“Keep an eye on him,” said Thisbe. She went back into the throne room and gathered up a dozen more vials of ancestor broth for Rohan to distribute, plus two for him to pocket. But how was he going to handle everyone by himself? Surely some of them would be defiant once they came to realize what was happening.

She set the broth on the counter and knelt next to Dev, peering at him.

Dev belched. Thisbe backed off, worried he was going to vomit.

But Dev merely swayed in place, eyes closed. Rohan and Thisbe stayed nearby, watching him anxiously.

Finally the boy opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He blinked a few times. He looked Thisbe in the eye and held her gaze, then wound up like he was going to punch her in the nose. “What are you two looking at?”

Thisbe backed off before he could throw the punch, though she thought ruefully that he probably owed her one. “Sorry for staring,” she said. “We can explain.”

“How did you manage to get me down here?” Dev said with a sneer. “I told Fifer you were still here. She wouldn’t believe me.”

“Shh,” hissed Thisbe, glancing over her shoulder and realizing that now she had the soldiers to worry about, especially if Dev was talking like his old self. “Be quiet and I’ll tell you.”

“What is going on?” Dev said louder. He struggled to his feet, still a bit weak in the knees.

Rohan went to help him stand. “There you are,” he said lightly. “You’ve been through a lot, but you’re on the other side of it now. We just need you to stay a bit quiet so the soldiers don’t come.”

The explanation seemed to get through to Dev.

“You were being controlled by the Revinir through the dragon-bone broth she fed you,” Thisbe said quickly, still throwing glances at the door in case random soldiers strolled by. “The antidote is this other . . . concoction that I made. You’ve been under a spell for months.”

Dev seemed exhausted and dubious, but he let Thisbe continue. She told him everything she could to convince him they were telling the truth.

Finally, when Dev seemed to be coming around to believing them, Rohan picked up the vials of ancestor broth. “I have to get moving if I’m going to find everyone before the end of the day.”

Thisbe turned, looking torn. She needed to stay with Dev to coach him on how to fake out the soldiers. But she wanted to help Rohan with the others. “Can you get them to come here?” she pleaded. “This isn’t going to be easy. Especially if everyone is as belligerent as Dev.”

Dev snorted.

“What about the soldiers?” whispered Rohan. “If they come through here, they’ll know something’s up.”