Everblaze

by Shannon Messenger

Sophie turned to the wider part of the ledge, which was solid white, except for a few dark rocks.

  No red anywhere.

  “We all watched her jump, right?” Keefe asked.

  He craned his neck, probably checking to see if there was another ledge above them that could’ve caught her. Sophie did the same, and it was hard to tell with the limited visibility.

  “But Sandor’s here,” Fitz said quietly. “So she’d have to be, wouldn’t she?”

  “Where’s the ogre, though?” Sophie asked.

  She went back to Sandor, using the last of her strength to roll him to his side.

  All she found underneath him was more red snow.

  “An ogre knocked Sandor off the ledge and they went over together,” she explained. “So where’s the ogre?”

  “My guess is he force-shifted,” Mr. Forkle said, limping toward them from a snowdrift Sophie was sure had been empty a second earlier.

  “How did you . . . ?” she started to ask, but Mr. Forkle waved the question away.

  “Your mother jumped off the edge, right?” he asked Keefe. “You didn’t push her?”

  Keefe nodded blankly.

  “Then I’m sure she tried to force-shift. It’s a method of ogre transportation I’d thought was simply a rumor—something about a special device they use that helps them shift the force of gravity to launch themselves to safety.”

  Keefe sounded both hopeful and horrified as he asked, “So . . . she’s alive?”

  “It would appear so. Though I’m only assuming she knew about force-shifting.”

  “She did,” Sophie told him.

  Mr. Forkle nodded. “I think it’s best if you all go. Get somewhere safe. I’ll clean up here.”

  “How many did we lose?” Sophie forced herself to ask.

  “Three dwarves, so far. But there might be a fourth.” He wiped his face, and Sophie wondered if he was drying tears or clearing the frost off his cheeks.

  “But . . . that’s better than I’d feared, honestly,” he said after a second. “And it wasn’t all for naught this time.”

  He stomped his foot and two limping dwarves slowly emerged from the snow, dragging a black-cloaked figure.

  “You caught one?” Sophie asked.

  “Actually, I believe you three caught this one. We found him paralyzed from a melder blast up above. I only woke him up a few minutes ago, and, well, he’s less than pleased to be our guest. But we have lots of getting to know each other to do, don’t we?”

  The figure responded only with a curse, and Sophie watched him thrash against his silver bonds.

  “Can I see his face?” she asked.

  “Quickly,” Mr. Forkle agreed.

  She held her breath as she stepped closer, giving herself three seconds to steady her nerves before she swept the hood back.

  Her mouth fell open.

  “This was the jogger who came to my house and tried to grab me!”

  “Yes, I remember,” Mr. Forkle murmured. “It took all of my mental energy to hold him back from snatching you off the street that day. And if I hadn’t known Fitz would be coming for you momentarily, I would’ve had to take you into hiding.”

  “Whoa,” Fitz whispered. “I forgot about that.”

  “I didn’t.” Sophie stalked closer, remembering the way he’d slung Dex over his shoulder on the bridge in Paris, ready to dispose of him like trash. “What are you going to do to him?”

  “Whatever we must to find out what he knows.”

  “It won’t work,” the rebel snarled. “I’ve trained for this.”

  “So have we.”

  “Your name’s Gethen, isn’t it?” Sophie asked, smiling when he flinched. “I heard Lady Gisela call him that. But wait—Fitz paralyzed two people, not just one. Where’s the other one?”

  “We followed his tracks to the edge of the cliff, so I’m assuming he woke up and force-shifted like Lady Gisela did.”

  “And you’re sure she’s alive?” Keefe interrupted.

  “Worried about your mommy?” Gethen asked, laughing when Keefe spun toward him. “Don’t worry, we take good care of her. Way better than you or your dad ever has.”

  Fitz grabbed Keefe before he could lunge for Gethen’s throat. “He’s not worth it.”

  “No—you’re not worth it.” Gethen snarled. “I’ll be free by the end of the night. We have an army of ogres on our side. Do you really think—”

  The sound of crunching bone cut him off and his head snapped back so hard it left him bleeding and unconscious.

  “Sorry,” Sophie mumbled, staring at her fist in wonder. She stretched her sore fingers, testing to make sure none were broken.

  “Everyone else saw that, right?” Keefe asked, turning to Sophie. “I’m kinda freaking out here, so . . . I didn’t imagine that, did I? Foster just beat the snot out of him with one punch?”

  Fitz and Biana nodded.

  Sophie pointed to the cuff on her wrist. “I had a little help from Dex.”

  “In more ways than one, I suspect,” Mr. Forkle said, pointing to where her circlet used to be.

  “About that—”

  “Later,” Mr. Forkle told her. “Right now you need to get Sandor to Everglen, and I need to get Gethen somewhere he’ll feel . . . a bit more like talking.”

  “Wait!” Sophie called as the dwarves started to tunnel away. “When will I see you again?”

  Mr. Forkle moved closer, taking her by the shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes. “That will depend on you.”

  “Me?” she repeated.

  “Yes. You have a choice to make. But first, you must take care of your friends.”

  SEVENTY

  ELWIN WAS WAITING FOR THEM at Everglen when they arrived. Dex had called him to help with Grady—who’d thankfully only needed a few elixirs to clear his head before he was back to normal.

  Well . . . normal health-wise, at least.

  Mentally would be a much longer recovery, but Sophie supposed that was to be expected after the betrayal he’d endured.

  She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him—or Edaline—since she’d arrived.

  There’d been too much chaos getting Sandor’s massive body inside and helping Elwin adjust his treatments for goblin physiology. Elwin expected Sandor to make a full recovery—but he’d be off his feet for a month. He’d broken most of his bones in the fall, and would need to stay sedated for the rest of the week. But all things considered, he was incredibly lucky.

  Sophie had wanted to stay by his side until he woke up, but Elwin insisted on treating her for frostbite and altitude sickness and smoke inhalation and a dozen other maladies her adventures had given her. And he didn’t ask about her missing circlet as he rubbed a healing balm on the abrasions on her forehead, but he gave her a huge hug when he was finished.

  Sophie hugged him back, feeling her eyes burn with tears. She was starting to realize what choice Mr. Forkle had meant before she’d left Mount Everest. And she had no idea if she was brave enough to make it.

  Alden had insisted everyone stay within Everglen’s protective gates—even Dex, who looked extra nervous in the grand, glittering halls, regardless of how many ways Della tried to make him comfortable.

  Sophie was given the same bedroom she’d slept in twice before, once on her first night in the elvin world, and the other after she’d first been rescued from the kidnappers. But she knew this night would be her scariest night yet.

  She sat awake long after Grady and Edaline brought her Ella to help her sleep, trying not to remember the heartbreak she’d seen etched into their faces. It wasn’t her fault they looked so lost and devastated—but it would be soon, if she did what the Black Swan had asked.

  But did she really have another option?

  “Can’t sleep either?” Keefe asked, peeking through the crack in her doorway. He fidgeted with the sleeves of the blue pajamas he’d borrowed from Fitz as he sat on the edge of her bed. “Please don’t ask how I’m doing. That’s all anyone’s said
to me since I got here, and they keep tilting their heads and puckering their brows and it makes me want to punch them—and I really don’t want to punch you. Especially since I’m pretty sure you could knock me across the room.”

  Sophie smiled at the cuff still on her wrist. She knew she should give it back to Dex, but she had a feeling she was going to need it.

  A lot.

  “So when do you leave?” Keefe asked, like he knew what she’d been thinking.

  “Ugh—I swear, for an Empath, you act more like a Telepath.”

  “That’s because I’d be an awesome Telepath. And I can guarantee, if I snuck into your head and saw secret things, I would tell you what they are. Most of them, at least. Okay, maybe just the part about you being completely lost without me and needing me to come with you when you leave.”

  Sophie reached for an itchy eyelash, but stopped herself on the way. If she was going to do this, she needed to learn to be brave.

  “I don’t even know if I’m going,” she mumbled.

  “Yes, you do. I mean, you’re also scared and stressed and stuff. But I can feel your resolve. Shoot—I could feel it down the hall. Which is why I had to come in and bug you. Because I want in—and before you say anything, you should know I’m not really giving you a choice in this. I’ll follow you if I have to, but I’d rather not have to be creepy like that.”

  “Keefe—”

  He took her hand, waiting for her to meet his eyes. “Don’t make me beg, Sophie.”

  “Keefe, if I do this, I don’t know when I’ll be able to come home.”

  “Sounds perfect. Is now too soon to leave?”

  “If you don’t want to stay with your father, I’m sure you could stay here.”

  “Probably. But then I’d still have to see him.” He picked at a thread on the end of his sleeve, unraveling the perfect seam. “Who knew he’d turn out to be the ‘good’ parent? Didn’t see that one coming.”

  “Keefe—”

  “Whatever you’re going to say, I’m sure I’ve already thought it. I’ve been replaying the last few years of my life—and you know what I keep focusing on? That wound you spotted on my mom’s arm. The one you were worried my dad gave her? Turns out I gave it to her. I hit her with a goblin throwing star during that battle on the cliff, right after she clocked me in the head with a rock and knocked the melder out of my hand. And the thing is . . . I wasn’t wearing a disguise like she was. She knew it was me. And she still attacked me.”

  “But she did stop Biana from falling off the edge of that cliff,” Sophie reminded him. “She didn’t have to do that.”

  “She also pressed a melder to Biana’s brain and threatened to pull the trigger. She didn’t have to do that, either.”

  “I guess that’s true,” Sophie admitted.

  Honestly, Lady Gisela scared her way more than Brant did.

  At least Brant had a reason for being broken and crazy.

  Nothing would ever excuse the horrible things he’d done, but Sophie could understand why he’d joined the rebels in the first place. She knew better than anyone what it felt like to have her abilities stripped away, and the hard choices that had to be made.

  “So when do you want to leave?” Keefe asked, sensing her mood shift.

  Sophie threw up her hands. “I don’t even know where I’m going!”

  “I do,” Fitz said, leaning in through her doorway. “One of the things Mr. Forkle showed me was the rest of that memory I found earlier—that window in Italy?”

  He plopped next to Keefe on the bed, wearing the exact same pajamas, only his fit better.

  Under normal circumstances, Sophie might’ve teased them about being twins. But given everything that had happened, all she asked was, “Did you find out where it is?”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s in a city called Florence. Or was it Firenze?”

  “They’re the same place,” Sophie explained. “Firenze is Florence in Italian. But that’s a huge city. Did it tell you any more information than that?”

  Fitz nodded smugly. “But I’m not telling you until you say I can go with you.”

  “And me!” Biana added, appearing in the corner of the room—making Sophie wonder how long she’d been there.

  Sophie got up to pace, realizing only after she did that she was wearing a long pink nightgown Biana had loaned her, covered in sparkly unicorns. It might not have been so bad if Biana weren’t wearing a simple black tunic and stretch pants with red fluffy slippers.

  “Guys, this isn’t some, like, fun adventure I’m going on,” she told them, crossing her arms and trying to look serious. “It’s not even like the other stuff you’ve helped me with. We’re talking about running away to find the Black Swan!”

  “We are?” Dex asked from the doorway. “Guess it’s a good thing I came upstairs, then, because I definitely want in on that.

  Dex was also wearing a pair of Fitz’s blue pajamas, though he’d had to cuff the pants and the sleeves several times to make them fit. The extra fabric swished as he made his way to where Fitz and Keefe were sitting and dropped down beside them.

  “So where were we?” he asked.

  “I’m pretty sure this is the part where Sophie goes on and on and on about all the reasons why she’s not going to let us go and we have to wear her down bit by bit,” Fitz told him.

  “You’re not wearing me down!” Sophie insisted.

  “She’s cute when she’s in denial, isn’t she?” Keefe asked. “Especially covered in sparkly unicorns.”

  Sophie rubbed her head, wondering if it would be easier to hide in the bathroom until she was ready to leave. “You guys have to understand—if I do this, I’ll be a fugitive. Not only will I be going to live with the group the Council has basically made their Public Enemy Number One—”

  “The group we all illegally went to help this morning?” Fitz asked, grinning at her when she was forced to nod. “Just making sure. Carry on.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “Not only will I be going to live with the group the Council has basically made their Public Enemy Number One, but I’ll be doing it without the circlet they ordered me to wear—”

  “You mean the circlet I illegally helped you remove and then threw into the Everblaze to destroy?” Dex asked.

  “I see what you guys are trying to do,” Sophie told them. “And yeah, you’re probably going to be in trouble. But that’s not the same as leaving everything you know behind. If I do this, I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back. Is that really what you want?”

  “Yes,” Keefe answered immediately.

  “Yeah, I know,” Sophie told him, turning to Fitz, Biana, and Dex. “But what about you guys? Do you really want to leave your families, not knowing when you’ll see them again? Do you have any idea what that’ll do to them?”

  “You have a family too,” Biana reminded her.

  “I know.” And the stabbing guilt she’d been trying to ignore jabbed her heart like a hot poker. “But I don’t have a choice here.”

  “Neither do we,” Fitz told her. “Like it or not, we’re all involved, Sophie. So you can let us come with you and we can solve this mess a lot faster together. Or you can be stubborn and try to sneak away and we’ll just follow you. In fact, we’ll beat you there, because—let’s not forget—I already know where you need to go, and you don’t.”

  “Can I say something?” Alden said from the doorway, making them all jump.

  They jumped again when they realized he wasn’t alone. Della, Grady, and Edaline all followed him into the room as Sophie sat beside her friends, bracing for the lecture of the century.

  Instead Alden told them, “I think the five of you should go.”

  “What?” they all asked in unison.

  “To the Black Swan,” Alden clarified. “I think you should go.”

  Fitz was the first to recover, clearing his throat and asking, “You do?”

  “Yes. Mind you, it’s not what I want. What I want is to lock all of you in your
various bedrooms to keep you safe. But when I embarked on my search to find Sophie—which was technically an illegal operation, by the way—I knew I was wading into dangerous waters. And yet I still did it, and even involved my son”—he smiled sadly at Fitz—“because of one simple fact: I knew it was right.”

  He paused to look at each of them in turn before he continued.

  “The Council was wrong when they sentenced you to wear that circlet, Sophie. Just like they were wrong to target the Black Swan. And to ignore the warning signs from the ogres. And I fear they’re going to get far worse when news of these recent adventures finds them. Which means—much as it pains me to admit—locking you in your bedrooms isn’t going to keep any of you safe right now. The best place you can be is with the group the Council has been failing to find for decades. And you have a much better chance of making it there safely if you go together. So I think you should leave. Tonight. In fact, the gnomes are already gathering a few things you might need for your journey. You should be ready to depart within the hour.”

  “Seriously?” Biana asked, clapping her hands and clearly seeming way too giddy for the occasion.

  Sophie turned to Grady and Edaline, who were both wiping tears from their cheeks. “You guys are really okay with this?”

  “Yes and no,” Grady said, holding out his arms for a hug.

  Sophie crossed the room and sank into them, tearing up when she felt Edaline’s fingers stroking her hair, lingering on the crown of her head where the circlet had been.

  “Havenfield won’t be the same without you,” Grady said softly, “and it will always be ready for you to come home. But I have to agree with Alden. The safest place for you right now is with a group who knows how to hide. Dex’s parents agree as well. I met with them while Sandor was getting treated.”

  Sophie glanced at Dex, and he nodded.

  “But . . . will you guys be okay?” Sophie whispered, turning back to Grady and Edaline. “After . . . you know . . . you won’t need me?”

  “We’ll always need you,” Edaline said quietly. “But that’s the point. What we need more than anything is for you to be safe. And I knew you wouldn’t believe me. That’s why I’ve already packed your things.”