At the sight of her brother and one of the grandfathers, Thisbe’s heart trembled and her stomach churned. Why did it have to be them? But Thisbe had to pull it together and handle this right in order to keep the Revinir believing her farce. “What are you doing?” Thisbe demanded. “I told you not to come after me.”

“Thisbe,” said Aaron. His voice shook, making Thisbe shake too. But he continued. “Ishibashi and I have come to talk, not fight. May we have a word?”

Thisbe narrowed her eyes and glanced at the Revinir. “I don’t know,” she murmured.

“It’s just me and a one-hundred-and-ten-year-old man here,” Aaron said lightly. “We’re not interested in attacking anyone. I just… I just want to try to understand.” He went quiet, then added, “Please, Thisbe. Just a few minutes.”

Thisbe continued her glare. She knew the Revinir was watching her closely. After a moment she turned to the dragon-woman. “Do you mind if I just take care of this a moment?” Under her breath she added, “If you get my meaning.”

The Revinir’s eyes widened slightly. “Bold move,” she said.

“Only if the moment presents itself, understand,” Thisbe said carefully.

The other ghost dragons were still flying in and gathering around the Revinir. They seemed curious, and some of them bowed their heads slightly, which made the Revinir quite pleased. “Go ahead,” she said loud enough for Aaron to hear. “Bring Rohan to listen in so I can find out later what was said if I need to. And tell them I’ll kill them in an instant if they try anything.”

“Of course,” said Thisbe, then added snidely, “Since you obviously still don’t trust me, Rohan is welcome to tag along.”

The Revinir’s face flickered. “I told you. I trust no one.”

Thisbe started walking toward Quince. Rohan followed a few paces behind, a glazed look markedly present in his eyes. “Climb down from there,” Thisbe called to her brother. “Both of you, please.”

Aaron and Ishibashi made their way to the ground and met Thisbe and Rohan. Thisbe’s pulse wouldn’t stop pounding in her ears like a ticking bomb. She had to stay in character. She had to trick her brother… and dear Ishibashi, her acting grandfather. It would be nearly impossible.

The four stood together in a square, and Thisbe saw the sadness in their eyes that she’d caused. Aaron gazed at his sister for a moment, clearly emotional. He almost couldn’t speak. And when he did, he said something that threw Thisbe off her game.