Claire Morning brought the creativity-rebuilding session to a close with an oboe solo. It reminded Lani of her old friend, Meghan Ranger, who had been the most musical one of their original group of friends. The song brought tears to her eyes. Meghan had loved Ms. Morning from the moment she arrived in Artimé. Lani looked over at Sean, Meghan’s brother. His eyes were glistening too.

By the end, Seth felt a surge of life returning to him. He put the sax back on its stand, then went to sit under the bar between two stools. He closed his eyes, letting a rush of thoughts flow through his mind, so fresh he could almost feel their newness. This had been a good idea.

Seth turned his thoughts to every difficult situation he’d ever been in. He deliberately went through his solutions to them piece by piece. He’d used his wits before. He was smart and capable. And he didn’t need Fifer and Thisbe around to save him from a jam.

After a while he opened his eyes, determined to figure out how to escape. There was only one problem: He still didn’t have any ideas. But he was sure, now that his brain was moving again, that the ideas would come.

Preparing for a Journey

Dev woke up to the sun high overhead. He’d slept deeply, barely remembering anything happening since he’d closed his eyes the night before, other than dreams about the images that had flitted through his mind. He sat up gingerly and found that although Drock’s prediction of him healing quickly had come true, his ribs still thrummed with a dull ache. But he could move a bit more easily now, and his other wounds were almost gone. “Too bad Drock’s dragon breath only works on wounds he caused,” Dev said aloud, his voice cracking after a long sleep.

“What’s that?”

Startled by the voice, Dev turned and moved to the mouth of the cave he’d taken up residence in. Just outside sat Astrid, the same dragon from the previous night. She held a large fish wrapped in her tail. “Oh,” said Dev. “Hello again. Astrid, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I believe so,” said the dragon, looking puzzled. She squinted at the sun, then said apologetically, “I’ve forgotten why I’ve come to call on you.”

“Perhaps you’re meant to give me that fish?” Dev said. “And start a fire?” He could get used to this kind of service, and he didn’t mind if he had to work a little to get it.

“Of course,” said the dragon. “At least I didn’t forget to come at all.”

“That’s very remembery of you,” Dev replied, nodding encouragingly as he eyed the plump makings of his next meal. His mouth watered. While he craved other foods sometimes, Dev never got tired of fish. It had been his go-to meal whenever Princess Shanti or the castle workers had decided to withhold Dev’s meals as punishment for something Shanti had done. The river full of fish was the only loyal thing Dev had been able to count on his whole life.