Hesitantly, Flicker lowered his spear and came over. Erdrodr was rooting around in her basket, and after a few moments she produced a wooden slate and a stub-end of charcoal. Flicker flinched again as she straightened up.

“May I draw you? Please?” The ice giant stared at Flicker like an eager puppy. “It won’t take long, I swear it.”

“I . . .” Flicker’s hair gave another spurt of green. “I mean, I don’t mind, but . . .”

The ice giant was no longer listening. She sat down again, raising a puff of ash, and began furiously scraping at the board. Alice shifted around behind her, to watch the work in progress, and gaped in astonishment. The stack of paper held to the board with twine was rough and uneven, and the charcoal crumbled and split in Erdrodr’s thick fingers, but somehow she compensated for all these difficulties. A picture of Flicker took shape, in delicate smudges of black and gray, capturing everything from the tilt of his nose to the way the light of his hair made the rocks at his feet cast shadows. In a few moments, Erdrodr lifted her hand, a frown fixed on her face.

“It’s amazing,” Alice breathed.

“It’s not right,” the ice giant muttered. “The colors change. I can’t . . . bah.” She tore the page from the stack and tossed it aside. “I am not good enough. Not yet.” She let out a long breath and looked back at Flicker. “I am sorry. It is my passion, you see. The others think it foolish, but . . .” Her hands flexed, tightening into fists. “I cannot help it.”

Flicker picked up the discarded page, stared at it curiously for a moment, then shook his head. Alice took a seat on a rock across from the giant, so the disparity in their heights wouldn’t be so extreme. Flicker settled himself close by her side.

“That is the heart of it, really,” Erdrodr said. “The drawing. Mother says it is no fit pursuit for a warrior, let alone a daughter of the first family. As long as I persist, she refuses to let me claim my name or my proper place.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Flicker said.

Alice shot him a look, but Erdrodr didn’t seem offended.

“She has forbidden me from joining the hunt in the land beyond the curtain,” the giant said. “I must languish here, where there is nothing but rocks and ash to draw, while those of an age with me go forth to win their names. It is not . . . just. Mother is . . .” She paused. “Too cautious.”

“So you want us to help you get through the gate?” Alice said.

“Why?” Flicker said.

“If I go to the other side and live to return, Mother will have no choice but to grant me my name and my place.” Erdrodr bent forward, eyes shining. “Please.”