Ramus, she thought. Brave Ramus. Mad Ramus. She was scared of him, but as things became more remarkable—and Noreela felt farther and farther behind—she found herself hoping that they would meet again.

NEXT MORNING, RHIANA woke them all from troubled, uncertain rest. She had woken early and climbed on alone, and now she was a hundred steps above Noon. “Eggs!” she called down. “Eggs for breakfast, and a ledge to cook them on!”

They climbed, and by the time they reached Rhiana she had started a small fire on the ledge and boiled three huge, blue eggs. Nomi was startled by their size and worried that the parents would return, but the Serians seemed unconcerned.

They shared an egg between two and it was the most filling, satisfying breakfst Nomi could remember. Up here in the fresh, cool air, much of Noreela laid out behind her as she ate, she felt the familiar thrill of exhilaration drive through her again.

I wonder if Ramus is breakfasting as well as this, she thought, and she sent a good-natured thought his way.

“They were miles away, and much lower,” Rhiana said unprompted. She dropped the eggshell she had been licking and the strengthening breeze plucked it away. “We'll reach the clouds before them.” She looked up and the others followed her gaze. Sometimes the constant cloud cover seemed close enough to touch, other times it was too far away to discern anything but a uniform gray.

“Feel like I could just let go and fall into them,” Ramin said.

“A favor, Ramin,” Beko said. “Don't try.”

The bald Serian raised an eyebrow and looked past Nomi at Beko. “Captain, surely you'd catch me if I fell?”

“Depends on my mood,” Beko said. “I've had no meat for more than a day, and my stomach gets . . . cranky.”

“Beko's cranky stomach,” Rhiana said, quietly shaking her head as if it was something they'd all had to deal with before.

Another gust of wind whispered across the cliff face from the west. They leaned into it, and an instant of panic seized Nomi—cool, dark and deep, the fear of falling and the greater fear of climbing some more—but she squeezed her eyes shut and willed it away.

“We're doing well,” Rhiana said, and Nomi silently thanked her with a glance.

“So let's carry on!” Noon said. “Maybe if this thing does have a top, there are people there. And if there are people, there will be daughters, widows, wives.” He laughed out loud and released his harness.

We are doing well, Nomi thought. There's a breeze, but it's not yet a gale. The nights are cool, but not too cold. There's no meat, but we found eggs. And those clouds . . . we may even reach them by this afternoon.