“Have you eaten anything?” Dev asked after his stomach growled loudly. “I had to leave my fish in a hurry when I saw the Revinir coming, and I haven’t had any food since.” He looked around. “Where is it? Did it go bad?”

“We weren’t sure how long it had been sitting there,” said Fifer. “So I put it in the courtyard, thinking we could use it for bait, or fashion the bones to make fishing hooks or something.” She glanced at him. “But I found the water pump. We’re a little worried about what the dragons will do if we go to the river, but we don’t really have a choice. So I’ve been trying to figure out how to catch fish without fishing line. Do you still have yours?”

“Better yet, I have a net,” he said. “But do you think the dragons will come after me?”

“They’ve had ample chance to nab you,” Fifer reasoned. “They know you’re here.”

Thisbe added, “We think their job is to intimidate us and keep Fifer and me from leaving. So I don’t think they’ll hurt you.”

“Yeah,” said Fifer. “The Revinir is trying to break us down so we join her side.”

Dev snorted with laughter for the first time. “That’s a joke,” he said. “Like it would ever happen. She’s delirious.”

Fifer shifted uneasily, and Thisbe gave her a “See, I told you so” look. But neither started in on that heated topic again. It would have to wait.

“I’ll go with you to fish,” Fifer said to Dev. “The dragons didn’t do anything at all when I went to get water from the pump earlier. Hey, Thiz, are you feeling strong enough to stoke the fire so we can cook?”

“I think I can manage it,” said Thisbe. She handed Fifer her empty canteen, and the two exchanged a wary glance. “We’ll talk later about the other thing,” Thisbe added, “but Dev’s right. And we’re going to need to contact Florence. Soon.”

Dev raised an eyebrow, not sure what that conversation was about. Fifer shrugged as if she didn’t care, even though she cared deeply. She’d have to figure out a different angle to convince Thisbe. But meanwhile, she was starving. She slipped both canteen straps over her head and one arm. Dev took his along too. As they exited the courtyard, the dragons barely acknowledged them, though the dragon at the back corner by the river seemed concerned they would try to travel beyond the boundary he’d set. Still, he let them go and adjusted his position to watch closely. After a while Dev and Fifer got used to him being there.