“It’s not your fault.” Thisbe didn’t know what else to say about it. After a while Rohan stood up, and they both realized how dark it had gotten. Neither had any more answers—or at least, if Rohan had them, he wasn’t saying them out loud.

Thisbe’s thoughts turned to Dev. “I’m getting worried.”

“About Dev?”

Thisbe nodded.

“Me too. Finding the king’s treasures shouldn’t take long if he knows where they are.”

“What if he couldn’t escape, and he’s actually walking back through the dungeon?” said Thisbe. Her throat tightened. “He’d be going back alone and defenseless, stuck in the catacombs.”

Rohan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That would be just awful.”

Thisbe cringed. “We made a big mistake. I didn’t have time to think all of this through before I sent him there!”

Rohan shifted. “Do you think we should go down through the elevator and look for him? Do you have enough magic left to fight the soldiers if we do?”

“That seems dangerous.” Thisbe blew out a contemplative breath. “Let’s wait a little longer.”

They settled back down in the darkness, but Dev didn’t come.

Just as Thisbe opened her mouth to suggest they’d better go back to the catacombs to find him, a shattering roar pierced their eardrums and tugged at their souls. Thisbe cursed under her breath and clapped her hands over her ears, gritting her teeth as she fought off the pull of the Revinir’s call.

Rohan, who still hadn’t ingested any dragon-bone broth, held on to Thisbe’s shoulders in support and watched the ancestor images flash before his eyes without having to deal with the effects of the roar. He’d heard it, though, echoing like thunder in a canyon. She sounded furious. “She knows,” he said.

Thisbe nodded. She could feel it in every muscle and nerve, and she knew with certainty in the back of her mind. “Oh yes. She definitely knows we escaped. The question is, did she find out from Dev? Or after he left the castle? What if she’s got him?” She closed her eyes, a strange sensation lingering after the roar, and an odd, dreadful feeling washed over her.

Thisbe tried to shake it off, but the feeling held for a while before fading. Slowly she opened her eyes. “She’s got Dev.”

Feelings and Premonitions

Should we go to the catacombs and look for Dev anyway?” Rohan asked. “Are you sure he won’t be there?”