They went out to fish. Neither spoke for a long time, both lost in their thoughts as they crouched side by side along the bank, patiently holding the chain-mail net. Fifer was trying to figure out what to do with Florence and her team. And Dev was weighing the risks of staying at the palace. There was always one thing at the back of his mind… the fact that he felt like this palace belonged to him. And now that he actually had a place that was his, he was reluctant to leave it. And a little bit selfish, too. Because Fifer was forced to stay here, she got to remain in the comforts of the library. His library.

“Maybe I could hide out in the alcove,” Dev said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Fifer looked up, feeling an unexpected surge of hope at the idea. She didn’t want Dev to leave. It was too hard to communicate. Then she frowned. “Actually, if Florence and her team don’t come here, you might as well stay.”

“But where are you going to send them?”

“I don’t know. I was thinking maybe the foothills on this side of the mountains. But I don’t know where the river flows.”

Dev plucked a stiff blade of grass and started chewing on it. “Why not reroute them to the cavelands? The land there is flat, the river flows through it, and there’s room for them to find shelter in the caves. Plus, they can talk to Astrid and the other ghost dragons.”

“I’ve never been there. How far away is it?”

“Half a day’s journey via ghost dragon.”

“That’s a bit far.”

“But it’ll be totally safe for them there. They can’t stay in Grimere. And the forest might be too dangerous with such a large party—the Revinir would learn of them soon enough, and the dragons use the dragon path. Besides, that’s probably just as far from here as the cavelands.”

Fifer spied a small fish coming their way and pointed at it. Dev nodded and slowly repositioned his end of the net. The fish got close, and the two scooped it up in one smooth motion. They pulled it onshore, and Fifer went for the fish knife to kill it and clean it while Dev returned to try for a second one. They made a good team. Everything would be harder if they were separated—like fishing, since there was only one net. And since neither of them knew when anybody else would be able to reach them because of the red dragons, it would be silly for Dev to leave now. It was a relief.

“I’m staying,” Dev whispered over his shoulder, barely catching Fifer’s eye before turning back to the river.