“Quickly,” said Thisbe, bringing out a handful of tiny paintbrushes and handing them all around as the elevator churned slowly upward. “This will make you invisible. Just do what I do.” She took one and held it up, then painted herself with broad strokes until she was nearly invisible, leaving a small piece of her shirt untouched. “Make sure you leave a bit of clothing visible so we can find you.”

Rohan translated the instructions, and they all started to paint themselves too.

“This invisibility won’t last long,” Thisbe said. “Once we’re out, hold on to each other and stay close to me. I’ll run for an open area where we have lots of room. We’re going to need it.”

The elevator surfaced. Standing all around the square were dragons and soldiers. Townspeople scurried with their heads down. There was no market today. For the first time Thisbe could take in the state of the square. Pavers were cracked, and weeds grew between them. Nobody had taken care of it. The place looked horrible and desolate.

The outside soldiers crowded around the elevator, but when they saw no one inside, they looked around behind them to see if anyone was coming to use it to go down. In the confusion, Thisbe whispered, “Follow me!” She grabbed on to someone’s hand and led them all through a break in the soldiers to an open area in the square. Once they were safely away from everyone, she counted tiny bits of clothing to make sure there were seven besides hers, remembering that Dev wouldn’t be among them.

Then Thisbe called for eight invisible steeds. One by one the horses came to exist in front of the slaves. “Just feel around for them. Jump on their backs and follow me,” Thisbe explained, and Rohan translated. A couple of the slaves seemed frightened and began to argue, but Rohan said something to those who were frightened to calm them down. Soon the entire invisible group was cantering through the neighborhood around Dragonsmarche, with nobody following.

As the group’s invisibility began to fade, they reached the neighborhood where Maiven Taveer’s family’s house stood. Maiven, who’d lived in the castle for years before she’d been imprisoned, had spent time here as a child, Rohan explained. When things had begun looking dangerous, Maiven had hidden weapons and gold here. Rohan hurried everyone to the vacant alleyway behind the house so they wouldn’t be seen. One by one the steeds vanished, depositing each black-eyed teen onto the ground.

Once they were all there, Rohan told them to wait by the back door. He snuck around to the front of the house, to the spot where Thisbe had said good-bye to him not so long ago. He found the key and opened the door, then dashed through the house and went to the back door to let the others inside. He ushered them all into the den.