When she was full, she stretched out with her pack for a pillow. The ash made the ground surprisingly soft, and the rigor of the day’s travel had left her so tired, she fell asleep almost immediately. For once, the memory of her father was content to leave her in peace.

She woke to Flicker shaking her by the shoulder. His hand was warm, even through her leathers, like a mug of freshly brewed tea.

“Reader,” he whispered.

Alice blinked and sat up, ash cascading away where the wind had drifted it against her. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s come out of the fortress.”

“Just one?”

Flicker nodded. Alice licked her lips, then unscrewed the top of her canteen and took a swallow of cold, clear water. The ash got everywhere—even the inside of her mouth seemed to be coated with the stuff, and everything she swallowed tasted burned. She put the canteen away and climbed carefully to the top of the boulder, where she could see down to the fortress and the plain.

The guard was still at the gate, but another ice woman had appeared. This one was smaller, and dressed in a long white robe instead of furs and armor. She carried no weapon, only a basket. After exchanging a few words with the guard on the gate, she started walking across the ash wastes toward their hill.

“If it comes to a fight, better up here than down there,” Flicker said. “Who knows how many of them there are inside?”

“It won’t come to a fight.” Alice judged the ice woman’s path for a moment. “Let’s stay behind the boulder. We don’t want to startle her.”

“She doesn’t look dangerous,” Alice said.

“Aside from being twice our size,” Flicker said.

That was hard to deny. This ice giant didn’t have quite the intimidating size and bulk of Byrvorda, but she was still a good seven feet tall, taller than Mr. Black. She was thin, though, and something about her gangly frame made Alice think of a girl in her mid-teens. Her blue-white hair hung loose to just above her shoulders, and she wore a thin white robe that didn’t seem adequate for the chill.

She climbed up to the hilltop, not far from the boulder where Alice and Flicker were hiding, set her basket down amid the ash, then looked over her shoulder at the fortress. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she said, in a ridiculously loud whisper, “Human! Human, are you there?”

Flicker caught Alice’s eye. Alice shrugged, gestured for him to stay put, and got to her feet. The giant caught sight of her and took a half step back, eyes going very wide.

Alice raised her hands. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she said.