Zel didn’t respond. She got up and left, and that was that. Thisbe entered her living quarters and left the door open. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with Rohan, other than send him to sleep in the sitting room as she’d done with Zel. She didn’t need him to do anything for her. Or… perhaps he could sleep on Thisbe’s balcony—there was a comfy lounge chair out there. That way if Quince returned, he could see that Rohan had been forced under the Revinir’s mind control… and maybe even take him back to the others.

“That’s it,” Thisbe said under her breath. She could get Rohan out of here. And maybe the others could help him… somehow…. Ugh. Of course they couldn’t. Not without ancestor broth.

Thisbe looked up when she heard the soft click of the door closing. Rohan turned and leaned back against it. He crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms over his chest. His eyes focused, and he glared at her. “I demand you tell me why you are doing this.”

More Than Too Much

Thisbe stared. “What’s happening?” she whispered. She stepped toward him and confirmed that his eyes were no longer glazed over. He wasn’t under the Revinir’s control. But he had brand-new scales on his arms where none had been before. “I saw your eyes glaze over! You have scales!”

Rohan didn’t smile. He looked furious. But he remained quiet and collected. “You might recall I ingested a few extra doses of the ancestor broth back when we escaped the catacombs together. Remember?”

Thisbe was confused. But then it became clear. Rohan had taken the ancestor broth multiple times, but he had never actually ingested any dragon-bone broth until today. The antidote was already present inside him. And while the build up of ancestor broth apparently couldn’t stop the scales from appearing, it kept him from succumbing to the Revinir’s mind control. Thisbe sank to the bed, rattled. “So you faked it? How did you know to do it?”

“It didn’t take a detective to see she was up to something with that whole tea bit. I could tell she was pouring something in. And obviously when the scales popped out, I knew for sure. So yes. I faked it.” His expression didn’t soften. “Now you. What are you doing? And why? I can’t… I just cannot believe what you’ve done. You’ve hurt me more than anyone ever has.” His lips, pressed firmly together, trembled, and his eyes filled with angry tears. “Explain yourself,” he said, his voice ragged. “Now.”