They arrived in the square. The stage was set—the same stage Thisbe and Fifer had been tied to and auctioned from more than a year ago. Thisbe shuddered at the sight of it. She averted her gaze, but her carriage kept going toward it. Thisbe remembered that day clearly. She and Fifer, chained to posts. People gaping at them, ready to bid. The twins had set up magical glass barriers around themselves to keep the strangers from getting too close. And then Simber, unknowingly, swooped in and crashed through the glass trying to save them. Fifer had been seriously injured—she still had scars from all the glass cuts. Thisbe had been snatched away by the Revinir and taken down into the catacombs through the elevator.

When the carriage came to a stop, Rohan held a hand out to Thisbe to help her down. She took it without looking at him, and he gave it an extra squeeze of support, knowing what must be going through her mind. But he had his part to play, and the Revinir was watching everyone. Thisbe walked up the steps to the stage, and the Revinir climbed onto it directly next to her.

People began gathering around them. Some of them were speckled with scales and wore the glazed look of mind-controlled citizens who’d been subjected to the dragon-bone broth. Others had clear eyes. Suspicious eyes. They didn’t know Thisbe or what she was doing there. But they knew the Revinir and her oppressive ways. They knew what she’d done so sneakily to so many people in their community. They saw the dragons flying aimlessly. Soon those in the front rows noticed Thisbe’s black eyes, and murmurs began.

The Revinir, who was a small dragon, still made the center of the stage bow under her weight. Thisbe stood next to her and tried to appear calm and confident. But there were a lot of things freaking her out right now. Being on this stage was giving her the stress of horrible flashbacks. Pretending to do this partnership thing was making her anxious about what everyone would think. And trying to plan the ultimate takedown without hurting anyone else was giving her hives, especially when she was having these twinges of doubts. This was definitely not the right time or place for them. Yet she couldn’t get these things out of her mind.