“I know. I know.”

“Where do you think he is?”

“Back in the catacombs, probably. Doing all the work by himself. Ugh, I’m a terrible person.”

Fifer made a face. “The catacombs? That’s the last place I’d want to go.”

“I don’t feel like I have a choice. We need to find him. He really sacrificed everything for us to escape. We owe him—and so do you. Without him, our team wouldn’t have been here to help you. I just hope…” Thisbe didn’t continue.

“Hope what?” asked Fifer.

A platyprot in a tree nearby called out, “Hope what? Hope what? Hope what?” and exploded into giggles. Startled and a bit annoyed, Thisbe guided Fifer away from the creature before she answered so it wouldn’t continue mimicking everything they were saying. She frowned and looked at her arms. Her scales were standing up, probably from being surprised by the birdlike creature. She smoothed them down and finished her thought. “I hope he’s not dead.”

Fifer gave Thisbe a solemn look. “Me too. We’ll… you know. We’ll find him together whenever you’re ready.” She cringed. “I’m committing to that.”

Thisbe noticed Fifer’s expression and bit her lip. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you a little more about that. Are you sure you’re able to leave Artimé so soon after taking over? You have a huge new job here, and I was wondering if maybe you feel like you should stay here.”

“Thisbe,” said Fifer. “I want to help.”

“I mean,” said Thisbe, “obviously I want you to help us too. But you have to tell me if the timing is wrong. Seth and Ibrahim and Clementi are all on board to help me. Some others, too.” She paused, then continued more gently. “Don’t make me count on you if it’s not possible. We’ll figure it out.”

“Seth and Ibrahim and Clementi?” said Fifer, her voice hollow. She’d been so busy as head mage that she hadn’t heard about her Artiméan friends officially joining Thisbe’s brigade. It made her feel a bit strange. Like maybe she wasn’t part of that group of friends anymore now that she wore this robe.

“I’m serious, Fifer,” said Thisbe. “As much as I need you, I want to let you off the hook. You have a lot going on.”

Fifer studied the ships in the lagoon, unsure how to feel. “Well, thanks. That’s nice of you to be thinking about that, and I understand the predicament I’m putting you in if you can’t count on me when you need me. I’ve been thinking hard about this situation too. Things here are pretty far from settled. But they are smoothing out.”

Thisbe stopped to look at Fifer. “You are more important than anything. Let me know soon. It’ll be okay either way.”

Fifer smiled. “Thanks.” She felt a wave of relief flood her. Just knowing what Thisbe expected made everything seem more manageable. And to have a way out… it allowed her to take a few easy breaths before things got difficult again. The pressure was off to go with Thisbe, but now it was on Fifer to make the decision. In Fifer’s limited experience, sometimes life was easier if someone made the decision for you.