The dwarf pinning her to the scratchy, sandy floor was hypervigilant—never lightening the pressure on her back and shoulders, even when it made Sophie cough. And the ropes binding her hands and feet were so tight, even the slightest twitch made them slice into her skin.
Part of her wanted to thrash anyway.
She could handle the pain.
But… she was the only one from their group—besides Keefe—who was still conscious. And while she was sure that wasn’t an accident, she didn’t want to give Keefe’s mom any reason to change her mind.
So she held still.
Swallowing her questions.
Thinking, thinking, thinking.
Trying to come up with a way out of this.
“The king left,” Lady Gisela told Keefe. “Said something about not wanting to witness the further desecration of a royal relic and dived into the floor—and I suppose I can’t blame him. It is a lovely throne. But I need the magsidian. And the ethertine in your crown. I had that made specially for you, by the way. Just for this. And it wasn’t easy. It was even harder convincing King Enki to wear it as his own to keep anyone from getting too suspicious. But it was worth it—everything came together, despite the few hiccups we had along the way.”
“Am I supposed to say thank you?” Keefe wondered.
“Yes, Keefe, you should. And someday, you will. For now, you’re welcome to keep hating me.”
“Didn’t realize I needed your permission for that, but okay. Great!”
Yet another sigh. “I resigned myself to the role of the ‘bad guy’ long ago, Keefe. It’s unfair. And inaccurate. But if that’s how you need to see me to process what’s about to happen—so be it.”
“Uh, it’s not about what I need. Like… are you seeing this situation? You attacked all my friends. Left them all unconscious over there—”
“Not all of them,” Lady Gisela corrected. “Sophie’s still awake—for now. In case we need her.”
Sophie’s heart stalled at the sound of her name.
And there was no need to stay silent anymore, so she asked, “Need me for what?”
“To ensure my son cooperates.”
There was a dark edge to the words that made it clear she wouldn’t be looking to Sophie for pep talks.
“Now that we understand each other,” Lady Gisela said firmly, “we should get started. The deal I made with King Enki only buys me so much of his patience.”
“What’d you have to give him?” Keefe asked.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Aw, come on—I’m curious! Like, what’s the going price for ultimate betrayal these days? And was the ‘ruining your son’s life’ part of the fee—or was that just a fun bonus?”
He nailed the joke almost perfectly—but Sophie still caught the hurt laced through it.
And she wondered how his mother could reject it so easily.
But Lady Gisela stalked closer—finally stepping into Sophie’s line of sight—and Sophie’s hands clenched into fists at the way she loomed over her son. “For the last time, I’m not destroying anything. I’m allowing you to become something vital. And I need you to accept that, because the harder you fight what’s about to happen, the more you’ll suffer.”
“That’s riiiiiiiiiight,” Keefe said, and the smugness in his tone made Sophie wonder if he’d be propping up his feet and slouching across the throne if he were capable of moving in that moment. “I’m supposed to—how did you put it? ‘Embrace the change’? Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah. Hate to break it to you, but… I’m not feeling very embrace-y. Thanks for playing, though!”
Lady Gisela shook her head, grabbing his chin and pinching it as she angled his face toward her. “This isn’t a joke, Keefe. And it’s time for you to stop thinking that you have any control over what’s about to happen. You don’t. There’s no getting out of this. You can’t stop it. And neither can you.”
She glanced over her shoulder at someone Sophie couldn’t see—but Sophie recognized the deep, weary voice all too well as Tam told Lady Gisela, “I’ve resisted the bonds before.”
“Not for this firm of a command—but let’s also not forget that I have your sister right there.” She pointed roughly in Sophie’s direction. “She’s unconscious right now. But I can wake her up if you need motivation. Or maybe it would be better to make sure she never wakes up again—and you can drop those hands right now,” she added, shaking her head. Her eyes shifted to Sophie as she called out, “Are all boys this stubborn and angsty?”
“Pretty sure they are when you’re holding them prisoner and threatening to torture their friends and family,” Sophie snapped back.
Lady Gisela shook her head again. “Don’t you get it? That’s a gift. Freedom isn’t always as wonderful as we want to believe. Choice comes with responsibility. With consequences. With guilt. I’m sparing all of you from that—yes, even you, Sophie. Why do you think I went to such ridiculous lengths to leave you completely powerless? Do you realize how challenging that is? You have five abilities! Honestly, if you didn’t insist on working with friends, I’d probably never be able to thwart you. But all those moving pieces and variables give me room to play. It still takes time—this moment right now has been months in the making. And you’re lying there hating me. Surely still trying to figure out some way to resist me—which doesn’t exist, by the way—completely missing the fact that thanks to my hard work, you’ll be able to go home tonight, comfortable in the knowledge that you truly tried your hardest and that it was simply an impossible situation. You’re welcome.”
Keefe barked a bitter laugh. “That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Mommy Dearest wants us to thank her for being so evil!”
Lady Gisela rolled her eyes. “Never mind. Time to focus.”
She waved Tam closer, and when he stepped into Sophie’s line of sight, it was impossible not to stare at his glowing bonds.
Sophie knew how it felt to be powerless—but she couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be for someone else to have control.
And not just anyone.
Lady Gisela.
Sophie’s insides squirmed just thinking about it. And she wondered how much it had cost Tam to give her that warning about Keefe.
How desperate he’d been to avoid the exact situation they were now in.
I’m sorry, Tam, she transmitted. This isn’t your fault. I hope you know that. No one’s going to blame you.
He angled his face away, but Sophie could still see how hard he was blinking.
And she wanted to say more, but Lady Gisela clapped her hands, demanding attention.
“What’s about to happen couldn’t be simpler. On my command, Tam, you’ll launch a bolt of shadowflux at the stone in the wall that I showed you earlier. You shouldn’t have to do anything else, but since this is all untested—and I’m assuming you’d prefer my son to survive this—”
“Eh, I don’t know if that’s a safe assumption,” Keefe interrupted. “Bangs Boy and I aren’t exactly besties. Also, it’s super awesome hearing how ‘untested’ this is.”
Sophie had gotten stuck on that same word.
“Still trying to convince yourself this isn’t an experiment?” she spat.
“Assuming you’d prefer my son to survive this,” Lady Gisela repeated to Tam, ignoring Sophie and Keefe, “you’ll monitor the reaction and step in as needed. The command I’ll be giving you is to rely on your instincts—”
“And then you’ll let me go?” Tam cut in. “That’s what you told me. I train with you. I hear you out about all your reasons. I do the thing. And then I’m done and my sister is safe and my friends are safe and these are gone”—he patted the bonds on his wrists—“and it’s up to me if I want to come back.”
He stole a glance at Sophie after he said it, as if he were worried she might hate him for bargaining about this.
What other choice do you have? she transmitted to reassure him.
And she held her breath, whooshing it out
as a sigh of relief when Lady Gisela told him, “Yes, Tam. That’s the deal.”
“And did you just say ‘do the thing’?” Keefe jumped in.
“What else am I supposed to call this?” Tam countered.
Keefe considered that for a second. “Fair enough.”
“Yes, well, while Tam is ‘doing the thing,’ ” Lady Gisela said with an eye roll, “Glimmer will send a bolt of light at the crown to activate the ethertine to balance the reaction.”
“That’s what the crown’s for?” Sophie asked.
She hadn’t meant to blurt out the question—and Lady Gisela must’ve guessed why she was asking because she told her, “Ethertine only affects Shades the way you’re thinking.”
And Sophie’s heart lightened ever so slightly.
Everything was still terrible.
This was still happening.
But at least she wouldn’t have to wonder if that crown would somehow affect Keefe’s mind.
“Back to what I was saying,” Lady Gisela added. “After Glimmer adds light to the reaction, it’s a waiting game—don’t ask how long, because I don’t know. And Keefe: You already know your job. You have to embrace the change. Don’t fight it. Don’t fear it. Even when there’s pain. Think of it as being forged by fire.”
“Who’s jealous of my life right now?” Keefe wondered.
The panic hidden behind the joke nearly broke Sophie’s heart—but it also made her realize…
Even if she couldn’t save Keefe from this—
Maybe she could get them through.
So as Lady Gisela showed Tam where to stand, Sophie stretched out her consciousness, making sure she had Keefe’s permission to slip into his mind.
I’ll be with you the whole time, she promised. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.
Pretty sure you can’t control that but—
Uh, yes I can. I mean… I can’t stop any pain—I wish I could—but… I’ve been in broken minds and lost minds and ogre minds and gnomish minds and so many other types of minds—and I’ve done healings and probes and all kinds of fancy Telepath things that will sound super boring, so I’ll stop there. And the one thing I’ve seen over and over is that we all have… an inner sense of self. I’m probably not explaining this very well, but just… when I’ve had to heal people, THAT’S how I’ve done it. I just find that true piece of themselves and bring it back, and that makes them THEM again. So when this goes down, I’ll be right here with you. And I’m not going to let you lose YOU. Trust the Telepath. My other abilities may let me down sometimes, but this one always comes through.
They locked eyes across the room, and Sophie’s heart ached when he let his walls come down, showing her all the fear and fury and doubt and worry and hate he was feeling in that moment because of what was about to happen.
Trust the Telepath, she repeated.
I do. And she could feel how strongly he meant those words. I’m… really glad I met you, Sophie.
Me too, she told him, hoping he could feel how much she meant it too.
“Are we ready?” Lady Gisela asked, clapping her hands again and snapping Sophie back to the cold, shadowy reality of that dim, miserable room.
But she could also still feel the warm hum of the mental connection between Keefe and her. Like their minds were holding hands—which might’ve been the goofiest, sappiest thought she’d ever had. But it helped her feel a little less devastated, seeing Keefe alone on that cruel throne that had been rigged to trap him there like flypaper, crowned with a responsibility he should never have to carry.
She was pinned and tied up and too far away to reach him.
But they could both still hold on.
Hold on, she told Keefe, in case he needed the reminder too. I’m here, she added as Tam stepped into position. We’ll get through this. Like I said: Trust the Telepath.
I do, Keefe promised again.
And because he was Keefe, his lips pulled into a smirk as he focused on the wary Shade standing across from him, and he said, “So here we are, Tammy Boy. It’s just you and me in this epic showdown we always knew was coming. Bangs Boy versus the Keefster.”
Tam didn’t smile.
And his voice was raw—almost ragged—as he told Keefe, “I tried to warn you.”
“I know,” Keefe told him. “And I tried to listen.”
“I know,” Tam said quietly. “And… here we are.”
“I’m pretty sure it was inevitable,” Keefe agreed. “So I want you to know three things, okay? The truest things you’ll ever hear.” He waited for Tam to nod before he told him, “Number one: I still don’t like you.” Tam’s lips twitched at that, but he stayed silent as Keefe added, “Number two: I will always make fun of your bangs.” That earned Keefe an actual smile. “And number three: I don’t blame you, okay? I get it. You have to do this. And I have to face my legacy. So let’s stop being angsty and get it over with.”
Tam looked away, his eyes finding Sophie’s, and his expression was both an apology and a confession. But he didn’t need to give either.
“Just… do the thing, Tam,” she told him.
Sometimes the only way out was through—and she would get them through this.
She had to.
Had to. Had to. Had to.
Tam nodded and raised his arms—then turned back to Lady Gisela and reminded her, “We have a deal.”
“We do,” she agreed. “But you still have to hold up your end.”
He nodded again.
Then he took a very long breath, tugged on his bangs—hard—and told Keefe, “I’m so, so sorry,” as threads of shadowflux poured out of his hands.
Tam twisted them into an arrow, checking his aim twice before launching it at the magsidian stone high on the wall, triggering a flash of eerie black lightning.
The ricochets happened even faster than they had with Wylie’s ball of light—the dark energy turning the air shimmery as it blurred from stone to stone, showering Keefe with black sparks that fortunately didn’t seem to hurt him.
Neither did the final swirling beam that blasted into the throne, shaking the room—the world—as it sank in.
For one second nothing happened, and Sophie knew Keefe was about to ask if that was it.
And then the throne…
“Melted” wasn’t really the right word—but Sophie couldn’t think of anything better. She’d never seen anything like the sludgy black syrup that somehow dripped up instead of down.
Keefe unleashed some creative words as it slicked around him, coating his legs.
His torso.
His chest.
His body should’ve collapsed to the floor by then, but the liquid darkness kept him suspended—spinning him around in slow rotations as it coated every inch of him.
Pooling thicker and thicker, like a goopy cocoon.
“Embrace the change,” Lady Gisela said as the inky oil oozed toward his face.
I’m here, Sophie transmitted. And she could tell Keefe wanted to scream, but he didn’t want the shiny sludge to pour into his mouth. So he clamped his lips tight and squeezed his eyes shut as his handsome features disappeared into the goo.
“Now, Glimmer!” Lady Gisela ordered, and the other black-cloaked figure stepped forward, blasting Keefe’s crown with a swirling beam of rainbow light.
The metal melted into a blinding silvery syrup that trailed down Keefe’s face in thin streams, coating the darkness in thin threads.
This looks as weird as I’m assuming it does, right? Keefe thought—and Sophie wanted to laugh and cry at the proof that he was still him.
It definitely does, she admitted. I’ll show you my memories later. It doesn’t hurt?
Not yet. It’s just really cold and strangely sticky, and I’m going to shower for a year after this, but—
The thought cut off as the darkness sank in, disappearing under his skin, making his limbs thrash and flail, and in his head Sophie could see the agony take over.
His consc
iousness tried to flee from the pain—and she understood why.
But she stayed with him.
Hide if you need to, she told him. But I’m here.
I’m here. I’m here. I’m here.
And she was.
Every time he retreated, her thoughts followed, sending him warmth and strength and reminders that this would soon be over.
Soon. Soon. Soon.
I’m here. I’m here. I’m here.
And she was there the moment the darkness reached the deepest part of his consciousness. The raw, ragged space he’d tried to wall off.
Embrace the change, Keefe, she told him. I won’t let you lose yourself.
And she didn’t.
She clung to the threads of him as the shadows poured in—filling every crack and cranny.
Making everything smooth.
New.
And a blinding flash of light sealed it shut.
Don’t go, Sophie pleaded as Keefe’s consciousness faded—terrified she might be losing him after all of that.
Tired, he told her.
And she was sure he was.
But she didn’t want to let go.
Tired, he repeated. Tired. Tired. Tired.
And his head turned fuzzy and warm.
Okay, she told him. Sleep now. I’ll still be here.
Sleep, he repeated.
And his mind went silent.
FIFTY-ONE
HOW IS HE?” LADY GISELA asked as Sophie blinked back to the shadowy present and found Keefe’s mom leaning over her—definitely not who she wanted to see. “Don’t try to deny it, Sophie—I knew you’d use your telepathy to stay connected to him during the transformation. Why do you think I left you conscious?”
“I thought that was so you could torture me if he wouldn’t cooperate,” Sophie snapped back.
“Well… I didn’t say it was the only reason, did I?” Lady Gisela countered, with the kind of smile that made Sophie’s skin feel crawly. “My point was: You’re predictable. I knew you’d monitor Keefe’s thoughts today. Just like I knew you’d stage a standoff in this room—exactly where I needed it. All I have to do is not suggest something to you, and I can count on you to plan it for me, since you and I think so much alike. So, I’ll ask you again: How is my son?”
Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 8) Page 62