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E lowen listened helplessly as Ash’s cry turned into a roar. Seconds later, he flew outside the window, the air from his great bronze dragon wings whooshing against the crumbling rocks of the castle. The trolls who remained standing in the ballroom ducked, as if the dragon could somehow get inside.

“They’ve brought a dragon!” Queen Grumhilda screamed. “He’s eaten my goose! My gold! Get them!”

Vale grabbed Elowen’s hand. They made their way to the door, and Cedar caught up to them.

Ash whooshed by the window again, spewing fire at the fields full of flowers. Red light flickered into the room.

“My flowers!” The queen jumped up and down behind the throne. “MY FLOWERS! SAVE MY FLOWERS!”

Any trolls who weren’t sick ran for the door. Vale pulled Elowen to the side just in time to save them from a stampede. Cedar ducked behind her. The humans seemed to have been forgotten.

The queen exited through a side door with her bodyguards.

“We need to get out of here,” Vale said. They were still in danger of being trampled by huge, sick, and panicked trolls.

“What about the pixie?” Elowen said. Ash was flying free, and she had Cedar and Vale by her side, but she wouldn’t leave the pixie behind.

The pixie was fluttering inside her wildly-swinging cage, lobbing fistfuls of pixie dust into the eyes of any troll who came close.

“Get on my shoulders,” Vale ordered.

Elowen glanced at her skirts.

“Not you. Cedar.” He pushed her gently against the wall. “You stay here.”

It had been her idea to save the pixie. She couldn’t send Cedar into the middle of half-mad trolls. “But—”

They didn’t wait for her permission. Once they reached the pixie’s cage, Vale boosted Cedar onto his shoulders.

The pixie stopped throwing glitter.

Cedar had to stand almost tiptoe on Vale’s shoulders to reach the bottom of the cage. He grabbed onto it, lifted his feet, and dangled in midair. Vale kept his arms ready in case Cedar fell.

Elowen bit her fingernails.

Cedar used his weight against the wicker cage until it finally cracked open far enough for the pixie to slip out between two of the bars. She circled around his head, kissed his cheek, and then threw a bubble at him that expanded and encased his whole body. As the pixie flitted out the window, Cedar floated to the floor.

The bubble popped, and Cedar smiled up at Vale in wonder.

“Hurry!” Elowen shouted.

The few trolls left in the room seemed uninterested in stopping them for the time being. They almost seemed unaware of them, as if the humans were merely bugs underfoot to be trampled on if necessary.

“This way,” Cedar said, and he dashed out the door.

Elowen took Vale’s hand this time, and they followed Cedar’s lead. They darted around running trolls and around trolls on their hands and knees, the odor of sick trolls creating its own presence in the halls. As they rounded a corner, Cedar got knocked into a wall and then crumpled onto the floor.

Elowen crouched over her brother, shielding him from the chaos. Vale stood close behind her, shielding them both.

“I’m ... all right ... Elle,” Cedar whispered. “Just ... got the wind knocked outta me.”

“Where are you taking us?” Vale asked.

“Doors will be guarded,” Cedar said. “Windows all lead to the moat or courtyard, except one near the kitchen. It’s a high one, but it goes to the kitchen garden.”

“The plants will provide some cover in the dark,” Vale said. “It’s a good idea.”

The hall flickered with torchlight and with the firelight from Ash’s distraction among the flowers. Smoke trickled in through a cracked window. Elowen needed to get outside quickly and stop his rampage before it went too far.

She recognized the halls when they neared the kitchen, along with the smell of wholesome baking ... mixed with burnt flowers. They passed the storage room where the ladder and bucket had fallen on her.

“Almost there,” Cedar said.

Elowen backtracked quickly and fetched the ladder, just in case. No more climbing on shoulders. The bucket and other items clattered out and tumbled onto the floor, but she didn’t care about the noise this time. Vale helped her carry the ladder, although it was hardly taller than her, and they caught up with Cedar.

“There.” Cedar pointed to a window several feet above his head, one of the ones Elowen had ruled out for being too high. “I can give your husband a boost up, and then he can pull us after him.”

Elowen’s jaw dropped at his words. Her husband.

Cedar stared at her. “Or ... we can use the ladder?” He didn’t seem to realize what he’d said.

Elowen studied her brother and then turned to ... her husband. Their escape wasn’t supposed to happen until the following night. She wasn’t supposed to be married.

She’d probably inhaled too much troll stink and flower smoke to be good for her.

“Elowen?” Cedar prompted.

She slid the ladder up the wall and steadied it. “Vale first, right?”

“I’ll see what’s on the other side,” Vale said and ruffled Cedar’s hair. “If it holds me, it will hold you two.”

Vale climbed the ladder quickly. It creaked but held firm. He reached the top, straddled the narrow windowsill, and said, “It’s a good drop, but it’s doable. The dirt will help break the fall.”

Cedar held the ladder, indicating Elowen should go next. Vale held out his hand to her.

“No,” she said. “I’ve traveled all this way to get you. I’m not leaving until you’re out that window.”

“But—”

“GO!”

He obeyed and shimmied up the ladder. Vale made room for him on the windowsill and then lowered him as much as possible to the ground on the other side to lessen his fall.

Elowen heard noises from around the corner at the end of the hall. At least one troll ran in her direction, judging by the slapping of feet on the floor. She pressed herself against the wall, but there was no hope of going unseen in the lime green gown.

A troll servant rounded the corner and lumbered to a stop. When he saw the ladder next to Elowen, he yelled, “Oh, no you don’t!”

Elowen pulled the ladder away from the wall and swung it low at the approaching troll. He tripped and fell hard, but the ladder broke.

“Elowen!” Vale leaned down, arm outstretched.

She jumped twice before catching his hand, but her palms were sweaty and she slipped out of his grip.

The troll groaned, pushing himself to his feet.

After drying her hands on her bodice, Elowen jumped again. This time, Vale got a firm hold.

The troll grabbed a fistful of her skirts. Elowen kicked out and landed a blow somewhere. Her overskirt ripped. She shot upwards and found herself suddenly on the windowsill beside Vale, leaning out on her stomach.

Cedar held his hands above his head as if he could catch her if she fell.

She tried to get a leg over the ledge, but her feet were tangled in skirts. The troll grazed her foot with his fingertips. Finally, Vale hauled her up and steadied her against him in a tight hug. The windowsill dug painfully into her shins, but she managed to get her legs outside.

The troll growled in frustration and threw a splinter of the ladder at them. It bounced off the castle wall and grazed his shoulder.

Vale lowered Elowen down into the dark kitchen garden. When he let go, she dropped a few feet and rolled to soften the impact. Cedar ran to her side, and together they moved to make room for Vale.

Vale hung by his fingers, lowering himself as much as possible, and then dropped into the dirt.

“We made it!” Cedar said and threw his arms around Elowen.

She sniffed and wiped her nose. They had made it. She finally had all of her people out of the castle.