Thisbe had slipped away on the back of a dragon in the middle of the night once before. It felt strange to be doing so again after what had happened last time. When the others were asleep, she grabbed one of the canteens that Talon had provided them, silently thanking Fifer for the reminder, and tiptoed out to where Drock napped. As she did so, the roar of the Revinir blasted inside her head. Thisbe dropped to her hands and knees, prepared for the inevitable paralysis and the pounding of the images. But strangely, this time she merely had to fight through a misty haze. She rose to her feet and, after a moment to steady herself, continued to Drock.

Drock had been startled awake by the call, and he splashed, highly agitated, in the water as Thisbe drew near.

“She’s getting close,” Drock said. He flopped and dove underwater, disappearing for a long moment and leaving Thisbe wondering if he was ever going to surface. When he did, he rose with a loud splash.

Thisbe shushed him and looked over her shoulder at the others. She couldn’t tell if they’d woken up or not. “I know it’s hard, but try to be calm,” she whispered. “Let’s hurry.” The images flashed at the edges of her brain, more like memories this time rather than the visions that blinded her. The extra vial of ancestor broth seemed to have done great things for her problem. She wished she’d taken it much sooner. The pull of the Revinir’s call still made her feel like going toward it, sort of like how the pull of a late-night snack might make her want to get out of her toasty warm bed. It usually wasn’t strong enough to get her to actually do it, but she definitely thought about it.

However, Drock was having a lot of trouble resisting the call this time, perhaps because the Revinir was getting so near to them. Thisbe became agitated too, just watching him and worrying that he was going to wake up Aaron or Fifer. If they found out what she was about to do, they’d probably stop her.

“Too bad,” Thisbe murmured to herself, imagining the conversation with Aaron. “I’m going, no matter what you say.” She heard a footfall in the sand behind her.

“Thisbe,” said Aaron, too close for comfort.

Thisbe jumped. “Yes?” she hissed. All of her determination bled out of her.

“What are you doing?”

Thisbe pressed her lips together. “I’m going with Drock.” She could see his outline next to her now.

“Going where?”

“Come on, Aaron. You know. There’s no other way to stop this.”

Aaron sighed deeply.