“The harness is ready!” Erdrodr said. She held up a mass of thin brown rope. “I had to tie together all the lines from the tent, but I think it will hold.”

“Perfect.” Alice took the rope and went over to the turtle. “Will it be all right if we tie this to your tail?”

“My mighty tail has borne heavier burdens,” Estevius said, sniffing. He raised the appendage in question, a thick, stubby green thing, out of the water. “Tie away.”

Alice wrapped the rope tight, tied it off, and tested it with a tug. Once she was certain it was secure, she walked the line back and tied the other end to the ice boat. Flicker was already aboard, crouching in the back under a pile of canvas from the tent. Erdrodr carried his spear, which was more of a stick in her huge hands.

“All ready!” the ice giant said.

“Flicker?” Alice said. “How do we know when we’ve reached our destination?”

“There’s a mountain,” Flicker said, voice muffled. “A tall single spire, with three separate peaks, like a crown. We want to get off right at the base.”

“All right.” Alice climbed into the craft, producing a moan from Flicker as it rocked. Erdrodr pushed them away from the bank with the spear, and Alice waved at the turtle. “Let’s go!”

She had to admit that in spite of the caustic tongue he apparently shared with all the other turtles, Estevius was quite a swimmer. The weight of the boat didn’t slow him at all, and his powerful flippers pulled them upstream at a steady pace, even against the current. The hills on either side of the river slid past with a satisfying rapidity, and the mountains drew closer. Alice checked the watch again as the sun sank toward the hills. Three days, twenty-two hours. Still cutting it close, considering I have no idea how long I’m going to take at the Palace itself.

Flicker, curled up under the tent, showed no interest in conversation, so Alice sat beside Erdrodr. The giant perched in the stern of the boat, sketch board in hand, using a piece of crumbling charcoal to do an amazingly lifelike rendering of Estevius’ shell, complete with the tiny ripples he made as he glided through the water.

“Do you always use charcoal?” Alice said.

Erdrodr sighed. “I tried with ink, once, but it always spatters from the quill. I was going to make myself a brush, but Mother told me to stop wasting the ink, so I never got around to it. There’s always plenty of charcoal.”