Regret
Florence, Simber, the two ghost dragons, and all of the humans exploded out of the first portal and landed in the crater lake in Grimere. Simber and the dragons plucked the humans out of the water and brought them to the narrow path on the shore to collect themselves. It was a bittersweet moment for Rohan and Sky—they’d spent a lot of time here with Thisbe. But they were glad they weren’t staying.
The team was much closer to their destination now, but the skies overhead were filled with dragons in flight. Some of the dragons were watching them. “This isn’t good,” Maiven said, wringing the water out of her braid. “The dragons are everywhere. I’m sure they’ve already gone to tell the Revinir about our arrival.”
Rohan’s expression was slack, and his eyes were half-dead. He didn’t care about the dragons. He could hardly muster up a sense of guilt for employing the send spell to Thisbe. He hoped it didn’t cause a problem, but really… Thisbe was the one causing all of the problems right now. So he didn’t feel too bad about it. “We’re doomed anyway,” he said to Maiven. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Stop that,” said Maiven, harsher than she’d intended.
But her tone seemed to penetrate Rohan’s funk, for his eyes focused on her. “If the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, and if what Fifer is saying is true, then Thisbe really has joined the Revinir and we’ve lost her forever… and possibly our future, too. And if Fifer is being manipulated by the Revinir, we’re all heading for a huge amount of trouble. There’s no good side to any of this.”
Carina spoke up. “You’ve left out the possibility that Fifer is lying of her own accord.”
Seth looked up.
Simber growled. “She wouldn’t do that.”
Carina lifted her chin. “I know it’s hard to hear, and I know she’s not known for lying. But I’m just laying out all of the possibilities,” she said. “We would be foolish not to consider everything.”
Simber nodded. “That’s fairrr. I apologize.” He turned away. “I still think she wouldn’t do it,” he mumbled. Carina let it go.
“She would lie for Thisbe,” Seth said quietly.
Carina glanced sharply at her son. “Do you think that’s what she’s doing now?” she asked. “If so, why? She’s not making Thisbe look very good.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re plotting… something. Together. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Carina frowned, thinking about the notes Fifer had sent. “If they are, I can’t imagine what it could be.”
Rohan glanced over. “Do you mean plotting together against the Revinir? Without telling us?”
Seth nodded. “Yeah,” he said, though nothing made sense.
“I… still don’t see it,” said Carina.
“No,” said Rohan sadly after a minute. “Carina’s right. They wouldn’t do that without telling us. Why would they lie about it when we could help them carry it out? It doesn’t make sense. Nothing does.”
Seth sighed. “I know. I’ve just—I’ve known Thisbe and Fifer almost my whole life. They’re my best friends. I guess I’m looking for any reason to believe that something other than what Fifer wrote is happening. I was… grasping.” He shook his head. Ishibashi was right. The simplest explanation was probably the correct one—that Fifer was telling the truth. And Thisbe had turned her back on all of them.
After Maiven gave Florence a quick tutorial on where they were, Florence called for everyone’s attention. The ghost dragons hovered above her, for there was no place onshore large enough for them to land between the lake and the mountain that rose up sharply. Florence worriedly eyed the mind-controlled dragons overhead. And she still hadn’t decided what to think about Fifer’s most recent message telling them not to come to her. Was it a trick? Everything that was happening seemed suspect, and there was no telling what was the truth.
The warrior trainer knew she had a lot of great minds in front of her, though. She recapped the situation and reread Fifer’s messages to them. “Now that we’ve had some time to mull this over, what do you make of it?” she asked. “Who thinks we should continue to Ashguard’s palace?”
About half of them raised their hands.
“And the rest think we should follow Fifer’s order to go to the cavelands? Anyone else have an alternate idea?”
Aaron, who hadn’t raised his hand at either suggestion, asked to see the thread of messages. He read each one carefully, looking for hidden clues that would indicate that Fifer was being coerced, but nothing jumped out at him. “My gut says we do what Fifer says.” Like Rohan, his voice was dull. The truth of what Ishibashi had said earlier was starting to sink in. And he still felt strange about it. Like maybe he wasn’t the only evil one in the family. And that thought didn’t give him any comfort. Had his past influenced Thisbe in some way?
“Mine says we go to the palace,” said Carina.
“I also think we should follow Fifer’s command,” said Ishibashi. “Go to the cavelands.”
Sky spoke up. “How about we go to the cavelands to set up camp, and then send a small team in the morning to do a flyover of Ashguard’s palace and check things out?”
Florence nodded. “That sounds like the best plan so far. Gorgrun, is it possible for the dragons to hurt you?”
“It is not,” said Gorgrun. “We are more ghost than dragon.”
“But you cannot harm them, either, correct?”
“Under the Revinir’s spell, they act like enemies, but they are the future of our land. You are correct: We cannot harm them. But we can do our best to protect you from them should the need arise.”
“That’s what I figured,” said Florence. “So you’ll at least give us a safe ride overhead, won’t you?”
“Absolutely,” said Gorgrun. “Perhaps they will hold their fire and listen to us. Though, if I recall, we have not found that to be promising with other dragons under the Revinir’s mind control. If they have been given commands, they will follow through.”
“It’s a start,” Florence said, looking at Simber. “Do you agree?”
“I do,” said Simber. He looked at Maiven and Rohan. “And you?”
Rohan’s face was haggard. He seemed startled to be asked, even though he’d been a part of the conversations all along. “I… have no opinion,” he said.
Maiven pocketed his bent arm inside her own. “We defer to you,” she said to Simber and Florence. “You know the twins better than we do.” She glanced at Rohan. “Or so it seems.”
Florence and Maiven exchanged a pained look. Rohan was taking this news harder than anyone else—not that the others were glossing over its severity. The confusion of it all kept hope alive for most, but it only seemed to drag Rohan down even farther.
“Let’s go with Sky’s option, then,” said Florence. “Everybody back on your dragons. We’re heading for the cavelands.”
As she spoke, a dark purple dragon swooped low overhead. Most of the people ducked, but Simber saw who it was. “It’s Drrrock,” he said.
“Is he under the Revinir’s mind control?” Florence asked, peering up at the creature.
“He’s too farrr away to tell,” said Simber. “Let’s see what happens when we lift off.”
The ghost dragons landed in the shallow water, and everyone boarded them. Then they and Simber took off, trying to steer clear of the other dragons, which continued to fill the skies all around Dragonsmarche.
“They’re like vultures waiting for roadkill,” said Sky.
“I think we’re the roadkill,” Aaron muttered.
Gorgrun and Quince dodged and weaved between the mind-controlled dragons as they headed for their homeland. Simber kept Drock in his sights, which wasn’t too difficult, because the dragon seemed to be staying fairly close without looking like he was traveling with them.
Florence had something else on her mind. She turned to Rohan. “I see how glum this has made you,” she said.
Rohan tried and failed to smile. “I can’t deny that.”
“It’s very serious,” said Florence. “But until we know the truth, there’s no sense giving up on the world over it.”
“If I’m being honest, it’s very hard for me to think that way at this point.”
“What helps me is to remember that Fifer and Thisbe are incredible mages,” said Florence. “They are smart and bold and brave. Perhaps there will be some surprises coming our way.”
Rohan looked up, horrified. “More surprises? I don’t know if I can take any more.”
Aaron, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet recently, was listening in. He caught Rohan’s eye. “If it’s any solace,” he said, “people can come back from grave mistakes.”
Florence nodded. “All is not lost,” she said. “No matter what.”
Rohan studied Aaron. He’d heard the whole story of Aaron’s past by now. “Do you put any stock in the dragon-detected levels of good and evil?”
Aaron was thoughtful. “I don’t have enough information to go on. I only know that the dragons believe Fifer is more good than evil, Thisbe more evil than good, and Dev is exactly half and half.”
“I am more good than evil,” Rohan said. “And what about you?”
“I don’t have a clue,” said Aaron.
Florence frowned, as if she detected where the conversation would land.
Rohan rolled a question around in his mind. He knew asking it would be terribly rude and possibly hurtful. But he was completely out of sorts and desperate for answers. So he plowed ahead, hoping he could make amends later if necessary. “Aaron,” he said. “Thisbe is thirteen. How old were you when you started down your… evil path? When you killed Mr. Today?”
Florence’s jaw slacked. “Rohan…,” she said softly. “That’s not…”
But Aaron saw the desperation in the boy’s eyes and held up his hand to stop Florence from chiding him. He understood more than anyone just how Rohan must be feeling. Aaron was not only desperate, but he’d started feeling responsible for Thisbe’s actions too. What if she was just like him? How could Aaron bear the shame of that? Seeing his own horrific choices and mistakes recurring like a reflection in a lake of oil?
“I was thirteen,” he said. “Nearly fourteen. But that doesn’t mean anything. She’s not me.”
Rohan closed his eyes.
“I mean it, Rohan,” Aaron said, his voice catching with emotion. “Our upbringings were vastly different. She has everything good going for her.”
“Except for things she can’t control,” said Rohan, opening his eyes. “Things… that might run in families.”
Aaron understood what Rohan was implying. He didn’t blame the boy, who was only looking to make sense of something that was unfathomable. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
Rohan couldn’t take any more. He thanked Aaron and apologized for the probing questions, then removed himself from the area, going to the back end of Gorgrun to be alone.
Aaron let out a defeated sigh. Ten times the amount of guilt he’d had before rushed over him now. He wasn’t the only one wondering it. Thisbe seemed to be following in his way of life, and no one had seen it coming, not even him. It was a mistake that could cost Artimé more than they’d ever risked losing before. A mistake that could end the future of an entire land.