“It is,” agreed Nadya, and started to cry.

The Lady of the Dead turned back to Kade. “You come uninvited, to trouble a handmaiden who still stings from her time in your company. Why should We grant you an audience with her? Why should We grant you anything at all?”

“Because Nancy told us you were kind,” said Christopher. He was staring at her in quiet awe, like he hadn’t seen anything so beautiful in years. “She said you never made her feel like she was broken just because she was different. You and your husband, you’re the reason she wanted to come back here and stay forever. You made this place home. I can’t imagine anyone who’d be that kind to Nancy could be cruel enough not to help us.”

“Mariposa, wasn’t it, for you?” asked the Lady, looking thoughtful. “So many different doors, and yet here you are, all of you together, trying to accomplish the impossible. I’ll let you talk to Nancy.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Kade.

“Don’t thank me yet,” said the Lady. “There are conditions. Eat nothing; drink nothing. Speak to no one save for Myself, My husband, and Nancy. The living who choose to spend their years in these halls do so because they’re looking for quiet, for peace, for solitude. They don’t need you reminding them that they were hot and fast once. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Kade. The others nodded, even Rini, who looked more confused than anything else. She was doing an excellent job of holding her tongue. For a Nonsense girl in a world full of rules, that was just this side of a miracle.

“Good,” said the Lady. “This way.”

She turned then, and walked back into the door to the grove, leaving the rest of them to follow.

*   *   *