The weight of the moment, with Thisbe actually stopping to speak to Fifer despite their arguments, was a big one. And Thisbe was asking a lot. “What, you mean kill her?” whispered Fifer, aghast. “I don’t know if I can do that. She’s still an Artiméan. She’s one of our people. I can just freeze her, and we can throw her into the pen with the others.”

Thisbe gave Fifer a hard look. “Listen, Fife. You’ve got a lot more good in you than I do. You’re so good that even I can sense it, and I’m only part dragon. But with Kitten losing two lives back-to-back, she’s too vulnerable to be hit by any more sledgehammers. And we need her. If we can’t figure out how to use that secret door, I can think of only one other way to get our people out of the remote rooms immediately. Before it’s too late to save them.”

Fifer stared at her twin. “What do you mean? What way?” And then a flood of realization swept over her as she thought through the fallout if she took Frieda out permanently. “Oh,” she said. And then: “Oooh. I see.”

“I’ve got to go help the others,” Thisbe said quietly. “Don’t die, okay? At least not until after we figure things out. I can’t stand to lose another sibling like that.” She gave Fifer’s arm a gentle squeeze and left her, rushing to aid her friends before they got pounded to death. Fifer’s heart tripped in her chest and throttled her throat as she realized what a huge moment this was. What a large decision she was faced with. Barely able to comprehend the severity of it, Fifer helped Ishibashi sit up, all the while thinking hard about what she needed to do next. And exactly how she’d go about doing it. But could she actually defy her inner goodness and go through with it? Either way, this moment would be life changing. For better… or worse.

A Fatal Mistake

Fifer took an extra moment to care for Ishibashi under the cover of the staircase after he’d so valiantly stepped in front of two heart attack components meant for Fifer. All the while she frantically tried to plan her next move and attempted to not think about how her actions this evening would impact her life forever, no matter what she chose to do. As she helped the old scientist take a drink from his canteen and held his shaky hand, she thought back to the books she’d read over and over again when she was a child—the books Lani had written about the battles she and Alex and the older generation had experienced. Lani was one of Fifer’s heroes, and she’d done some pretty brave and dangerous things. Things she’d performed selflessly and hadn’t take credit for, like secretly helping to end the very first war in Artimé.

Sky was also someone Fifer admired, and if it hadn’t been for her, Artimé might still be lost after the first time a head mage died. She’d helped Alex figure out how to bring the magical world back. And then there were Kaylee, and Alex, and Aaron… and Thisbe, for that matter. All heroes in different ways. They’d done incredible things. Made unbelievable sacrifices. Risked their lives for the sake of Artimé and its people. And… sometimes they’d taken someone’s life in order to do it.