Prindi and Reza gaped at the frozen soldiers, unable to comprehend what Thisbe had just done. Then they looked at Thisbe fearfully, as if she might do the same to them.

“Come on!” said Thisbe. “Let’s find Rohan.” Now that she’d started with the magic, she couldn’t stop—the soldiers had seen her and Prindi and Reza talking and acting like normal. They knew something was up, and Thisbe wasn’t about to let them tell everyone else. Word could get to the castle before Dev had a chance to get out of there.

Thisbe hurried the other two into the hallway, then sealed the doorway with a glass spell. She sprinted in the direction that Rohan had gone, with Reza and Prindi close behind her. Whenever they reached a hallway branching off, Thisbe peered around the corner, then called out for Rohan. She knew it was a risk, but she had to find him fast. And she was ready with her components for the next soldiers who got in her way.

She didn’t have to wait long. As they rounded a bend, they came upon a group of soldiers. When Thisbe saw why they were gathered, her heart sank. They surrounded Rohan and the other four slaves. Rohan was facedown on the ground, his arms held behind his back and his cheek against the stone floor. The other four looked bewildered and scared.

“Thisbe!” Rohan shouted. “Help!”

This time Thisbe pulled heart attack spells from her pocket, sending one at each of the three guards who were closest to her. The soldiers flopped to the ground, writhing and helpless. Thisbe ran closer.

The remaining two guards charged at Thisbe, one behind the other. Thisbe flung a handful of scatterclips at the front man. The force of the magic sent him flying backward, slamming into the soldier behind him and propelling them in a stack all the way down the lengthy hallway to the end. They smashed into the wall and hung there by the magical clips.

“Let’s go!” Thisbe said, running to the others and trying to encourage them to come. “No time to stop at my crypt to regroup—we’ll just barrel right out of here.”

Rohan shouted instructions in the common language and scrambled to his feet. Soon they were all heading toward the elevator, where there were sure to be more soldiers to contend with. As they went back past the kitchen wing, Thisbe stopped. She removed the glass spell, hit the guards there with another blast of freeze spells to keep them quiet for a while longer, then replaced the glass barrier. Then she rejoined the others, and they continued fleeing.