The thought brought fire to the back of Thisbe’s throat. Her scales rose, and smoke drifted out of her nostrils. If that happened, this beautiful land would never be the same. It would never again be ruled the way it was meant to be. The Revinir would be the sole leader. The dragons would never be free. And the ghost dragons would never be allowed to pass on to the next life. Everything would be so messed up and wrong. And if the Revinir got control of the seven islands, too, there would be no one left to oppose her.

Thisbe walked close to the rushing waterfall and saw that there was a narrow ledge behind it. Her heart thumped, and her stomach churned. Her fear of heights was ever present, no matter how many times she was forced to deal with it. She grew dizzy just thinking about stepping onto the ledge and quickly retreated. “I need to sit down,” she told Zel, and stumbled ridiculously close to the edge of the world. Dropping to her hands and knees, Thisbe crawled to safety and found a shady group of trees to sit under. Zel followed diligently, seemingly unaffected by any fears. Thisbe shifted around the base of the grouping of trees, trying to partially shield herself from Zel. Maybe she could at least write a note and find a time to send it later.

Zel stayed standing, staring off at nothing. One of the curving tree trunks partially obstructed her view of Thisbe. Thisbe quickly opened a send component and started writing:

Fife,

It’s working. Declaring allegiance together in two days, then expecting the questions/confusion and hoping for a moment to do the deed. All my love to you and Dev, and please take care of Rohan when you see him—he’s falling apart.

Thiz

As Thisbe held the component and quickly scanned the words, her stomach was in knots. If anyone read this but Fifer, the jig would be up. And Thisbe’s life would be in danger.

A shadow fell over the note, and Thisbe looked up. It was Zel, standing over her. “What are you doing?” asked Zel. She reached out for the component.

Thisbe froze. If she sent it immediately, Zel would tell. What else could she do? She should never have attempted this!

“Revinir will like to see this,” said Zel more firmly, placing her fingers on the end of the note.

Thisbe panicked. Then the heat in her throat thickened, and she yanked the component away. She let out a blast of fire, incinerating the spell and sending the ashes to float on the air.

Overnight Journey