“How long can this go on?” Alise had asked Leftrin when they woke to rain for a third morning. He had looked at her oddly.

“Alise, did you never stop to think why this place is called the Rain Wilds? This is our weather for the winter season. It’s come a bit early, and we may yet have another spate of sunny days. But we may not. The good side of it is that the water is rising and lifting the barge. But that’s also the bad side.”

She had grasped it immediately. “The deeper water may make it easier for Tarman to move. But harder for the dragons.”

Leftrin had nodded grimly. “The dragons need to get out of the water, but we’ve seen no sign of even a muddy beach.” He rolled from their bed and went to the small window and stared up at the sky. “And I think this downpour is why we didn’t see Heeby and Rapskal yesterday. Even if they could fly through this storm, I wonder if they could find us down here.”

It had rained all night and half the next day. Once, she thought she heard Heeby give a cry overhead, a sound like a distant hawk. But by the time she reached the deck, there was nothing to be seen in the swirling mist. The dragons were looming shapes alongside the barge. Tarman crept along, moving in the general direction of where Heeby had flown. It was hard to keep their bearings in the rain and the fog. The water was slowly becoming deeper, for both barge and dragons, but was it the rain or had they found a hidden channel? Alise was not certain if Tarman followed the dragons, or if the dragons lingered near him, following his lead. She thought she would go mad from the endless pattering of the rain and the uncertainty.

On the fourth night, she awakened to find Leftrin gone. She’d risen swiftly and found her Elderling gown by touch in the dark. A shivering sense of urgency and excitement trembled through her, though she could not name a reason for it. She left the cabin and found a single rushlight burning on a saucer on the galley table. Bellin had just lit it and was standing near it, blinking sleep from her eyes. “Do you know what’s going on?” Alise had asked her.

Bellin shook her head. “Tarman woke me up,” she said quietly. “I’m not sure why.”