Together the two of them went to a lower floor and pried up some sturdy floorboards. They brought them up to the level where the alcove was and lined the perimeter of the floor to make it easier to access the space, for it could make a good emergency hiding place in case they ever got discovered and couldn’t escape the palace. They began to stockpile dried fish and extra water in the alcove, treating it as a storage room as well. They even stored the ropes there in case they needed to escape out the window—fire was always on Dev’s mind when it came to being surrounded by dragons. He never wanted to be trapped. It reminded him of all of the people in the dungeon, like Maiven had been for so many years.

“Do you think any of the people in the dungeon escaped during the fire?” Dev asked randomly one day as he and Fifer were fishing.

“We wanted to release them,” said Fifer, “but the smoke was too thick. We barely got out of there alive with Thisbe and Maiven and Rohan. I don’t know if any of the guards were generous enough to unchain them… or if they survived the smoke and are still down there.”

Dev nodded and repositioned his chain-mail net, then scooped up a flopping fish and deposited it on the grass for Fifer to process. “I hope some of them got out,” said Dev. “There were some nice people down there. Some who were very old, who’d been there for decades. And people that shouldn’t have been there. Like Maiven. I’m really glad you went back for her.”

“Did you know she was the queen?”

“I suspected it. The guards rumored about it. I didn’t know her last name for sure, though, until Thisbe said it after the mind control was broken.”

“She hardly looks the same as when we rescued her,” said Fifer. “She’s a powerful woman. Very strong and commanding. You should see her collection of weapons.”

“I hope to someday. I want to… thank her.”

Fifer looked up from the fish. “For what?”

“For being kind to me. If I were her, stuck in a dungeon for all of those years, I wouldn’t be feeling very kind toward anyone. Especially not the guy with the disgusting slop.”

“Aw, Dev,” said Fifer, feeling cheeky. “Who were you with? And you shouldn’t call yourself disgusting.”

Dev’s mouth opened. “You are a horrible person.” He slapped the river, sending an arc of water at Fifer and dousing her.