Thisbe’s heart sank. This was going to be more difficult than she thought. “I think part of this process has to be showing the people of Grimere that we are unified. We should be seen together so they get used to the idea.”

The Revinir turned to Thisbe. “You don’t seem to understand that I don’t care about them.”

Thisbe held back an exasperated sigh. “Of course. I keep forgetting.”

“But you asked what’s in it for you. Power. You get to live here. And not be a slave.”

“Generous,” said Thisbe. “But you know that’s not what I care about.”

The Revinir moved slowly to the expanse of windows and looked out to the east at the gorge and the mist beyond it that hid the land of the seven islands from view. “And you can be assured that I won’t make the promise you’re looking for.”

Thisbe was quiet for a moment, dissecting every word the Revinir had just said. Was that a flat no? It seemed… intentionally vague. Which, in Thisbe’s mind, left the door open for the promise she wanted. Because just in case Thisbe wasn’t able to do away with the Revinir, she needed to be assured that her allies to the east wouldn’t be put in jeopardy. “All right,” said Thisbe carefully. “I’ll wait until you change your mind.”

In the Cavelands

The shock of what Thisbe had done was starting to wear off, but the pain of betrayal was increasing for Rohan. Charged with nothing to do but wait for news upon Florence’s return, he tried to keep busy. Sky was compassionate, and the two ended up fishing together most of the morning. Maiven and Simber kept an eye on him too. And while there had been talk of a castle flyby on a ghost dragon, they wouldn’t do it until darkness fell. Simber wanted to put off those plans until Florence was back with information that could potentially give them insight, so the longer Florence was gone, the lower the chance of tonight being the night to make a move.

It was excruciating, really. Whenever Rohan allowed himself to think about it, he felt sharp stabs of pain like shards of glass raking through him. As the day progressed, he began to scan the sky to the south, looking for Astrid and Florence, until he could hardly do anything else.