When it was time to disembark, she climbed down the ladder, stumbled into the snow, then fell.

“It’s my land legs,” she said as Lovisa and one of the flying team hauled her back up again. “And my intoxication.” Then a random man appeared out of the darkness and made her jump.

“Which way to wherever we’re going?” she asked him, in Lingian. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, repeating the question in Keepish, then beginning to giggle.

“Well now, where are you going?” asked the man, who was broad-chested and deep-voiced, with glasses that glinted from the light of the lantern he carried. He seemed surprised to be accosted by a small, swaying woman.

“I have no idea,” Bitterblue responded, patting his chest as she enunciated each syllable. “My, my. Your chest is nice.”

“Thank you,” he said, chuckling.

“Um,” said Lovisa, hastily interjecting. “We’re looking for the home of a girl named Nev who studies animal medicine at the Winterkeep Academy.”

“And where does she live?”

“I don’t know,” said Lovisa, “beyond that she’s in Torla’s Neck. We left in a hurry.”

“Okay,” the man said doubtfully, then pointed toward pure darkness. “I recommend you go that way until you find a trodden path atop a cliff. Then head north—to the right on the path—until you reach a small town set against some trees. Ask someone to direct you to the Magistry office there. Maybe they can help you find your friend.”

“You’re very kind,” said Bitterblue.

“Wait until the sun rises,” he said. “A person who’s been drinking whatever you’ve been drinking shouldn’t try to find a cliff path in the dark.”

“I’m terrified of heights, you see,” said Bitterblue. “So I drank some rauha, to help me with the illegal airship. I’m the Queen of Monsea,” she said, taking his hand and shaking it vigorously. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And I’m the Lord of Lost Souls,” he said with good-natured amusement, then found them a couple of rocks to sit on until there was more light to guide their way.

From her rock seat, Bitterblue watched with interest as the people on the ground did some sort of exchange with the flyers in the airship, passing them small crates and taking crates from them. More smuggling? Then the airship rose into the sky again, a glow of pink in the east making Bitterblue wonder how far they would get before daylight presumably grounded them.

Before the Lord of Lost Souls and his companions melted into the darkness, he put some bread and cheese into their hands and entrusted Lovisa with a flask of water. “I think your friend is coming down,” he said to Lovisa, indicating Bitterblue, who’d pulled her coat tight against the cold that was becoming more noticeable to her, and was quietly weeping. “Keep her hydrated.”