Attention, people of Artimé! This is your head mage, Frieda Stubbs. I have defeated the Revinir, and she will not be returning to our shores ever again, as long as the Stowes are banished and I am head mage. I accept your thanks for taking charge of the situation and keeping everyone safe. If Aaron Stowe had been in power, this most certainly wouldn’t have happened! Now we have peace! And no one trying to turn us into a bad place anymore! I will hold a celebratory reception for myself and my supporters on the lawn this afternoon. If you still like Aaron, don’t come. He is gone forever too, by the way.

—Frieda Stubbs, Head Mage of Artimé

Florence closed her eyes as a wave of defeat and depression washed over her. This was going to be a long road. And she wasn’t sure she was up for the challenge.

Feeling Lost

Sky sat at the fire on the shore of the Island of Legends with Aaron, Fifer, Ibrahim, and Clementi. Lhasa lounged behind them silently, inches above the ground, wanting to be supportive and respectful of their problems. Soon Talon flew down from his lookout on the top of the tallest tree in the middle of the forest, near Vido the golden rooster, to give them an update.

“The Revinir has turned back,” Talon said.

Aaron, who’d told everyone by now what Thisbe and Drock had done, looked up with a mixture of fear and relief on his face. “Really? Are you sure? The plan succeeded?”

“Yes. Thisbe and Drock met them. They stayed still for a while. Then the entire group turned around and began heading back toward the gorge.”

“Amazing.” Aaron dropped his head heavily into his hands. “I hope Thisbe’s okay. I fear . . .” He still wasn’t convinced that this was the best thing to do. They’d lost Thisbe once—had they just lost her again? Time would tell if the sacrifice had been worth it. “At least Artimé is safe for now.”

Fifer was glad the Revinir had turned back, but she was also hurt. Thisbe had gone off without her while she’d been sleeping—she hadn’t mentioned one word about it, or even woken her up to say good-bye. It seemed typical of late, but that didn’t make it sting any less. The twins used to go everywhere together, and Fifer couldn’t help but think about that. Obviously, Fifer, like everyone else, hoped Thisbe would be okay. But she couldn’t push the hurt feelings away, especially when she found out that Aaron had learned about Thisbe’s plan. Did Thisbe trust him over her now? Had he become her number one ally? Was Fifer’s importance in the family dwindling too?