“But don’t misunderstand: I’m very proud of my family,” Quona continued. “Like a true Scholar, Sara is devoted to the protection of the environment. She’s not the first Varana to be prime minister, nor will she be the last. And our family invented the airship, which is a zilfium-free technology and the fastest means of transportation in the world. The mixture of gases that keeps airships buoyant, varane, is named after us. Unlike zilfium, it’s environmentally safe. So,” she said, switching topics. “What do you all intend to do today? How can I help? No one will bother you. Keepish society knows not to come to my house without invitation.”

“We have letters to write to our colleagues at home,” said Froggatt, “and meetings to set up here. We believe the queen would have wanted us to move forward with her diplomatic intentions.”

“Good men,” said Quona, nodding grimly at Froggatt, Barra, and Coran. “And you?” she said, considering Giddon and Hava. It was interesting that she’d intuited, correctly, that the advisers were one team, Giddon and Hava another. Froggatt, Barra, and Coran knew little about the zilfium trick that had been played upon Bitterblue and nothing about her suspicions regarding the sinking of the Seashell. Nothing about Katu, either. The advisers were here to behave like diplomats. Giddon and Hava, in contrast, were going to sniff out those zilfium importers, and choke them.

And yet, Giddon also had letters to write, to his friends, the people who’d loved Bitterblue the most, besides him.

He couldn’t write those letters yet.

“We intend to visit Periwinkle, the Lienid envoy, today,” he said. “At dinner last night, he suggested we stop by.” Periwinkle, who had dripped with tears all throughout dinner, would recognize the surnames on Bitterblue’s list of importers, and maybe he would know the given names that went with them.

“Excellent,” said Quona. “The office of the Lienid envoy is in the Keep. Would you like to fly there in my airship? Avoid the ambles?”