It was sad. Dev wasn’t anything close to the boy Thisbe had gotten to know so well in their time together down here. He no longer had any personality. And no emotions—that was the hardest part for Thisbe to get used to. The old Dev had been anything but dull. He’d been sullen, or angry, or generous, or torrentially sobbing in Thisbe’s presence. There was always something going on with him. But now, like with Rohan, he was a cardboard cutout. An unfeeling puppet without a hand to guide it, who merely resembled Thisbe’s old friend. It was so draining just being near someone like that. And it seemed hopeless to try to get through to him.

Thisbe didn’t have power like that—the power to break this invisible spell. She wasn’t even close to being strong enough to stop whatever it was that gave the Revinir so much hold over everyone. Much less take down the dragon-woman herself.

As the day drew on, Thisbe felt her resolve and her confidence slipping. What was she trying to do here? What could she possibly accomplish on her own? She’d managed to trick the dragon-woman into leaving Artimé alone—that was something. But now what? Whatever grand schemes she’d had of helping Rohan and Maiven save the universe seemed to be crumbling into dust. There didn’t seem to be any way to defeat such a powerful monster. It was silly for Thisbe to think there was anything she could do. Until she could find the Revinir’s weakness, Thisbe’s presence here was futile. What had she gotten herself into? Stuck down in the catacombs again!

Hours later the soldiers returned, then left again. Dev didn’t say much. The Revinir never appeared, perhaps too busy in her new castle. Or too big now to fit through the catacomb passageways. Thisbe bottled her broth and prepared to go back to her crypt to spend a lonely night thinking about all the things she couldn’t do.

Her mind turned to wondering how she could use her magic to break through the golden barrier in front of the tunnel. Was it worth the effort, even if Rohan was so zombielike? Perhaps it wouldn’t be too hard to melt the metal, rather than try to break through it. After all, she’d melted the gold thorn for Henry so he could repair Talon’s ankle. She’d definitely try that, though it could take quite a while to clear a big enough area. And Mangrel would certainly notice a large melted spot like that, unless she could hide it behind a bone pile as she’d done before. That would take time too.