“Maybe it’s not us she’s after.”

Drock closed his eyes. “Perhaps.” But neither believed it.

Drock, being the only dragon left in the seven islands, stayed close to Artimé rather than spend his time by himself at the island of dragons. Without the support of his family, Drock was lonely, and he struggled more and more to ignore the Revinir’s call. It seemed to be getting stronger every time, or at least it felt that way. The only thing he had going for him was that it didn’t leave him completely debilitated, as happened with Thisbe. On top of the physical repercussions, the roar reminded Thisbe that the awful monster-woman was alive and well and in control of hundreds of dragons and a number of black-eyed children.

There was something about the roar that made Thisbe miss Rohan. He’d been nearby to help her through it the first few times. And he’d been so gentle about it, unlike Fifer, who seemed increasingly annoyed every time it happened. It was almost like Fifer was beginning to resent that Thisbe had this affliction. Once, when it happened during one of Fifer’s costume-ball planning sessions, Fifer got really frustrated at Thisbe. “I’m starting to get tired of this drama,” she muttered, as if Thisbe were exaggerating the effects.

“I’m not making it up,” Thisbe said when she could speak.

Fifer frowned. “I know.” After a minute she added, “Sorry. I was just in the middle of something.”

Fifer hurried away but questioned herself about why she was so annoyed by Thisbe and her dragon issues. Was it because of the bond Thisbe had with that land now? She had such a sense of purpose. Fifer was a little bit torn about which land she was supposed to be loyal to. Of course she felt strongly about Artimé, but that had lessened slightly after she’d been cast unceremoniously out of leadership—what would happen once the ball was over and she lost all of her responsibilities? But Fifer definitely didn’t feel strongly about the land of the dragons after her unhappy experiences there. And it didn’t seem fair that Thisbe did. She cared so deeply about people Fifer barely knew! Maybe that was the heart of what was causing her so much internal turmoil. Their lives, once inseparably intertwined, had unraveled and gone in different directions. Fate had forced them apart, and Thisbe had changed drastically from it, while Fifer felt much the same as before.

Tears pricked Fifer’s eyes. Thisbe didn’t seem to mind their newfound differences, while it was breaking Fifer up inside. Maybe she should try to care less too, but it was hard when she felt like she was missing out on something.

•  •  •