And then there was Fifer. Thoughts of her twin brought a deeply unsettled feeling. Their relationship had become frayed in the past months. It was practically in tatters. And Thisbe had snuck away with Drock without telling Fifer—without saying good-bye. Everything about that felt awful. What if something terrible was happening to Fifer in Artimé now… and she and Thisbe hadn’t patched things up between them? It would be just like what had happened with Alex. A wave of nausea went through her, and she had to take a moment to catch her breath.

While Thisbe was dwelling on all of these problems, another one came ringing in their ears. Everyone but Rohan and Maiven Taveer froze in the middle of combat practice. They simultaneously cringed and looked in the same direction, behind them at the land of the dragons. Maiven glanced curiously at Thisbe. “What’s happening? Is it the Revinir?”

Thisbe nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut as images of Grimere’s fraught history pounded her mind. Her scales stood up sharply. “She sent out a dragon call again. I wonder who for this time. I hope it’s not us.” The Revinir’s roar could be heard by anyone who’d drunk at least one vial of dragon-bone broth. She looked at Prindi, Reza, Asha, and the others. “Is everyone okay?”

“Do you think she discovered we’re gone?” asked Reza, a bit fearful.

Prindi nodded. “That’s what I think.”

“Or she’s done something with Dev,” said Thisbe. Guilt pounded her again, and she wished she could stop the horrible way it felt. “What if he’s told her our plan and she’s angry?”

“He hardly knew the plan,” Rohan pointed out. “And I don’t think he’d do that if he could help it.”

“You don’t know Dev like I do,” said Thisbe, but then she cringed and felt even more terrible for saying it.

“Thisbe,” Rohan chided.

“I know,” said Thisbe quietly. “Dev wouldn’t willingly do anything to harm us.”

“He might have inadvertently given us up, but you have to remember who he’s stuck dealing with. I couldn’t guarantee I’d keep any secrets if I were face-to-face with the Revinir.” He turned and quickly translated the gist of the conversation to the black-eyed children, who didn’t have a solid grasp on Thisbe’s language.

“What if she comes after us?” asked Asha in the common language of Grimere.

Thisbe, who was learning to speak it, could understand some of the girl’s words and figured out what she was asking. She answered haltingly in the same language. “We will fight her.”

Asha looked solemnly at Thisbe. “We’ll die.”

“No we won’t!” said Thisbe. In her haste to combat Asha’s fears, she slid back into her familiar tongue. “We can’t talk like that. Besides, I don’t see anyone coming behind us. Do you?” She turned to the ghost dragon flying beside them. “Quince, can you detect anyone following us?”

Quince’s huge head pivoted to glance behind them as he flew. He stared for a long moment; then his eyes narrowed. “What am I looking for?”