A noise made Thisbe turn. Coming through a doorway was a tall, beautiful, regal woman. She entered the den and moved to the center of the room to greet them. Though Thisbe could scarcely tear her eyes away from the woman, something shiny caught her eye in the corner of the room. It was then that Thisbe realized the walls were covered with the shiniest, most bejeweled, and deadliest-looking weapons she had ever laid eyes upon.

Waiting for Dev

My dear Thisbe!” cried the woman, catching sight of her. “I wasn’t expecting you to be among this group.”

“Maiven?” Thisbe replied. “Is that you?” The woman hardly resembled the half-starved prisoner Thisbe had known. She was strong and muscular and . . . freshly bathed. Her light brown skin glowed, and her shiny white hair was coiled around her head like a crown with a string of delicate flower-shaped jewels weaved into it. The woman’s wrinkles made her even more stately and beautiful. And she carried herself with great dignity.

“Do I look different?” asked Maiven Taveer with a small smile. The queen. Thisbe’s grandmother.

Thisbe gazed at the woman until her eyes blurred. She rushed into Maiven’s arms and began to cry. She couldn’t pinpoint what had started the tears, but they were bubbling over now. There were so many emotions going through her: fear surging from the fight and the escape, regret about the soldier she’d had to kill, worry over Dev, and love for this family member she hadn’t realized that she had until recently. And the realization of the enormous task still before them was making her feel like what they’d just accomplished was merely akin to a drop of water in a sea. She’d gotten most of the slaves out of the catacombs and to safety. But there were still dragons everywhere under the control of the evil Revinir, who seemed invincible. And Dev, currently at her mercy.

Getting her fellow black-eyed slaves to freedom had felt huge. But it paled in comparison to overcoming the monstrous Revinir. And this tiny part wasn’t even over yet. Maiven patted Thisbe’s back as the girl sniffed and pulled herself together.

After a moment, Thisbe looked up. “We need to meet Dev by Alex’s grave,” she said. “I’ll go. I can take down anyone who tries to fight me . . . except her. Or . . . dragons. But they won’t be looking for us.”

“Not yet, anyway,” said Rohan. “Not until the Revinir finds out what we did. Hopefully we have a few hours before the remaining soldiers can alert her. And then we’ll be sneaking around a bit until we figure out how to take down the Revinir once and for all. Maiven, what have you discovered while I’ve been away?”