Dev wasn’t there either. Fear sliced through Thisbe—had he been one of the soldiers to fall to his death in the palace battle? What else could it mean that he wasn’t here, when there were six or seven other black-eyed soldiers present? Didn’t the Revinir keep them all close now, like she’d done in the castle back when it was on fire and the ghost dragons were circling? Thisbe ached to move, but she didn’t do it. She had to stare forward like the others, or the Revinir might notice. Even if the dragon-woman couldn’t see Thisbe, the girl was sure she could feel the slightest movement on her back that could give her away. But it was hard to remain like this when everything was so horrible. She hadn’t expected to see Rohan anywhere near this operation. In fact, she’d thought that Maiven’s house could be a good refuge for her when it came time to get away. Numbly she kept her position and continued acting like the others.

As they traveled, Thisbe barely registered the height to which the Revinir rose above the water, so she forgot to be afraid of it. Instead her head spun with questions that might never be answered. Would she be able to communicate with the others when they were so deeply controlled? If she did try to talk to them, would they report that to the Revinir? Was there any way for her to talk to Rohan, and would he even know who she was? Would he remember their time together? Would he be the same as before in any way? The fear of Rohan not knowing her was making Thisbe feel sick to her stomach. She wasn’t sure how she’d handle it.

And where was Dev? Where was Maiven? What had happened? All these unanswered questions were about to kill her.

As they flew over Warbler, the Revinir ordered three of her dragons to fly low and pepper her old island with a spray of fiery breath, lighting up trees and the shipyard and sending people running and diving for the underground tunnels there. Appalled by the cowardly act, Thisbe tried not to react, but again, it was hard. Sky’s mother was the ruler there, and Thisbe knew others on that island too, like her friend Phoenix, who worked as Copper’s assistant. They could be hurt! Thisbe hoped they were safe.