Before she had finished her sentence, Loki was standing with them. “I’m not a clant,” he said cheerfully. He bowed deeply to the queen—the respectful action of a foreign lord, not the groveling of a servant or tradesman. Hermia admired his savoir faire—it would have been good to have him as her tutor before she came here to try to help Gerd make her way in Westil. Hermia was having the problems that anthropologists and sociologists always faced: It was hard to know which behaviors were general among all cultures, particular to this culture, or a quirk of the individual. But Loki already knew.

“Who are you, then?” asked the queen.

“I’m a close companion to Queen Bexoi of Iceway,” said Loki. “You may call me Hull.”

“A seafaring land, this Iceway?” asked King Sorian.

“For the past thousand years, yes,” said Lus. “They came pouring out of the frozen Icekame and conquered half of Gray, seizing a long coastline and then moving their capital of Kamesham down to a deep inlet of the sea. Their king at the time was a Tidefather—he would have been remarkable if he had been able to pass between the worlds—but he had power enough to destroy the fleet Gray sent against them. Ever since then—”

“We become wiser with every word,” said King Sorian. “But I have reached the limit of my wisdom for now.” He turned to Gerd. “I want to know why this man has come to join you foreign women. He is not the husband of either of you?”

“I do not have that pleasure or honor,” said Loki. “I’m here to see what their toys can do. I felt a portion of the power of that device.”

“It tore a great gouge in the rock,” said Queen Genoesswess. “If that were directed against our castle, it could not stand for long.”

“But it will not be,” said Hermia.

“Unless it is,” said Gerd, who was always ham-handed in negotiation.

“It will not be,” said Hermia, “because our sole desire is to serve you and restore Yffyrd to its rightful place as the great nation of the southeast. Once the city of Y ruled from one end to the other of the Cotton Road, and all the ports and islands from Braccuin to File paid tribute. Now, the people of Ny sneer at the accent of Y, while your last coastline is now under the control of the ungrateful merchants of Fyrdhaven.”

“I know our history,” said Genoesswess.

“But Hermia’s afraid that I might not,” said Loki. “And she was right. My attention has been mostly to the north for the past year or so. I can see that you have legitimate grievances. But what I can’t see is how you plan to use the dragon these women are offering.”

“Our enemies have castles,” said King Sorian. “Until they meet the dragon.”