“I’ve done a great deal of studying,” said Maiven, pointing to a stack of books and several others open and spread around on a table. She said a few things in the common language, then turned to Thisbe. “You see, Thisbe, our people have never had to fight dragons or dragon-people before—they’ve always been our allies. But while you were gone, I made a trip to the old curmudgeon Ashguard’s ruins on the other side of the crater lake, where the ruling family of Suresh once lived. There, in the palace library, I found some old texts and scrolls. They’re written in the ancient language of our people, which no one has made use of since I was a child—and even then it was saved for high-court proceedings and the like. So it’s a bit stiff and formal, and difficult for me to decipher. But I brought the items back with me, and I’ve been working at it, hoping to find something that will give us a clue how to defeat the Revinir.”

One of the slaves, whose name Thisbe didn’t yet know, spoke up haltingly. “Is Ashguard living?”

“I don’t believe so,” said Maiven, studying the girl with concern. She spoke rapidly in the common language, then repeated it for Thisbe’s sake. “The land across the lake is deserted now. But the buildings, though precarious and mostly ruined, still remain. Did you know Ashguard?”

The girl’s eyes, so much more expressive than Thisbe had ever noticed them, brimmed with tears. She nodded. “I am named for him.”

“What is your name, dear?” asked Maiven.

“I am called Asha from the line of Suresh.”

Maiven was quiet for a moment. “Perhaps I am wrong about the old curmudgeon,” she said gently.

Asha nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Thisbe glanced at Rohan. “I should go out to the forest now.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Rohan. “All right, Maiven?”

“Yes. Be careful. Once the Revinir learns what happened, the skies will be swarming with dragons looking for you.”

“Do you have any more of those invisibility components?” Rohan asked Thisbe.

“A few,” said Thisbe. “We’ll use them only if we need them.” She quickly took stock of her remaining spell components, sorting them out on the table. She’d used up a fair number of them. The others, recognizing some of the familiar items she’d employed to take down the soldiers, backed away carefully. But Thisbe didn’t notice. She divided up the components and put them back into her pockets, which were decidedly less stuffed than before their escape.

After a hurried snack and something to drink, Thisbe and Rohan left the house, taking the back alley again so as not to be seen. They didn’t want to become familiar to anyone nearby in case the time came that people were out looking for them as well as dragons.