Dev arrived and went about his work meticulously. Thisbe tried to get a good look at his face to see if his glazed expression had changed at all after drinking the ancestor broth, but he kept his back to her so she couldn’t tell. She kept fidgeting as she waited, wanting to get started, so that if the soldiers came again with orders to collect broth for the slaves, Thisbe would be able to provide them with the ancestor kind again.

Finally Rohan arrived and beckoned to Thisbe. She went to the doorway where he stood. “The halls are clear of soldiers,” Rohan whispered, handing her a heavy burlap sack. “I’ll keep watch while you handle Dev.”

Thisbe glanced over her shoulder at Dev, who hadn’t turned to see Rohan enter. He was making it easy for her. Not even needing to use up her precious components, she pointed at him, whispering “Freeze.” Immediately Dev froze in place in front of his cauldron. Hopefully, no soldiers would come for at least fifteen minutes while the spell was active. But Thisbe could release the spell if she needed to once she was finished.

She dumped the ancestor bones into her empty cauldron. Then she fetched buckets of water and poured them over the bones. Once they were covered, she threw in a hearty bunch of herbs to float on top and hide the bone shapes so Dev wouldn’t notice they weren’t from dragons. By the time Thisbe had the fire stoked, Dev’s spell had worn off. He continued his actions as before with no apparent realization that anything unusual had happened to him.

Thisbe went to the doorway and nodded to Rohan to let him know all was good. But as Rohan turned to go, a beastly roar echoed throughout the caverns, making everything shake. Dust sprinkled down from the ceilings. Thisbe and Rohan froze and stared at each other. Thisbe could feel the haunting roar calling to her inside her head, echoing between her ears. It wasn’t coming from the castle—it was coming from Dragonsmarche, and the sound spurred Thisbe toward the elevator. Thankfully the pull was even more muted after her latest dose of ancestor broth, and she resisted it.

Dev came out of the kitchen as if on a mission, with the same destination in mind, though he hesitated momentarily when he saw Rohan and Thisbe just standing there. A confused look flickered on his face, but then it was gone. Thisbe quickly checked her cauldron to make sure the ancestor broth was going strong, then fell in step with Rohan, a few paces behind Dev. They kept their glazed looks and didn’t speak or acknowledge each other. But somehow the walk was easier with Rohan beside her.