“But if they come here, the red dragons will attack and inform the Revinir that everyone arrived,” said Thisbe. She was starting to feel anxious again about the plan to lie to everyone about her loyalties. She got up and started limping around, then went to the fire to get it going for the evening.

“That’s another thing we need to figure out,” said Fifer. She thought for a long moment. “Maybe it actually would be a good idea to use send components to tell Florence about Thisbe’s betrayal. That way we can be sketchy about the details, and when they bombard us with questions, we can take a minute to come up with answers.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“If you think that’ll work,” said Dev, sounding skeptical. “Won’t they just come barging over here if that happens? It’s kind of a big deal to tell them something like that.”

“Not if I tell them not to,” said Fifer. “I’m the boss now.”

Thisbe brought fire to her throat and slowly blew, lighting the kindling. The more she listened to Fifer and Dev talking about how they’d explain Thisbe’s betrayal, the more Rohan’s face popped into her head. It made her stomach hurt to think about it. She could hardly stand to make these plans. It was the most horrible thing she’d ever had to do… and after all she’d been through, that was saying something. Yet there was a tiny part of her that was thrilled to be playing this trick. Was that her evil side nudging her into this?

“Let’s adjourn this meeting,” Thisbe said suddenly. “I think we’ve had enough for today. I…” She was about to say she changed her mind and wasn’t going to do this. That she couldn’t. That it was just too much—too hard. But the tiny thrill remained, and she swallowed the words. “I’m hungry,” she said weakly. “Let’s get out of here for a few minutes. Get some fresh air.”

Fifer looked over at her, about to protest—they were just figuring out the important stuff. But then she saw the look on Thisbe’s face and sat up. “Yeah, okay,” she said kindly. “Let’s go fishing before it gets dark. We could all use a break.”

Putting Things Together

Artimé was full to the brim with people, but in a good way. Somehow bringing together willing fighters from Warbler, Karkinos, and the Island of Shipwrecks was working to unify the magical land in a way that might not have happened had they been left alone to heal and grow after the rift. Everyone gathered there had one purpose in mind: protecting the seven islands and helping the neighboring world. The grumblings from any remaining dissenters were drowned out by the camaraderie and enthusiasm that spread through the mansion and across the lawn.