Florence studied Simber. “That’s actually a comforting thought.”

“It’s all I can think rrright now to get thrrrough this,” said Simber, and finally the worry lines on his face broke through. He hated being away from his head mage, especially days away. He’d promised once that he’d never let this happen again, yet here they were. Shortly after Thisbe had sent a message calling for help, Fifer, Artimé’s new leader, had sent one telling them all to retreat and wait for further instructions. And he trusted her… almost fully. He cringed. He had no choice but to put his support behind Fifer. She was the head mage—a good one too, unlike Frieda Stubbs—and she’d given an order. Hopefully, they’d know more soon. But if not, this might just drive them all to the brink of madness. It was hard enough to run things in Artimé these days after the civil war. But to do it without the head mage was even harder.

“The best thing we can do,” said Florence, “is to be stronger than we’ve ever been, and to be in a position to help when the time comes. That means we train harder than ever. We broaden everybody’s abilities. And we need to take every move, every spell, every trick up a notch. That includes broadening our minds. We need to anticipate the Revinir’s moves. She is the most powerful enemy we’ve ever faced, and we need to be smarter than her. I’m not going to sleep until I come up with a way to beat that monster.”

Simber lifted an eyebrow. “You… neverrr sleep.”

“It’s just an expression,” Florence said with a snarl. “Intensive training begins first thing in the morning on the lawn. We need everybody present.”

“Everrrybody who?” asked Simber.

“Everybody everybody. Not just Artimé this time. I mean everybody.”

Simber gazed at her. “Ourrr allies, you mean?”

Florence nodded seriously. “I’ll go alert our friends on Karkinos and see if they can track down Spike and Talon, who are still out searching for Issie’s baby. Send Scarlet and Thatcher to fetch the people of Warbler, and Lani to speak to the people in Quill. Tell Seth to get our friends from the Island of Shipwrecks.” She paused for a breath, then said in her sternest voice, “We will not fail Fifer and Thisbe. We will not let Artimé down, or anyone in the world of the seven islands. Not this time. Not ever again.” She turned to look into Rohan’s eyes. “I’m counting on you to step up now that I’ve lost my two main players.”

“I will, Commander Florence,” said Rohan.

With that, Florence left the two standing at the entrance and turned sharply, heading out the door into the evening, marching into the water toward Karkinos.