Fifer sent it, and they were left to wait agonizingly again. Dev excused himself. “I’m going to try to communicate with the dragons again,” he said.

“It’s so dangerous, Dev,” said Fifer. “Can’t you do it from inside? When Thisbe roared by accident the first time, she was up here.”

Dev shrugged. “All right. I hope it’s not too annoying.”

Fifer was more relieved than she cared to admit and totally willing to tolerate Dev’s roars if it meant he was safe inside. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so clingy toward Dev lately. Probably because Thisbe was gone and in danger. Fifer didn’t normally need to rely on anybody—she was somewhat of a loner anyway, especially lately. But maybe it was the severity of the situation that made Fifer really appreciate having a friend around.

Dev began making grunting and growling noises by the back window, trying to get the dragons to notice him without setting the curtains on fire. Fifer went to the bookshelves. Maybe something here could give her an idea about what else they could do to put them in the best position to escape these dragons in case Thisbe called on them to fight. She looked up at the shelves that were far above her head and wondered if there had ever been a ladder here. If so, it was long gone.

Spying a potential foothold at eye level, Fifer went to get the desk chair to help her get to that height so she could look at the books up there. She climbed up, hanging on to the shelves and anchoring a few invisible hooks as well, and started reading the titles. “Caring for Dragons,” she said. “The Keeping of Dragons. Dragon Rulers.” All of the books on one shelf were about dragons. She continued. “Living in Harmony: A History of Dragon and Human Interaction in Grimere.” She pulled it off the shelf and dropped it to the floor with a loud bang. Dev gasped, startled by the noise.

“Sorry,” said Fifer with a smirk. The next book didn’t have any words on the spine, so she pulled it out and blew the dust off. The title on the cover was in strange old-fashioned curly letters, and the words were that of the ancient language. But the illustration showed an army of humans fighting a single dragon and apparently slaying it. Her eyes widened. She dropped that book on top of the other and climbed back down to the chair and the floor.

Dev let out a gravelly howl that did absolutely nothing. Fifer laughed, and Dev muttered something under his breath, clearly annoyed. “I can’t remember how to do it,” he said, this time loud enough for Fifer to hear.