“I—yes, I’m feeling a lot better. Are you?”

“Same, but I asked you what you wrote to Florence.”

“Oh!” said Fifer. She explained sheepishly, “I got so annoyed by this out-of-tune lute, and I’m frustrated I can’t fix it.”

“It’s a mandolin,” said Thisbe, which wasn’t a disagreement, just a classification. “Bring it here. I’ll tune it.”

Fifer exhaled a quiet breath, hoping she’d successfully changed the subject, and brought the mandolin to Thisbe. While Thisbe tuned it, Fifer yawned and sat down on another sofa. A cloud of dust rose up, and she waved it away, then sneezed several times. Thisbe finished with the instrument and flopped back wearily.

“We should each take another medicine capsule and get some sleep,” Fifer said. “It’ll help us heal. We’ll feel so much better in the morning.”

“But what about our people?” Thisbe asked. She felt confused by the pain, and exhaustion had taken its toll.

“They’re probably just resting somewhere for the night,” said Fifer. “If they’re not here by morning, we’ll send the spell.”

Placated, Thisbe winced in pain as she adjusted, trying to get comfortable. She uncorked her canteen and swallowed a capsule, then closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sleeping.

Fifer did the same, but she couldn’t sleep. Instead she stared into the firelight, thinking about the Revinir. The Artiméans had brainstormed for months and had not come up with a way to beat her. She was surrounded by dragons who would do whatever she commanded. But what if Fifer and Thisbe could get close to the Revinir when her guard was down and sort of… infiltrate? Or act as double agents? What would it look like to join forces with the Revinir—or at least pretend to? If they worked closely with the dragon-woman, and if she grew to trust them, would it be easier to do away with her? Or at least figure out what her weaknesses were?

It was the most frightening proposition Fifer could imagine. But the Revinir wanted Thisbe to join her so badly that it almost appeared to be an actual weakness, which the girls could exploit if they did it right. Could they pull off the most amazing con in the history of their worlds without messing it up? Could they use their brains, wits, and creative talents to convince the Revinir that they were willing to work with her after all?