He closed his eyes, thinking only about the girl who’d given him the gift. And then he whispered, “Seek.”

A bright ball of light shot from his hands and stopped in front of Thisbe. It exploded in front of her, a picture of the poem.

Thisbe grinned and grasped Rohan’s forearm in delight. “You did it!”

“I did!” Rohan turned to face her, and then, before he could change his mind, he leaned forward. “May I . . . ?” he asked.

Thisbe’s breath caught. Then she moistened her lips and nodded. She leaned in, and their lips met in a soft, clumsy peck.

After the Kiss

Thisbe and Rohan both felt a little strange—in a nice way—after sharing their first kiss together. But the strangeness faded quickly when they continued talking about their plans. Knowing the Revinir couldn’t get to them in the catacombs anymore because of her size, they felt relatively safe establishing Thisbe’s crypt as a meeting place. They paused momentarily when they remembered the last time an altercation had happened in that crypt. But not one to be superstitious, Thisbe waved off the possibility of something terrible like that happening again just because they were in the same spot. Besides, they both agreed that having the tunnel as a second exit was crucial in case soldiers came charging after them at the Revinir’s command.

Rohan fell asleep holding Thisbe’s hand but woke sprawled sideways with Thisbe’s shoe in his face. Both had to scramble to their normal sleeping areas when Mangrel’s keys rattled outside Rohan’s door.

They went their separate ways as usual. While Rohan walked to collect bones for the broth, he tried to hide the little smile on his face so he wouldn’t be seen as suspicious. But he had the memory of the kiss to dwell on, which helped him through the day.

As he worked, he made a point to locate all six of the other slaves. Of them, Reza seemed the most glassy-eyed, and he ignored Rohan completely. But the others seemed to be teetering on the edge of lucidity. Prindi wore a puzzled expression, and her eyes tracked Rohan’s movements—definitely an improvement. “Prindi,” he said.

Her expression flickered.