Thisbe blew out a breath and adjusted the jacket, then smoothed her hand over the moth-nibbled area on the lapel. “It’s perfect,” she said. She opened the door.

Rohan, holding four empty vials, nearly dropped them. “My, you do resemble her, don’t you?”

“I was thinking that.”

“You look very smart,” he said quietly. “I believe… if Maiven knew what you were doing to save us, she would feel very good about this.”

“Do you really think so?” Thisbe asked. She turned to him.

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, all of the angst between them being shoved aside. Rohan swallowed hard, his eyes brimming. Then he slipped his fingers along Thisbe’s cheek, slid them into her hair, and pulled her close. Thisbe’s eyes closed, and their lips met and moved together. When the two broke apart, Thisbe wrapped her arms around Rohan’s neck and held him. “I’m so sorry for hurting you,” she whispered in his ear. “And I’m so glad you figured it out, or I might have died.”

“Thisbe,” said Rohan, overcome. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her. “That was the most horrible time of my life,” he confessed. “But I’m grateful you were willing to sacrifice everything for the land of the dragons. For us. For our future.”

“Next time, we do this together,” said Thisbe.

Rohan nodded, though he said, “I hope there aren’t any more next times.”

Reluctantly they broke apart. Thisbe straightened her suit and tidied her hair once more. “You’re coming with me now, right? You’ll be there with me?”

“I’ll be right by your side.”

“But,” warned Thisbe, “if you see me reach inside my jacket and pull out a tiny box, I want you to run away from the Revinir like you’ve never run before.”

On the Move

A team of ghost dragons, with Carina aboard to remind them where they were going, began their journey to Artimé to collect the rest of the army of fighters. Maiven, Aaron, and the remaining team members from Artimé prepared to head for Ashguard’s palace to bust up some dragons. Aaron sent Fifer a note letting her know they were on the way to attempt to free her so they could be ready to fight the Revinir and stop everything that was happening.

That wasn’t the only note Fifer received. As she and Dev finished lunch in the library, another send spell arrived. Fifer read it, then looked at Dev. “Finally! It’s from Thisbe. She’s okay. And she says we need to get ready to go and call the others in. Good thing they’re already coming. But I’m worried about the dragons attacking them.”