She nodded.
He stumbled closer, lowering his ruckleberry-swollen body onto the couch beside her. “You can’t control everything that’s going to happen, Sophie. I know on some level you know that—but I still see you trying. And I understand that instinct. But the real secret to facing these kinds of challenges is to go in knowing that something will go wrong. Many things, most likely. It’s not about perfect plans. It’s about believing you can handle whatever happens.”
“But what if I can’t?” she whispered. “I couldn’t handle Lumenaria. And this time we’re even more unprepared. We don’t know what kinds of security we’ll be facing. We don’t know anything about Vespera. We don’t know if the soporidine plays into any of this, or if that’s a separate thing we’re going to regret ignoring. Or if Keefe’s mom has left out anything important because she has her own plans.”
“Is that why you haven’t told your sister about any of this?”
Her heart stumbled. “How do you know I haven’t?”
“Because as much as you hate to be coddled and sheltered, you do exactly that to others.”
“So you think I should tell her?”
“That’s up to you. But let the choice come from love. Not fear.”
She nodded, sitting on her hands so she couldn’t tug on her eyelashes.
“You’re more afraid this time,” he guessed. “Is it because of your family?”
“That’s part of it.” She could’ve left it there, but she went ahead and admitted, “After Lumenaria, it’s . . . different. All the jokes about ‘almost dying’—they’re not jokes anymore. It could happen. It did happen.”
“I know.” He reached for her gloved hand, his fingers tracing over the spot where her scar was hidden. “When I joined the Black Swan, I knew I’d be facing risks and danger. But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how hard it is to watch others do the same. Especially now, when I should be going with you, and instead I’m stuck hiding away, trying to convince myself that my new limited situation isn’t letting everyone down.”
It was probably the most open he’d ever been with her.
And that trust—that honesty—made something shift inside her. As if a torch had been passed—and instead of feeling terrified, she felt proud. Strong.
Wraith, Wylie, and Tiergan arrived then, to take the bottle to Atlantis, and she didn’t feel like asking them if they were sure.
“Be careful tomorrow,” she said instead.
Wylie nodded. “You too.”
Barely an hour later, Wraith hailed Mr. Forkle to let him know the bottle had vanished from the Unity Fountain. And the countdown to Nightfall had officially begun.
Seventy-four
LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE didn’t sleep,” Keefe said, following Sandor into Sophie’s room the next morning.
“Are you really surprised?” she asked, pulling her hair closer to her face to hide her puffy, shadowed eyes.
“Of course not. But was it nightmares? Or were you lying there overthinking everything? Or were you up late talking to your sister?”
“About all of the above,” Sophie admitted, sitting on the edge of her bed.
He plopped down next to her. “How much did you decide to tell Amy?”
“I told her we found the other Nightfall, and that we’re going in tonight. Mostly I tried to assure her we have everything under control, but I don’t think she believed me.”
“I’m sure she didn’t. This”—he traced a finger over the crease between her eyebrows—“doesn’t make you very convincing.”
Their eyes locked and it was suddenly much harder than it should have been to come up with a response.
Iggy saved her from having to by jumping around, demanding attention.
“How come you’re here already?” she asked as she headed to her desk to scratch the tiny green imp through the bars of his cage.
They weren’t supposed to meet until closer to midnight, once they were all dressed and ready to head to Nightfall. They’d be wearing Neverseen cloaks this time, hoping it might help them blend in. But the gnomes were still scrambling to make enough cloaks—especially ones large enough for Sandor, Grizel, and Ro.
Keefe moved to her side. “I figured if someone didn’t come over to distract you, you’d have no eyelashes left by tonight.”
She dropped her hand, not realizing she’d been tugging.
“Besides,” he added, reaching into the pocket of his burgundy tunic, “I realized there’s one thing we forgot to do. And I figured you’d strangle me if I did it without you, so . . .”
He pulled out his old Imparter.
Sandor glowered.
“Hey—don’t blame me, Gigantor. You never asked for it back. I bet you didn’t even notice it was missing until right now.”
“Of course I did!”
“Nice try,” Ro said, peeking into the room. “We all know you would’ve been pounding on the door to the Shores of Solace if you’d realized.”
“The Shores of Solace?” Sophie asked.
“Apparently that’s what my dad calls his beach house,” Keefe told her. “And yes, he says it with a straight face.”
“Meanwhile, I keep calling it the Waves of Wimpiness,” Ro said proudly. “Lord Pretentious is not a fan.”
Sophie had to smile at both nicknames, but it faded when she asked Keefe, “How’s it going, living there?”
He shrugged. “It smells better than Alvar’s house.”
“But . . . is your father being nice?”
“Oh yeah, it’s a big cuddle fest. And then we sit down and make lists of all the reasons we love each other.”
She crossed her arms. “I mean it. Are you really okay?”
“It is what it is. And focus, Foster—wrong awful parent! Right now, it’s all about Mommy Dearest.” He pointed to the Imparter. “I swear I don’t have any crazy plans. I just know my mom loves to hold something back to see if someone calls her on it.”
“Plus, I get to stab him again!” Ro said, unsheathing her dagger and jabbing the tip of his finger.
Keefe didn’t even flinch.
“Hopefully this is the last time you’ll have to do that,” Sophie said as they both sat on the edge of the bed again and he smeared his blood across the sensor.
“Pretty sure we’re never going to be free of her,” he mumbled.
“If you were free of me,” Lady Gisela sniped through the blank screen, “you never would’ve gotten this close to finding Sophie’s parents. And yet, I don’t hear a thank-you.”
“You’re not helping us. You’re helping yourself,” Sophie told her.
“Why can’t I do both? And let’s see . . . I’m guessing this is the part where you accuse me of hiding something to sabotage the mission, and I have to remind you that we’re on the same side—and that I need you to recover my Archetype. It’s a thick black volume—in case you were wondering—secured with a latch made of bands of silver and gold. You’ll most likely find it near your parents, but if not, don’t leave the facility without it.”
“Yeah, sorry, we’re not risking our lives to get your book back,” Keefe told her.
“It’s more than a book. It’s my vision—and it’s a thousand times more elegant than Fintan and his criterion. I know you’re still refusing to see me as anything more than a villain in this conflict, but like it or not, I’m the only one trying to build a solution.”
“To what?” Sophie asked.
“Problems you’re still not ready to face. So let me give you some advice before you head into that facility. Remember who your enemy is—really remember. Because it’ll be easy to lose sight of everything once you’re in there. Think about who brought down Lumenaria, and burned Eternalia, and unleashed the gnomish plague, and stole the lives of the people you love.”
“Translation,” Keefe said, “you want us to take out Fintan instead of Vespera.”
“You also agreed to wipe out the facility,” Lady Gisela reminded Sophie.
�
�Technically, I didn’t,” Sophie argued. “You told me I’d want to once I saw it, and I didn’t correct you. But I didn’t agree, either.”
“So you would allow it to remain, even knowing what goes on there?” Lady Gisela countered.
Unease bloomed in Sophie’s gut. But she kept her voice steady as she said, “I won’t destroy it unless I know I can get everyone out of there safely—and that I won’t somehow damage the city.”
“Ah, the Black Swan’s philosophy—overthink, overplan, stall, stall, stall. Haven’t you seen how quickly that fails you? I’m only going to say this once. You will regret it if you don’t destroy that facility, Sophie. Just as you will regret it if you allow Fintan to remain breathing. So if you get your chance, do whatever it takes to wipe them out of existence, regardless of the cost.”
“Why not Vespera?” Sophie asked.
“Because I’m inclined to believe there’s more subtlety to her—and her research—than her journals imply. She’s an Empath, after all. And Empaths feel every hurt they trigger.”
“Not all of them,” Keefe muttered, and Sophie’s heart ached, knowing he had to mean his dad.
“How do you know she’s an Empath?” Sophie asked.
“I just do. It’s actually why I chose Keefe’s father from my match lists. I knew if I wanted to build my own Nightfall someday, I was going to need an Empath to help me run it. But he turned out to be . . . incompatible. Fortunately, he gave me a son who manifested with far more power than he ever had. That’s your legacy, Keefe. But we’ll talk more about that later. For now, go get me my Archetype. And try not to die.”
The Imparter went silent, and Sophie and Keefe just stared at it.
Eventually Keefe mumbled, “So . . . all of that’s getting shoved into a really dark corner of my head—and we’re not going to talk about it, okay? At least not until we get through tonight.”
Sophie nodded. “Well . . . at least we know Vespera’s ability isn’t something scary.”
“Don’t be so sure. My mom’s never trained as an Empath, so she doesn’t get it.”
He stood, moving to Sophie’s bookshelf, where she’d displayed the paintings he’d given her around her old human scrapbook. “My empathy mentor warned me when she saw how strong my ability was—that there’s a risk that comes with feeling too much and not having the right training. Our mind’s natural reaction is to shut down when things get too intense—but everything is intense for an Empath. So if you’re not careful, you can end up going . . . numb. You’ll still feel what others feel. But you won’t feel anything yourself. And it can mess you up, since emotions overlap when you don’t know all the thoughts and memories that triggered them. So, like, the rush that comes with anger? It’s not actually all that different from what I feel when someone’s super giddy—in its basest essence, at least. They both give a burst of adrenaline. They both make the heart race and cause a surge of shivers. You only notice the bigger differences when you take the time to figure out why you’re feeling it.”
“Not sure I get what that means,” Sophie admitted.
“I don’t totally either. But my mentor said if I don’t watch myself, I could get to a point where I’d feel the same thing if I hugged somebody or punched them in the face. And if Vespera let that happen to her, well . . . it would explain how she was able to do such horrible, creepy research and write about it like it was no big deal.”
Goose bumps erupted across Sophie’s arms and she rubbed them to calm the chill.
Keefe did the same, which made her realize . . .
“Is it harder to be around me?” she asked. “Since my emotions are stronger?”
His lips tugged into a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re worth it.”
“Ugh—why didn’t you tell me?” She stood, moving toward the door, trying to put as much space between them as she could.
He laughed. “Trust me, a few feet doesn’t make a difference.”
“Then you should stay away from me,” she told him.
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”
He strode over to her, and she tried to back away but crashed into the wall.
“I’m serious, Keefe.”
“Oh, I know. But you’re forgetting something, Foster.”
He was close enough to reach out and gently tuck her hair behind her ear as he leaned in to whisper, “I like a challenge.”
His breath tickled her skin, and her stomach filled with fluttery things.
“Speechless again?” he asked, grinning as he leaned in to whisper, “You know, there’s—”
A loud slam had them both scrambling back, and before they could blink, Sandor and Ro were jumping in front of them, both drawing their weapons as heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs.
“Good—you’re together.” Mr. Forkle gasped between heaving breaths as he stumbled into the room, with Grady and Edaline right behind him. “That saves me one trip.”
“What’s going on?” Sophie asked.
“Change of plans. You need to go—all of you.”
“Where?” Grady demanded as Mr. Forkle dug through the pockets of his cape.
“We’ve had Wraith keeping watch over the Unity Fountain. And this morning he found a new bottle floating near the base of the statues—with the Endal Crest for the seal. Wylie rushed to Atlantis to retrieve it, and apparently the Neverseen have named their own terms for the meeting—new time, new place. No negotiation. But it’s fine. We just have to hurry. Squall’s already at the new location, and she seems to think it’s safe. It’s public, at least. But Wylie should be joining her any minute, so the sooner you can get there the better.” He handed Edaline a pathfinder. “I already have the crystal set to the facet you need.”
“Wait—now?” Edaline asked.
“Unfortunately. Blur went to warn the Vackers while I came here, so Della should be on her way—if she’s not there already. And Tiergan will be there as soon as he gets Tam and Linh what they need. So you five have to hurry,” he told Sophie, Keefe, Grady, Sandor, and Ro. “I’ll go get Miss Redek and have her meet you there.”
He handed Grady a pale glowing bottle—light from Candesia—and a small piece of magsidian.
“That will take you to the heart of the city,” he explained. “The Unity Fountain is only two blocks over. Stay in the southern alley until everyone’s gathered.”
Sophie blinked. “We’re going to Atlantis now?”
“Not just Atlantis,” he told her. “You’re going into Nightfall.”
Seventy-Five
I WISH I could’ve changed,” Sophie mumbled, fussing with the sleeves of her long white tunic.
She’d been planning to wear the green Neverseen-style vest she’d used for the mission to Ravagog a few months earlier—but there hadn’t been time to change. So now she was stuck in ruffles and frills, trying to be grateful that her low boots at least had soft soles, and didn’t make a clack, clack, clack as she paced the narrow alley.
“Tell me about it,” Fitz said, fanning the front of his red bramble jersey. “I was halfway through my morning run when Blur showed up—so now I’m all sweaty.”
“And smelling awesome,” Keefe added with a choked cough.
Fitz, Biana, and Grizel had already been waiting for them when Sophie’s group had arrived in the city. Marella showed up a couple of minutes later, followed by Dex and his father.
“I’m a slight amendment to the plan,” Kesler explained, “to clear the crowd out of the courtyard, since we’re having to do this during a busy time.”
He patted the worn satchel slung around his shoulder, and Sophie could hear the clink of glass vials knocking into each other.
“Stink bombs?” Keefe guessed.
“Some of my finest,” Kesler agreed.
“Ohhhh, can I set one off?” Ro asked.
Kesler laughed. “Pretty sure that would cause an interspeciesial incident.”
“Which is why it’d be so much fun!” Ro countered.
Sophie t
ried to smile, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the courtyard, where tiny shops and cafés surrounded the fountain in the center. The golden figures gleamed among the streams of colorful water that blasted around them in neat arcs before splashing into the swimming pool–size basin. She was too far back to see where Vespera’s signature lay hidden on the top of the human statue’s scepter—but she could feel it there. Waiting for her. Promising answers.
“So when do we unleash the stink?” Keefe asked.
“As soon as I get the signal,” Kesler told him. “I guess Alden’s setting up something in another part of the city, to try to draw everyone’s attention over there.”
“And we have this to keep us hidden in the meantime,” Dex said, pulling an obscurer from his pocket. “I made some tweaks to it last night, so it should even cover some of what Linh does to the fountain—at least for a while.”
“Where is Linh?” Fitz asked.
“And Tam?” Biana added.
“Sorry,” the twins said a couple of minutes later, plodding into the alley carrying thick stacks of black fabric.
“Tiergan made us wait for these,” Tam explained, pointing to the white eye symbol on the sleeves.
Sophie’s stomach filled with all kinds of squirmy things.
The wriggling grew stronger when Linh passed out their disguises and Sophie found herself surrounded by the black-cloaked figures of her nightmares—and dressed as one too.
“Right there with you, Foster,” Keefe mumbled. “I’d kinda been hoping I’d never have to wear one of these again. Even a fake one.”
“Does anyone else think it’s a bad sign that the Neverseen are rushing us?” Marella asked, her petite frame hidden completely by the dark fabric. “Or are we all going to pretend we’re not freaking out?”
“I’m not freaking out,” Grady promised, pulling his hood over his head. “Let them think they’re calling the shots. Nothing’s going to stop us from getting Sophie’s parents back today.”
“Agreed,” Fitz said, resting a hand on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Okay, but what’s our actual plan?” Tam asked. “Do we know where we’re going once Linh and Dex get the door open?”
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