“Yes, you might get that stunned reaction from the older folk who remember the massive one. Sometimes they even react when the volcano in the lake erupts, even though they hear it all the time. According to my studies, a lot of people lost their lives.” He yawned and rested his head against the wall. His eyelids drooped.
Thisbe wanted to know more about his studies, but she could tell he was exhausted. “When did you sleep last?”
He murmured sleepily. “Two nights ago. My journey takes fifteen hours each way.”
Thisbe stared. “With no sleep in between?”
“The soldiers at the castle end offered to let me take an hour’s nap before I returned, but I said no.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to rest in between?” asked Thisbe. It seemed crazy to not at least put his feet up for a while.
Rohan opened one eye and looked at her with a lazy smile. “I needed to get back so I could knock on your wall.”
The Birds
Back in Artimé, Fifer’s abrupt change in behavior had Alex more than a little puzzled, but he kept himself as busy as possible in the following weeks to lessen the time he spent worrying over Sky and Thisbe. He and the team that was preparing to go on the rescue mission spent their days with Florence doing extensive Magical Warrior Training and exercises, and their evenings continuing to build the new larger wings for the dragons.
After delivering Crow, Simber spoke to the dragons about helping their effort, leaving them with much to think about. They promised to have a decision by the time they came to get their new wings.
Then Simber spent a couple of days circling the area around the Island of Fire, knowing his search for Sky was probably futile but somehow feeling like he had to do it in order to be sure for himself. He even dove under the water and discovered Spike still combing every inch of the depths of the sea, looking for her too. But there was no sign of their beloved Sky. Eventually Simber made his way home, and Spike did whatever she usually did in the great sea while waiting for Alex to call upon her.
And then there was Fifer. She was rapidly regaining strength by the day until she was as good as new. Fifer’s interest in the falcons had her venturing out in the mornings to the private area of the lagoon. With Crow on Warbler Island unable to keep an eye on her, and with Alex and Seth busy preparing for their quest, Fifer found herself left very much alone. Except for the birds, of course. They went with her everywhere, and their numbers grew as the days went by. She began to talk with them about her worries over Thisbe, her frustrations over Alex, her sadness over Sky, and her deep desire to be treated like a real mage. The creatures seemed sympathetic and always appeared to be listening, which gave Fifer some comfort, even though she knew it wasn’t normal to think birds could understand her. Still, she wondered.
Whenever Florence trained the veterans and Seth on the lawn, Fifer watched secretly from the edge of the jungle and learned the various components and how to use them. And when Alex and the others worked on the wings, Fifer began experimenting with training the birds and soon discovered they were fast learners. The first thing she taught them was to stay outside when she went into the mansion. Using spoken words and the Warbler sign language, of which most mages in Artimé knew at least a little, Fifer commanded them to stop and put out her hand in a signal to the birds, and then she ventured to open the door. If they tried to follow her, she’d reprimand them and do the hand signal and verbal cue again. They soon caught on, and when they did it right, Fifer praised them.
The rest of Artimé was just glad the birds stopped trying to get inside the mansion, and they paid little mind to what else Fifer was doing.
Soon Fifer had the grand falcons flying to and away from her at her command. Next she taught them to fetch things—a leaf, a small branch, or anything Fifer could find to toss in the jungle. The birds eventually learned to act only when Fifer was speaking directly to them, and soon she was able to get a specific group of birds to do what she commanded while the rest waited, straining and eager to be addressed too.
She taught them to fly in a pattern following her hand movements. Sometimes she’d spend hours waving her hands like a conductor, directing the birds to swoop and soar and circle around. She got them to create shapes in the air—a circle, a triangle, a heart—and taught them all the hand signals and verbal cues that meant go, come, fetch, and more.
When she grew bored with those commands, Fifer taught the birds to take hold of her by her clothing and fly her around the lagoon close to the ground. It was great entertainment, especially when Fifer was feeling bad about everything. It never ceased to cheer her up at least a little.
In the evenings Fifer would leave the birds to roost in the trees. She’d go inside and retreat to her room, where she’d take her dinner alone because she didn’t want to sit with Alex or hear Seth and Lani and Samheed and the others go on and on about the rescue mission.
She felt bad about it, but the truth was she just couldn’t face Alex, especially after the way she’d left things with him. She knew he had to be hurting more than anyone about Sky, and of course he was worried about Thisbe. But Fifer couldn’t seem to get beyond his refusal to let her join them. She just couldn’t understand it. She’d already learned so much in her first trip away from Artimé, and she had so much magical potential, but Alex was treating her like a baby. Hadn’t he noticed how much she’d grown since she and Thisbe and Seth had left? Didn’t he grasp the amazing things they’d done while they were away? Clearly he appreciated what Seth had done, but Seth would’ve accomplished none of it without Fifer. Alex was being impossible. And she couldn’t stand to be around him or Seth right now.
• • •
On the day the young dragons returned to get their new wings, much of Artimé gathered around to witness the transformation.
The first thing Alex did when they arrived was take Arabis aside. He had a question from the distant past that had been weighing heavily on his mind lately. “When you left our world ten years ago,” he said to her, “did Queen Eagala somehow travel with you to the land of the dragons?”
“No,” said Arabis. “We went alone. Her ship had sunk weeks before we left. When we were captured and until you told us, we didn’t know Eagala was the Revinir—we’d never really had a good look at her before and hadn’t realized the connection all these years.”
Alex nodded, but appeared confounded by the answer. “Okay, thank you.” He looked over the water toward the west for a long moment. “It doesn’t make sense,” he muttered to himself. “How did she get there?” Then he turned abruptly back to Arabis. “Have you had a chance to think about joining us? Can you risk coming along?”
Arabis nodded. “I’ve chosen to go with you. My brothers and sisters and mother and I have decided that one of us must go back and warn the ghost dragons in the land beyond Grimere.”
“Ghost dragons?”
“That is what they are called,” said Arabis with a bit of mystery. “They are in danger from the Revinir now that she has lost us. So I will help you get to your location and continue on a few hours’ journey from there. I’ll deliver my message and return to the forest outside of Grimere as quickly as possible to hide until you are ready to return to the seven islands.”
It wasn’t a perfect situation, but it was close enough. Alex poured out his gratefulness to Arabis, and she in turn voiced her thanks for the three children who’d freed them and given them the wings they needed to escape.
Only one, Seth, was standing nearby, and Alex called him over. Seth flushed bright red. “You’re welcome,” he said.
“Shall we put on your beautiful new permanent wings now?” Alex asked the dragons, standing aside so they could inspect them along the shore. The orange dragon nodded regally and moved closer so Alex and the others could start the job.
Fifer watched the gathering from afar, sitting on a log in the lagoon, her birds surrounding her. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but the crowd seemed to be very excited about the new
wings. It made her a bit glum to think about how everyone had been spending so much time on constructing them and making such a big deal over these beautiful new wings and cringing over the ugly ones Fifer and Seth had made. If Alex and the others had only had sapling branches and burlap and a few scatterclips to pin the whole thing together, they would’ve made ugly wings too. It was an amazing accomplishment under really difficult circumstances, but nobody understood what they’d gone through. Maybe Fifer should start writing books about it like Lani had done so she could point out all the things everyone else thought were unimportant. And reveal the truth about Alex, who was nothing like the boy in Lani’s books.
• • •
Kaylee, who had come with Aaron to see the event, noticed immediately that her young sister-in-law, Fifer, was nowhere to be found. She left baby Daniel with Aaron and sought out Lani near the edge of the shore.
“Have you seen Fifer?” Kaylee asked her.
“I spied her earlier heading along the shoreline in that direction,” said Lani, pointing toward the lagoon.
They could just barely see a human blob shape sitting there, with birds fluttering about. “Thanks,” said Kaylee. “I’m going to go talk to her.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Kaylee strolled along the sand, and Lani rolled alongside her. Aaron had designed and crafted Lani’s sleek magical vehicle ten years before, after her legs had become paralyzed in the final battle, and he’d constantly made improvements to it in the years since so she could travel over a variety of terrains. The contraption embraced her around the hips and held her upright, giving support to the lower half of her body and keeping her hands free. Powered by concentration, it moved magically in compliance with her unspoken wishes unless she was particularly tired—then it sometimes veered off track. Now the vehicle struggled a little in the deep sand, but Lani powered it forward anyway, hopping up out of the sand to ride on the grass instead. Kaylee realized what was happening and stepped up on the grass too.
Before long they reached Fifer.
The girl looked up at them quizzically. “What are you doing out here?” The birds fluttered and settled.
“May we join you?” asked Kaylee.
“Sure, I guess,” said Fifer.
Lani adjusted her wheeled vehicle and put her hands back to allow her to ease into a sitting position on the log next to Fifer. Kaylee sat on the other side of her and gazed out to where the crowd had spread in front of the mansion.
“I haven’t seen you around much lately,” said Lani.
“I’ve been here,” said Fifer with a sniff. “Busy with my only friends.”
Kaylee pressed her lips together to squelch a smile. “Aw, come on, kiddo. That doesn’t sound like you, feeling sorry for yourself. Are you doing all right? You must be so anxious about Thisbe. I know I am. We’re going to find her, though. I won’t leave there without her, I promise you that.”
“I should be going with you,” said Fifer bitterly. “It’s not right. I’ll be sitting here helpless.”
Lani put her hand on top of Fifer’s. “I can only imagine how bad that feels.”
Kaylee nodded. “Just so you know, I’ve talked to Aaron about it. He said Alex gets to decide these things because he’s the one taking responsibility for you. He thinks Alex is saying no because he can’t bear to lose anyone else, and I gotta be honest, I can’t fault him for caring. Still, Aaron tried to convince Al to let you go, if that makes you feel any better.”
“Thanks, but not really.” Fifer blinked hard. “If you even manage to rescue her, I won’t find out for days and days. It’s not fair.” She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes to stop them from leaking, but it didn’t work. “Who took responsibility for you, Lani, when you were twelve?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“I did,” said Lani softly. “But that was a different time and a different situation. I would have loved to have had my parents and Henry in my life then. I know it feels like Alex is smothering you, but at least be glad you have him. At least he cares and would do anything for you. He had no one. When we were purged from Quill, he lost everybody. Everyone, Fifer. And his parents—your parents—didn’t do anything to stop the governors from taking Alex away. It was horrible. I think he made a vow to himself to not stand idly by if you are in danger. To not be like your parents. So when you and Seth and Thisbe left, he fell apart. He thought he’d lost you. Now that he has you back . . . Well, he’s going a little overboard in protecting you, but like Kaylee, I honestly can’t say I blame him after what he’s been through. Do you know what I mean?”
Fifer hadn’t thought about it quite like that. She often forgot how real the Purge was—it was more than just a story in a book. And it made her feel softer toward her brother—at least a little. But then she grew frustrated again. “The thing is,” she said impatiently, “I’m a great mage. I know how to do things now, only Alex didn’t witness any of those things. It’s because of us that those five dragons are here right now! Don’t you get it? I’m not just able to do things—I’m also really powerful! But nobody sees that. Nobody understands. They’re letting Seth go—why not me? Thisbe and I saved Seth’s life like seventeen times!”
Kaylee, who was watching Fifer’s impassioned speech, wore a troubled expression. “I suppose if Alex were in charge of Seth, he’d make him stay home too. But he’s not, and Carina thinks Seth will be useful.”
“Not for the Dragonsmarche part,” Fifer argued, “which is where Thisbe is! Neither Seth nor Carina was there. But I was. I saw what happened.” Fifer stood abruptly and whirled around to face the women, making the birds scatter. The leader falcon fluttered to Fifer’s shoulder and began making a worried-sounding clicking noise by her ear, obviously sensing that she was upset. Fifer absently petted the bird and winced at how its claws pricked her skin, but she only felt more frustrated. “I can’t stand arguing about this anymore. I should have my component vest—I’ve earned it. I should be training with all of you instead of sneaking around learning all the spells behind Alex’s back—and yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing, and I don’t care who knows it. This whole thing is completely senseless, and you’re all making a huge mistake by not bringing me with you.” She blew out a furious breath and dropped her arms to her sides. “Thanks for trying to help. I mean it. But I give up.”
With that, Fifer stormed into the jungle. Her flock of birds squawked and followed her, leaving Lani and Kaylee sober and thoughtful.
After a while, when the dragons had left to test their new perfect wings and the crowd had dispersed, the two young women went back to the mansion and found Alex. “You need to go after Fifer,” Kaylee said to him. “And talk to that girl. She’s distraught and you’re not helping. Do it before we go. She needs you. Like, yesterday. So get a move on it.”
Continuing Clashes
All right,” Alex told Kaylee and Lani, though he looked like he couldn’t do one more thing. The hard training and wing making and stress of the losses were taking a toll, and he wasn’t sleeping well. But this was important. “I’ll go look for Fifer.”
Alex had been coasting on fumes for a few months, ever since Fifer and Thisbe had snuck off, and now he carried his weary body toward the jungle in search of his sister. His heart had been ripped from his chest and stomped on. First Thisbe, then Sky. He was having a hard time coping. He’d resorted to doing what he’d done in the past when things were overwhelming—put his head down and work. Try to overcome another enormous obstacle. That was the way it always went.
The last time something so personally tragic had caught him this unprepared was when Mr. Today had died and Artimé had vanished. But at least then he’d had Sky. Now . . . well, she’d dragged his heart with her under the sea.
He hadn’t been able to face the fact that she was dead. Despite all the evidence, there were a few puzzling details that kept him from losing all hope. Perhaps his mind was trying to protect him from totally breaking down while he was dealing
with Thisbe’s abduction. But there was something concrete that left him with a shred of belief that Sky had somehow survived. A belief that stemmed from his archenemy, of all people—Queen Eagala.
Ten years ago, the giant squid who lived under the Island of Legends had followed Queen Eagala’s ship and had watched it, with Eagala herself onboard, get sucked into the plunging volcano. Yet she was alive. If Queen Eagala had survived that, could Sky also survive? Or was she doomed without magic to help her?
Alex had always known that Queen Eagala was magical, but he didn’t know the extent of her abilities. What he knew of her—the ability to cast a silence spell over her island and send a flock of ravens to try to peck out the eyes of the Warbler children who’d found refuge in Artimé—seemed relatively tame compared to the magic of Mr. Today, or Alex, or the other mages in Artimé.
He also knew that despite being nonmagical, Sky, like many of Artimé’s mages, could survive underwater for several minutes thanks to Ms. Octavia teaching them all how to utilize underwater breathing. So that added at least a little hope in her favor.
But even if she’d survived the plunge, where had she gone? Simber, Pan, and Spike had all been searching the area for weeks with no sign of her.
To the best of his knowledge, the ship Eagala had gone down in had never resurfaced. Even if it had, eventually it would’ve been seen by Pan or Spike, if not Simber. And they would have reported it. Perhaps the ship had been obliterated. It was the only explanation Alex could think of. But if it had been, how had Eagala survived that kind of beating? Especially when she couldn’t swim?
Somehow she’d done it, which left the possibility that Sky could do it too. If the world’s most evil person could survive, it seemed wrong that the world’s best soul mate couldn’t. Sky was pure goodness. When Alex was emotional, she was steady. When Alex was frustrated, Sky had quietly found solutions. When Alex had wanted to give up on the Island of Fire and consider it a disastrous place to live, Sky had wanted to figure out why it moved the way it did and do something about it. Well . . . maybe Alex had been right about that one—it had been disastrous. Though Sky had been so close to figuring out its systems.