“I know you can,” said Thisbe. “But we both know that would be a terrible idea. That would seal the deal for me to never work with you. I know you’re used to getting your way, which is why this is all so aggravating for you. But think about what you really want, Emma. What have you wanted from me since we first met? You had a plan, and you went for it. You knew you couldn’t ever be a true human ruler of the land of the dragons. Even if you’d somehow colored your eyes to black, you knew that you didn’t have the right genealogy to take that position. So what did you do? You turned yourself into a dragon.” Thisbe paused for effect. “A dragon! Who does that? It’s totally bonkers.”

The Revinir narrowed her eyes. “Where are you going with this? And stop calling me Emma.”

Thisbe went on as if she hadn’t heard. “All you needed was a true black-eyed person, descending from one of the two original ruling families, to throw their support behind you. And what do you know? You found one. Here I am. And after all of that effort—and to be honest, Emma, I think you’re stuck as a dragon for the long haul once you committed—after all of that, you are willing to let me walk out of here because I want a week and your word not to harm people in a totally different world? Honestly, after the way you’ve acted toward me, it seems fair to want to make sure you’re not going to treat me like dirt in our very crucial partnership. A week is barely enough. Maybe we should do two. Unless you’re ready to grant my request? I’d be ready to go forward with everything if you simply agree to that.”

The Revinir was still seething, but some of what Thisbe said was making sense. It did seem silly to let this whole thing fall apart for that. She wasn’t about to make the promise about the seven islands, but she supposed she could give Thisbe a few days to settle in. After all, the Revinir really did need a partner. And… she realized she wanted one too. She’d been alone in leadership her whole life. Having someone smart like Thisbe around seemed so refreshing. “I’ll give you two days,” she said.

“A week,” said Thisbe firmly.

“Fine. Let’s take it a few days at a time and reevaluate.”

Thisbe sighed dramatically. But that was all she really wanted. “All right. If you haven’t driven me out of here in a few days, we’ll reconnect about that condition and move forward with our plans.”