The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. The rules are simple – turn to page 56 in your current read (or 56% in your e-reader) and post a few non-spoilery sentences.

This week’s quote is from Of Ice And Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst, the sequel to Inkmistress and Of Fire And Stars.

We rode out the gates of the keep and headed southeast on the dusty road with a dry, cold wind at our backs. I thought a weight would lift when we finally left Duvey, but Alek’s presence made that difficult. I hadn’t necessarily expected the person assigned to ride with us to be happy about it, but Alek seemed positively dour. Denna stayed silent behind me, focused on conserving her strength for the ride.

After the first day of travel, my worst fears had been realized: Alek’s horse walked at the speed of a heavily burdened ox, Denna looked pale as a ghost by the time we made camp, and both Flicker and I were practically jumping out of our skins, feeling held back. I didn’t want to push Denna too hard, but if we missed the opportunity to talk to the queen while she was still in Kartasha, it might set us back an entire season. We couldn’t afford that – not with a Mynarian city already under siege.