And then she pictured Rohan, and her heart tore. He would feel personally betrayed. It could hurt him so badly that he might never forgive Thisbe when this was all over. When she could tell him the truth. Would anyone believe her? What if they didn’t? Could Rohan ever trust her again after this? The decision was potentially life altering, and Thisbe didn’t think she could do it. It would be the hardest thing she’d ever done. And she could lose the one who filled her soul… forever.

Thisbe blinked hard in the sunshine and checked the location of the dragons. They had their eyes on her, but they didn’t come for her. The fog that she’d seen every morning and evening from the windows had burned off for now. She continued over the grass and headed toward the back of the property to the river until her ankle ached, and then she stopped and watched the water flow. Watched it wash away everything in its path.

She thought about the story Dev had told about hiding from the Revinir, and about how one of the images he’d seen had come to happen in his life, just like what had happened with her. Dev had been so brave, so desperate, so totally unwilling to be caught by the Revinir, that he’d been ready to die rather than be captured again.

Thisbe didn’t really know how the people of Grimere and the surrounding villages were feeling about the dragon-woman, but they certainly had to be scared too—the ones the Revinir hadn’t fed the dragon-bone broth to, anyway. Then there were Thisbe’s fellow black-eyed friends, whose lives were in danger. Would they be willing to do anything to avoid capture like Dev had done?

Thisbe thought about Fifer’s plan. If Thisbe didn’t go along with the Revinir, would the Revinir go after one of the others instead and try to force them into the partnership? Thisbe didn’t like that idea either. That could turn out frighteningly bad for everyone involved.

She closed her eyes, tipped her head back, spread her arms wide, and let the breeze flow over her. The land of the dragons was hers—the land of her people. Her grandmother should be ruling it. And maybe Thisbe or one of her friends could be the ruler someday if they ever got it back. But if they couldn’t stop the Revinir, the black-eyed rulership would end forever. All of them were in danger—not just her and Fifer and Dev. Not just the rest of the black-eyed humans and the dragons. Everyone in the land of the dragons, plus everyone in the seven islands, was threatened. And no one could come up with any other viable way to overthrow the Revinir.