Cover

Dedication

To all who started reading the Unwanteds series in its early days as fourth graders: Happy high school graduation! Thanks for sticking with me. One more book to go and then we’ll all cry together.

Total Confusion

Thisbe and Fifer had been abducted by the Revinir, and Rohan was beginning to panic. Nobody in Artimé seemed to be doing anything about it. He descended the stairs of the mansion to implore the one in charge. “Florence, please help me understand what’s happening,” he said, stopping in front of her in the entryway. The Magical Warrior trainer and Simber, the winged-cheetah statue, exchanged a concerned glance as the young man began pacing, struggling to stay calm. Rohan finally found his words and turned to face them. “Look. It has been days. Why aren’t we going after Thisbe and Fifer? Are we seriously planning to sit here and wait for Fifer to contact us? What if they’re dead?”

“I’ve told you before,” Florence said firmly. “I understand your concern, and I feel it too. Perhaps even more strongly than you. But we’re going to wait.”

“And Fiferrr is clearrrly not dead,” said Simber, indicating the mansion still standing and himself still magically enchanted. “We don’t believe that the Rrrevinirrr wants to hurrrt them. Frrrom what Thisbe and Maiven Taveerrr have told me, the Rrrevinirrr wants Thisbe to be an ally. She needs at least one black-eyed rrrulerrr on herrr side to complete the rrrequirrrements of prrroperrr trrransferrral of drrragon leaderrrship.”

Rohan stopped pacing. “Right.” He thought hard for a moment. “So the Revinir believes she needs a black-eyed human to join forces with her, and because Thisbe is more evil than good, she thinks Thisbe is her ticket,” he said, like it finally made sense to him. “And even though we know the truth—that the dragons have to actually choose their leader, and the Revinir can’t choose herself to be the lead dragon—she doesn’t actually know that. So…” He paused, putting it all together. “She thinks she can convince Thisbe to team up with her—that Thisbe will be tempted enough by the leadership position to go for it.” He shook his head. “Even though that won’t work either, because the black-eyed people need to choose their leader too. And besides, Thisbe would never, ever do something like that.”

“She’d better not,” Florence muttered. “I trained that girl right. If she does something—”

“She won’t,” Simber interrupted impatiently. “She’s smarrrt and loyal. Therrre’s no way she’d do that to us.”

“But what about Fifer?” said Rohan. “She’s way more good than evil. Won’t the Revinir want to do away with her to stop her from influencing Thisbe?”

“I’ve thought about that, too,” said Simber. “And I think she knows that if she does something to hurrrt Thisbe’s twin, Thisbe will neverrr join herrr side.”