“I wish I knew how.” Thisbe felt sick to her stomach, and for a moment she desperately wanted to doubt everything Drock was saying. “Why can’t she be happy with what she has? Why can’t she leave us alone?”

“What makes her strongest is also her downfall,” Drock muttered. “This curse will come back to haunt her. It must!”

Though some things were becoming clearer, Thisbe and Aaron were still puzzled. Drock was acting delirious and not always making sense. And Thisbe was struggling more than usual to get her strength back after the most recent roar. “Stay strong, Drock,” Thisbe urged him. “Do you hear the roar still?”

“It’s not the roar of the Revinir that continues to haunt me,” Drock said as he turned to go. “It’s the deafening silence of no other dragon minds fighting back.” He hesitated, then looked over his shoulder at Thisbe. “We two are the last to battle the curse with our minds intact. I’m not sure how much longer I can withstand it. If we are to go, we must go soon.”

“Soon?” Thisbe whispered, clutching her chest. Was she ready?

Drock shoved off into the water. “I’ll be back.” He propelled himself to the west. Thisbe’s head ached. She turned to her brother. “What do you make of that?” she asked, feeling breathless.

Aaron stared after the beast. “I think we’re in for a long brainstorming session, little sister,” he said. “You and me. If what Drock said is true, that the Revinir is not going to stop until she has you two, we need to cut off her ability to control the dragons. Who knows what she’s capable of? If she comes here, or even if she sends dragons to collect you, all of Artimé and the seven islands will be in danger. We don’t have the ability to fight an enemy like that.”

Thisbe stepped into Aaron’s space and said accusingly, “I’ve been saying this for weeks! Finally someone believes me.” She shook her head. “Finally. Thank you, Aaron.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t give this my full attention before,” said Aaron. “With everything going on, it’s been . . . difficult. Hard to focus on this. But you have me now. We must prepare for the inevitable.” He was quiet for a long moment, then glanced around worriedly for the dissenters. He lowered his voice. “Even if we can fight off the Revinir somehow and miraculously sustain no injuries, the dissenters will blame me for her showing up, of course. And I don’t know how much more blame I can take before they grow strong enough to oust me for good.”

“That would be a huge mistake,” said Thisbe.

“Or a huge relief,” Aaron said under his breath. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun and stared toward Warbler. “Hmm,” he said.

“What?” Thisbe turned to look.

“Drock is coming back.”