The current got faster, rocking the boat, and Alice pushed Flicker down and ducked her own head. The stones of the fortress swept above them as they passed under a low archway, the ice boat scraping alarmingly against the wall of the tunnel. Then, with a clang, they stopped. Alice raised her head slowly and found that she had enough space to stand, though the boat shifted under her feet. It was completely dark, without even the faint illumination of the stars.

Hinges creaked, and a blue-green glow appeared. Alice saw Erdrodr, standing in a narrow doorway, a lamp in one hand. The boat had come to rest in a square chamber, with a slimy stone walkway serving as a dock. The river roared on through the bowels of the fortress, but closely set iron bars kept the boat from being swept along with it. The air smelled of damp and mildew.

“No one’s raised the alarm,” Erdrodr said, “but we must hurry.”

She extended her hand, and Alice took it, her own fingers impossibly slender against the giant’s. The boat shifted, but she managed the quick step to the dock. Flicker, who’d thrown off the bedsheet and raised his head, squeezed his eyes shut with a queasy expression and sank back into the bottom of the boat.

“It’s all right,” Alice said. “It’s just a little step.”

“I can’t,” the fire-sprite said in a tiny voice. “It’ll tip over, and I’ll fall in.”

“You cannot stay here,” Erdrodr said, looking over her shoulder.

“Flicker . . .”

“Just leave me,” he said. “I’ll . . . I’ll figure something out. Go on.”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Alice pulled his spear out of the boat and held the butt end out to him. “Here. Grab on. You don’t even have to open your eyes.”

“I can’t,” Flicker repeated. “It’s—”

Erdrodr made an exasperated noise and leaned over the boat, grabbing Flicker under his armpits. She might have been smaller than Byrvorda, but she was still strong enough to lift the fire-sprite like he was a child, his legs dangling until she set him down on the dock. Alice hurriedly grabbed his arm when he threatened to fall over.

“I must retrieve the boat,” the ice giant said, bending down to work the ice sphere loose from the center of the craft. “We will need it, on the other side.”

“What?” Flicker’s eyes opened. “What did she say?”

“Never mind,” Alice said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m . . .” He looked at the glittering surface of the water, swallowed hard, and averted his gaze. “I’m fine. Sorry. I didn’t . . . I just kept thinking about falling in, and having that stuff all around me, and . . . urgh.”

“You’ll be fine.” Alice patted his shoulder and handed back his spear. His skin was hot to the touch, and faint wisps of steam were rising from the damp stone under his feet.