Eventually the party planning tapered off. Exhaustion overtook the group, and one by one they drifted off to sleep on the sandy beach.

•  •  •

The next day Sky and Crow bade their mother good-bye. Soon the entire entourage was on their way home to Artimé, riding on the most unusual assortment of creatures: one dark purple dragon, one stone cheetah, one whale with a spike, and dozens of falcons carrying a hammock. It was quite a picture.

Thisbe didn’t like heights, and she hated birds, so she rode with Sky on Spike Furious. Most of the ride she brooded from her spot on the whale’s broad forehead, her arms and legs partially encircling the bony spike and her cheek resting against it as she watched for her home island to grow larger. Occasional bursts of ocean spray kept her awake, and the wind sliced through her hair. Sky held on to the spike from the other side. The three led the way, with the dragon and cheetah and falcons following by air. Sensing Thisbe’s mood, Sky rode silently too, thinking about everything that had led them to this moment and how the two had grown so much closer through their despair and grief over Alex’s death. There was an air of melancholy with both of them, despite being reunited with the others and each other.

“Are you okay?” Sky asked Thisbe when Artimé was large in front of them and Spike began to slow down.

“Not really,” said Thisbe, turning to study her. “Are you?”

Sky was quiet for a long moment, then shook her head. “No.” She choked back an unexpected sob, and tears mingled with the sea spray on her cheeks. Her heart was broken, and her bones ached. Nothing would ever feel okay again.

By nightfall the group made it to shore and were home at last. Fifer climbed out of the hammock and onto Artimé’s lawn. She was feeling very strange, and a bit like a hero, though there were few to welcome her at this late hour. She’d become an important leader in her time away and was beginning to wonder what leadership in Artimé would look like now that she was home. It was a grown-up feeling she’d never experienced before on this island, and she liked it. Perhaps now people would forget that she used to be a dangerous child and put their trust in her. Look to her for advice.