TRIX.
The name echoed off the walls, turning the room colder and darker.
Maybe Tam had done something with the shadows. Or maybe the chills running down Sophie’s spine were because Trix was the Neverseen’s mysterious Guster.
“You want us to meet with Trix?” Tam clarified.
“Actually, I’d prefer to meet with him myself,” Rayni corrected, “since that would go way faster and much smoother, but—”
“No!” everyone said in unison.
“Yeah, I already knew you were going to say that. That’s why what I’m actually offering is to set up a meeting with Trix, me, and some of you. Not all of you. You, you, you, and you”—she pointed to Linh, Maruca, Stina, and Marella with the tail of her cat statue—“would turn it into a shouting match. And I’m betting you’re still holding a grudge about Trix’s role in your abductions”—she pointed to Dex and Wylie—“so that would make it super tense. Not sure how I feel about you two.” She pointed to Fitz and Biana. “In my experience, Vackers tend to have a hard time understanding that some people don’t have powerful families and all the privilege that comes with that. Trix also wasn’t a huge fan of your brother. So the best option would be just Trix, Tam, and me—”
“No!” Linh cut in.
Rayni threw her hands up. “Let me guess: You’re about to suggest that I’m plotting to kidnap Tam again—which makes no sense, since I’m the one who set him free in the first place. But whatever. Let me try to set your mind at ease, okay? If that was my goal, I would’ve done it right away and saved myself from being stuck in this boring, stuffy room with a grumpy ogre barricading the door for so many days. Plus, I’m pretty sure your brother could take me down in about three seconds.”
“Two,” Tam corrected—without the slightest hint of a smile.
Rayni raised one eyebrow. “Anyway, now that we’ve settled that, can I get back to the plan? I’d been about to add Sophie to my list of invitees before I was so rudely interrupted.”
“Not happening,” Sandor informed her.
“Pretty sure that’s her decision.” She pointed to Sophie with her cat statue. “And I know it might be a little awkward, since you also have a history with Trix—”
“You mean how he helped drug me and drag me out of a cave and then used his ability to stir up a huge wave and convince everyone I drowned?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah,” Rayni mumbled, “like I said… awkward. Though, for what it’s worth, he told me later that he felt really weird about all that.”
Dex snorted. “Oh, he felt weird. That makes it totally okay, then.”
“Fine, maybe ‘weird’ wasn’t the best word. I think he actually said ‘conflicted.’ Is that better?”
“Sure, that changes everything! Who cares that he almost got us killed? He felt conflicted about it afterward!” If Dex rolled his periwinkle eyes any harder, his eyeballs might’ve dropped into the back of his head. “It’s also awesome knowing you two were sitting around chatting about our kidnapping, isn’t it, Sophie? Do you think they also placed bets on which of us would get murdered first?”
Rayni set aside her cat statue and folded her hands in her lap. “Okay. I guess I deserve that. But just so we’re clear, I had no idea you two had been taken until after you’d already been rescued.”
“Do you honestly expect us to believe that?” Fitz asked. “They were held captive for days.”
“At a facility I didn’t even know existed! That’s how the Neverseen work. Everything is compartmentalized. Everyone only knows tiny pieces—and only about things they’re directly involved with—and I was new to the order back then, so no one told me anything. If you don’t believe me, think about this: I didn’t even find out that Gisela had been sent to an ogre prison until she’d been locked up for weeks.”
“And yet you still stuck around, even though she wasn’t there anymore?” Sophie asked.
“I thought about leaving. But… I had nowhere else to go—and I still believed the Neverseen were going to bring about some important changes. They also weren’t asking very much from me. Brant moved me to one of their more isolated hideouts and gave me a stack of books on flashing and a bunch on healing techniques. I think he was hoping I’d become their version of Elwin—but that would take decades of study and practice. And Fintan would stop by sometimes and ask me questions about his weird Criterion thing, but he never told me what it was, or gave me an actual assignment. That’s why I didn’t know the Neverseen had anything to do with the gnomish plague. It’s also why I didn’t cross paths with Keefe while he was pretending to be a member. And I only heard about your abduction after you escaped,” she told Wylie. “I also didn’t know Gisela was going to try to destroy Atlantis. She wasn’t back with the Neverseen until after she did that—and then she was working with Vespera, and Vespera’s even stricter about how much everyone is allowed to know.”
“Pretty convenient how you somehow missed all the worst things they’ve done,” Marella noted.
“Not really. Gisela had made it clear to everyone that she brought me into the order to help with her son’s legacy. So when she wasn’t around, people didn’t really know what to do with me. They didn’t trust me enough to tell me anything or give me any assignments. And once Gisela was back, the only information she ever gave me was about her plans for Keefe.”
“What else did she tell you?” Sophie asked.
“If you’re hoping I know what she’s going to do next—I don’t,” Rayni told her.
“But she is planning more for Keefe?” Sophie pressed.
“I’m assuming so. He’s not working with her yet, is he?”
“He’ll never work with her,” Sophie promised.
“Yeah, I got that sense in Loamnore. But Gisela’s not going to give up. She needs him to ‘prove’ something.”
“Prove what?” Dex asked.
“No idea. She said it has something to do with our potential as a species—but she never told me any specifics.”
“Of course she didn’t,” Stina grumbled.
“Hey, I would’ve loved it if Gisela sat me down and told me all her secrets—just like I’m sure you’d love it if that Mr. Forkle guy did the same thing with you. But he hasn’t, has he? Pretty sure I can take those frowns as a no. So can you stop blaming me for not knowing everything either? I snooped around as much as I could—but I’m not a Vanisher, so my opportunities were limited. And I asked lots of questions, but most of the time they ignored me. There’s a lot I don’t know. That’s why I need to talk to Trix.”
“You seriously think Trix would be willing to meet with you?” Sophie had to ask. “I’m sure he’s figured out that you helped us find that storehouse.”
“That’s why he’ll meet with me. He’ll want to know why I switched sides.”
“Or he’ll assume we’re forcing you to help us and try to rescue you,” Tam countered.
“Please. Trix knows I don’t need rescuing! Especially from you all. No offense—but he’s not exactly worried about any of you. You’ve never given him a reason to be—though he might be starting to wonder about the moonlark. He used to go on and on about how weird he thought it was that Brant and Fintan were paying so much attention to a little girl who hadn’t actually done anything important. But now you’re showing some real fight. I bet he’ll be willing to listen to you now—at least to see what you’re about.”
“Do you even know where he is?” Tam asked, saving Sophie from having to figure out how to respond to that.
“Probably not. I doubt they’re using any of the hideouts I’m aware of. But I’m pretty sure I know how to get him a message.”
“Pretty sure,” Maruca repeated.
“Hey, I’m just being honest. If you want a one-hundred-percent guarantee, you’re never going to get one. But I’m ninety-five percent certain I can make this happen. You pick the day, the time, and the place, and I’ll put that all in a message and leave it for him. Then we just wait and see if he shows up.”
“Absolutely not!” Sandor snapped.
“Wow, you really have that little confidence in your abilities?” Rayni asked. “I figured if you had control over the situation, you’d be able to arrange some solid security.”
“I can arrange brilliant security,” Sandor assured her. “But a wise bodyguard recognizes that the best way to protect their charge is to keep them away from danger.”
“Yeah, but if you don’t let Sophie be the moonlark, the Neverseen are going to win,” Rayni argued. “I thought that was why she had you—so she could still do all the risky things she needs to do but have some extra protection.”
“She’s right,” Sophie agreed, even though her stomach was getting all sour and sloshy. “You can’t keep trying to put me in a bubble away from all the danger.”
“I don’t have to put you in the center of it either!” Sandor argued.
“Trust me, this isn’t going to be dangerous,” Rayni assured both of them.
“And there’s your problem,” Sandor snapped back. “I don’t trust you—and even if I did, there are tremendous flaws in your plan.”
“Like what?” Rayni asked.
Sandor laughed—which sounded more like a squeaky chipmunk than he probably wanted it to. “Where do I even start? How about the fact that you cannot control who finds the message, or guarantee that it won’t fall into the wrong hands?”
“Doesn’t matter. They won’t understand it. Trix and I used to send each other notes all the time, since we were living in different hideouts. And we came up with our own shorthand to make sure no one could figure out what we were saying if the notes ended up somewhere we didn’t want them to.”
“Then what if this Trix person decides to simply tell the rest of the Neverseen about the meeting and bring them along to ambush us?” Sandor demanded.
“Trix would never do that,” Rayni promised. “But that’s also why I said you could pick the time and location. If you’re as good as you say you are, you should be able to prepare for every possible scenario.”
“Something always goes wrong when we do that,” Fitz argued. “We’ve tried setting traps before—”
“This isn’t a trap!” Rayni interrupted. “I want to make that very clear. I’m not going to help you lure Trix somewhere so you can try to lock him away.”
“You don’t get to make that decision,” Stina informed her.
“Actually, I do, since I’ll be the one writing the note. The only instructions I’m willing to give are for a meeting, where we can talk and either decide to work together—or go our separate ways. Anything beyond that is off the table—and I’ll be able to tell if that’s what you’re doing.”
Fitz snorted. “I doubt that.”
“Please. You’re not as clever as you think you are. I also love how you’re all acting like I’m suggesting the most bizarre thing you’ve ever heard of. It’s super common in any sort of conflict situation for the opposing sides to meet and see if they can come to an agreement.”
“She’s right,” Ro admitted. “In fact, that’s pretty much all you elves ever do, isn’t it? You usually call it treaty negotiations. But it’s the same thing.”
Even Sandor couldn’t disagree with that.
“Okay, but let me guess. You’ll need to be alone when you leave Trix the message?” Marella said.
“If you’re trying to imply that this is my big escape plan—uh, don’t you think I would’ve suggested it a while ago?” Rayni countered.
“Not if you were waiting to earn our trust,” Maruca argued.
“Right, because I’m sitting here, surrounded by so much warmth and support.” She gestured to the many scowling faces.
“Why are you suggesting this now?” Tam asked. “You never mentioned it earlier.”
“I hadn’t thought of it earlier! I came up with it last night, as I was trying to figure out what our next move should be.”
“There is no our,” Linh told her.
Rayni rubbed her temples. “Hey, I’m not exactly excited to be part of this cheerful little group either. I’m just trying to help—and I thought some of you were finally wanting to make some real progress.” Her eyes locked with Sophie’s. “I guess I should’ve known they’d get in your head. You still haven’t realized that being the leader means making choices that won’t make everyone happy.”
“I’m not their leader,” Sophie insisted.
“You’re not,” Rayni agreed. “But you need to be, or you all are going to keep wasting too much time. Leaders usually aren’t very popular. But they get the job done. That’s what you did when you set that fire. Don’t let their doubts make you second-guess yourself. You made the right call. You know it. I know it. Maybe someday they’ll see it—but even if they don’t, you can’t let their fears slow you down. This is going to get a lot harder before anything gets better.”
The words might’ve been more comforting if they hadn’t reminded Sophie of the speech Lady Gisela gave in Loamnore.
The thing about being the leader of a movement is that you have to be willing to do anything to further the cause.
“Can I at least finish explaining my plan before you rule it out?” Rayni begged.
“I don’t see the point,” Fitz told her before focusing his teal eyes on Sophie. “We’ve already learned the hard way that working with the enemy never goes well. Lady Gisela set us up. Alvar betrayed us. And you spent twelve minutes with Glimmer and turned super reckless.”
“Woooooow.” Rayni tilted her head to study him. “That was a lot of judgment coming from a guy who, as far as I can tell, hasn’t actually done all that much to help your little group. You’re basically Sophie’s telepathic backup, aren’t you? Is that why you’re so bothered about what happened at the storehouse? She was supposed to need you, and she didn’t?”
“Man, I wish Funkyhair had been here for that,” Ro mumbled as Fitz’s jaw clenched with an audible crack.
“Funkyhair?” Rayni asked.
“The guy who almost died because you made Tam blast him with shadowflux while you hit him with light so he could fulfill his legacy,” Fitz snapped. “He’s still not okay, by the way, in case you were wondering.”
Rayni looked away, fussing with the gold beading on the edge of her tunic. “I told you—Lady Gisela promised me that what we did was going to help him.”
“Well… so far it hasn’t,” Sophie mumbled, trying not to think about Keefe having to go through something like that again if he wanted to fix that.
“Maybe he just needs a little more time to adjust to the changes,” Rayni suggested.
“Or maybe we should have Tam and Wylie blast you with shadows and light and see if it helps you,” Fitz countered.
“Still bitter about my ‘telepathic backup’ comment, huh?”
No one laughed.
Not even Ro.
“Okay, I get it,” Rayni said quietly. “Some of you are always going to hate me. That doesn’t mean we can’t still work together. Look at the hatefest going on between those two!” She pointed to Stina and Sophie.
“Uh, Sophie’s annoying,” Stina argued, “but she’s not a killer!”
“Neither am I. And neither is Trix. He’s actually super nice. He used to take me with him on his ‘snack runs’ sometimes, because I knew my way around Mysterium. The Neverseen don’t have any gnomes, so their food is terrible, and Trix always went out of his way to make sure we had some better stuff to eat.”
“Does that mean you know who he is?” Biana asked.
Rayni shook her head. “We always went at night, so we could still wear our cloaks without drawing attention. Most of the food stalls aren’t locked, so you can just walk in and grab whatever you want.”
“You mean steal,” Wylie corrected.
“Nope! Trix always left money to cover everything we took. That’s the kind of guy he is. I’m telling you, we can trust him—and I think he’d be willing to help us.”
“You think?” Fitz repeated.
Tam had a more useful question: “Help us with what?”
“Finding Gisela. Or Vespera. Or figuring out what they’re planning. Maybe all of the above.”
Stina laughed. “Oh please—you expect us to believe he’ll suddenly be willing to betray everyone he’s been working with because Sophie set one fire?”
“Hey, that fire sent a huge message! But I never said that was the only reason. Trix was never all that committed to the Neverseen’s cause. He was there for Umber.”
Umber.
Another name that turned everything dark and shivery.
Sophie could almost feel the echoes stirring under her skin, even though she’d worked so hard to put them to rest.
“I know,” Rayni mumbled as Sophie curled her aching right hand into a fist. “Umber was… intense.”
“I think you mean creepy and violent,” Fitz corrected as he tested the strength in his left leg.
“Sometimes she was,” Rayni admitted. “She could be a little unstable. I never got to hear her story. But Trix told me that what happened to her was brutal, and broke her in ways even he couldn’t fully understand. Made her want to lash out at anyone who got in her way.”
“Sounds like an awesome choice for a girlfriend,” Fitz muttered.
“Hey, we can’t all go for the cute blondes,” Rayni countered. “Though it seems like there might be trouble in paradise.”
Ro cackled. “Okay, I’m easing back into Team Glimmer again—though I guess I should probably start calling it Team Rayni. And as someone on your team, I gotta say, you need to give us some better reasons for trusting this Trix guy. Sneaking snacks is a cute story, but it doesn’t exactly prove he wouldn’t try to kill us.”
“I told you—he’s not a killer.”
“Maybe not yet,” Wylie argued. “But he clearly has no problem capturing people and bringing them to other people to torture.”
“Actually, he did feel conflicted about that, remember? Plus… that was before Umber was killed.” She curled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I was there when Vespera told him what happened, and… I’ve never seen anyone so devastated. He dropped to the floor, making these horrible, wheezy gasps as he trembled and sobbed. He wouldn’t eat for days. Couldn’t sleep, either. He just cried or stared blankly at the ceiling. And when he found out they left her body behind, his winds swirled into some sort of hurricane-tornado thing. Shattered all the crystal in the room.” She pulled up her sleeve, showing a thin scar just above her elbow. “One of the flying shards gave me this.”
“Oh yeah, he seems like a great guy,” Fitz grumbled.
“Uh, your brother told me stories about your temper too—and you don’t even have a good excuse. Besides, Trix didn’t mean to make the storm. The shock and grief made him lose control of his ability—I’m sure you can relate to that,” she said to Linh.
Linh looked away. But Rayni was right. Elemental abilities were known for being much more volatile—which was probably why the mist in the air was now coiling across Linh’s limbs like cloudy snakes, searching for a reason to strike.
“Just so I’m clear,” Tam said slowly, “you’re saying that Trix will be willing to help us take down the Neverseen because he’s mad about what happened to Umber—even though he was still doing plenty of horrible stuff for them after she was dead? I was there, remember? I didn’t see him resisting any of his orders.”
“Right, because he thinks it’s what Umber would want him to do. But I can’t imagine Umber would be happy knowing he’s helping the people who left her trampled body behind without even making sure she was dead. And if I remind him of that, and tell him how quickly Lady Gisela broke all her promises to you in Loamnore without any remorse, I’m pretty sure he’ll realize he needs to get out of there—and yes, I’m only pretty sure again. But I’m positive he would never do anything to hurt me. So worst case? He’ll tell me no and go back wherever he came from and we’ll have to figure out a new plan. But there’s a really good chance he’ll at least tell us something useful. Or better yet, switch sides, now that Sophie’s shown some proof that you’re learning how to fight back.”
“Oh yeah, that’s exactly what we want,” Stina mumbled. “More Neverseen creeps getting a chance to betray us.”
“You won’t feel that way after you talk to him. Well… after we talk to him,” Rayni corrected, pointing to herself, Tam, and Sophie—and then at Sandor as well. “I’m sure you’ll be there too.”
“I will—if everyone is foolish enough to move forward with this plan,” Sandor grumbled.
“Me too! Me too!” Ro said, waving her hand.
“That’s fine,” Rayni told her. “Whatever it takes to make this meeting happen.”
“You’re not actually considering this, are you?” Linh asked her brother.
Tam shrugged. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. I also don’t see anyone else coming up with any suggestions for how we might find Gisela.”
Linh’s cloud snakes coiled tighter. “Unbelievable! I swear, it’s like they brainwashed you!”
“And that—right there—is why I can’t talk to you right now,” Tam snapped back. “Every time we disagree, you act like it’s because they’ve changed me.”
“You have changed!” Linh insisted. “The old Tam was barely willing to trust Sophie, even after she helped us over and over. And it took you forever to trust the Black Swan. In fact, you still have tons of doubts about them. But you trust her, even though she put bonds on your wrists and let a murderer go.”
Tam blew out a long, exhausted breath and tugged his bangs over his eyes. “I get that there’s a lot about this situation that’s messed up. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing. The thing is… I realized in Loamnore that there’s no clear right or wrong anymore. Everything’s gotten too messy. After all, I blasted Keefe with shadowflux knowing it could kill him—”
“You didn’t have a choice,” Linh argued.
“Yes, I did. I could’ve resisted. In fact, I could’ve fought Lady Gisela before she even took me away—then I never would’ve been her captive in the first place. But she told me she would hurt you, so I cooperated. And I unleashed the shadows when she told me to—not just because of the bonds. But because I knew she’d try to kill you if I didn’t. I chose your life over everyone and everything else—and I’d do it again if I had to. Some might think that makes me a hero. But it also makes me a villain.”
Linh’s cloud snakes evaporated. “You’re not a villain.”
“I’m not,” he agreed. “That’s my point. You can’t judge someone solely by their actions anymore—not with how complicated everything has gotten. Glimmer let Lady Gisela go—and I definitely wish she hadn’t. But… I kinda get why she did it. Enough that I’m not willing to totally write her off yet. Maybe I’ll feel the same once I talk to Trix. Maybe not. There’s only one way to find out. And we need to find out. We have to consider any possible advantage if we want to win this.”
Linh closed her eyes, gathering a small sphere of water with her hands. “Fine,” she said, studying her rippled reflection, “do what you want, Tam. Just… don’t expect me to be a part of it.”
“Woo! That’s one vote in favor of the Trix plan!” Rayni cheered as Linh shoved as far away from her brother as she could get in the tiny room. “Who else is in?”
Stina, Maruca, and Marella moved closer to Linh.
Linh turned toward Wylie. “Are you coming with us?”
He chewed his lip.
Linh sighed. “Do you seriously think we should try to meet with someone who dragged you out of the Silver Tower, knowing you’d be tortured?”
“No,” Wylie admitted. “But I also don’t think it should be my decision.”
“Hmm. Guess I’ll count that as another vote in favor,” Rayni told him.
“It isn’t,” Wylie warned. “I was about to remind everyone that this needs to be the Council’s decision—just like they should be the ones to decide if you need to face any consequences for letting Lady Gisela go.”
“So what I’m hearing is… you want a little payback,” Rayni mumbled.
“You’d definitely deserve it,” Wylie told her. “But that’s not what this is about. I’m a Regent now, and a member of Team Valiant.” He pointed to the pin securing his cape around his shoulders—three swirls of metal, representing the Prime Sources.
Sophie, Stina, Biana, and Dex all had the same pins.
“I swore an oath promising complete allegiance to the Council when I joined the team,” Wylie added, standing up taller, like he wanted to remind everyone that he was the oldest among them. “I’d be violating that oath if I didn’t let them know about all this and let them decide the proper way of handling it.”
“That is an excellent point!” Stina said, patting her own Team Valiant pin. “I’m surprised our fearless leader didn’t think of it. Actually, wait. No, I’m not.”
Sophie wished she could use her telekinesis to shove Stina out the door.
But… Wylie did have a point.
“I guess we should meet with the Council,” Sophie said quietly.
Rayni flopped back against her pillows. “Ugh. Worst. Decision. Ever.”
“Afraid you’ll be exiled?” Stina asked.
“You won’t be,” Tam promised. “I’ll make sure the Councillors understand how their mistakes played a role in everything that happened.”
Rayni laughed. “Like they’ll care.”
“They should. They’ve ruined a lot of lives, and our world is dissolving into chaos because of it,” Tam argued. “They need to understand that if they don’t start changing, the Neverseen are going to win.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be super ready to listen to all that,” Rayni told him. “And then we’ll all snuggle in for a great big group hug.”
Tam smiled, but shadows also settled into his features, making him look as ominous as he sounded when he said, “Trust me, I can be very convincing when I want to be.”
“And they can be very small-minded,” Rayni countered. “But… do what you have to do. It’s not like I can stop you.”
“So… we’re all going to Eternalia, then?” Biana asked, breaking the silence that followed. “Will we need an appointment with the Council?”
“Probably,” Wylie said. “I’ll reach out to my points of contact and set something up—but I don’t think we should all go. Glim—uh—Rayni has a point about how much we argue. Add in twelve Councillors, and we’ll be there for hours.”
“Days,” Rayni corrected. “Months.”
“Hopefully not,” Wylie told her. “But that’s why I think it should just be Tam and me who go to Eternalia.”
“And me,” Sophie reminded him.
Wylie shook his head. “You don’t know how the Council feels about the storehouse fire, do you? Have they talked to you about it?”
“Not yet,” Sophie admitted.
“Then I don’t think it’d be smart to have you there. Otherwise the whole conversation could end up being about that.”
“Wylie’s right,” Tam agreed. “It might even make the Council more opposed to letting us meet with Trix.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Fitz argued, turning to Wylie. “I want to be there for this meeting. I may not be on Team Valiant—but neither is Tam, and—”
“It’s not a Team Valiant thing,” Wylie interrupted. “I’m going because it’s the only way I can know for sure that this was properly reported to the Council. And Tam is going to speak in Glim—Rayni’s defense.”
“And who will make it clear that most of us think meeting with Trix is a terrible plan proposed by someone who let a murderer escape?” Fitz asked.
“No one will need to,” Wylie told him. “All we need to do is present the facts. The Councillors are capable of asking their own questions and deciding for themselves.”
“Are they, though?” Rayni said, mostly to herself.
“You sound scared,” Marella noted.
“I’m not. The Council already ruined my life. There’s nothing else they can do to me.”
“Oh, I have a feeling there’s a lot more they can do,” Stina told her.
“I wouldn’t sound so gleeful if I were you,” Rayni warned. “Every time the Council talks about my family, it reminds them of the rumors about yours. And all it’ll take is one tiny bit of proof slipping out, and you’ll be right where I am—regardless of how powerful your mom is. Maybe it’ll even be worse, since your dad is Talentless, so whatever trick they pulled had to be way bigger than tweaking one question.”
“They didn’t pull any tricks!” Stina insisted. “Plus, I’m not part of an illegal rebellion!”
“Maybe not at the moment. But how many times has the Council turned against the Black Swan? Do you really think it won’t happen again?”
Stina’s mouth snapped shut.
“Okay…,” Dex said slowly. “So… are we all agreed, then? Wylie will reach out to his points of contact and set up a meeting for him and Tam with the Council. And the rest of us will wait to hear how that all goes.”
“And wait, and wait, and wait,” Rayni mumbled. “That’s all you do. Wondering the whole time why the Neverseen are always so many steps ahead of you.”
“Actually, I have things some of us can work on,” Sophie told them.
“There she goes, trying to boss us around again,” Stina muttered. “This isn’t Team Valiant right now!”
“And you’re welcome to leave anytime!” Sophie reminded her. “All of you are. I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do. But if you want some ideas, I have a few projects.”
“This ought to be good,” Stina sneered—but her jaw fell slack when Sophie reached into her pocket and pulled out the two caches, letting the clear, marble-size gadgets roll around her palm.
“I took these from the Neverseen’s storehouse,” she explained as she offered the one with nine inner crystals to Marella. “That one is Fintan’s cache from back when he was a Councillor. I have no idea if there’s anything useful in it, since the Forgotten Secrets inside are probably all ancient. But it’s worth finding out. Maybe you can convince Fintan to open it for you. You’ve been getting along pretty well with him, haven’t you?”
“Uh, not that well,” Marella warned. “It’s more of a… let me teach you to master your fire so you can prove it’s possible and lift the ban on pyrokinesis kind of thing. Not a let me spill all my dark secrets relationship. Plus, he’s pretty unstable, so it varies lesson by lesson.” But she still took the cache and held it up to the light, twisting it so the tiny crystals sparkled. “Do the different colors mean something?”
“No idea,” Sophie admitted. “Guess you’ll find out if he opens it.”
Marella closed her fist around the cache. “You realize he’s going to want something in return, right? And it’s not like there’s much I can offer him.”
“Oh! I know what you can suggest!” Rayni sat up and leaned forward. “Say you’ll ask the Council to create a statue of him filled with balefire. He used to go on and on about how everyone only remembers his unruly Everblaze and all the destruction it can cause—but he also created fire that can be calm and contained, and if people would focus on that, they wouldn’t be so afraid of Pyrokinetics.”
“You know what else would make them less afraid?” Marella asked. “If he hadn’t killed people and burned down half of Eternalia. I remind him of that. A lot.”
“Yeah, plus, I don’t think the Council is ever going to make a statue of the person who murdered Councillor Kenric,” Biana added quietly.
“I never said he’d get the statue,” Rayni argued. “I said to tell him you’ll ask for one. And honestly, the Council should consider it. Our world could use a reminder of what can happen when we try to force people to deny who they are.”
“Yeeeeaaaaaaaah… pretty sure I’m not going to suggest that,” Marella said, shoving the cache into her pocket. “But I’ll try to come up with something better. Want to brainstorm with me?” she asked Linh, Maruca, and Stina.
“Anything that gets us out of here,” Linh told her.
“What about the rest of us?” Biana asked Sophie. “Need help with the other cache? It was Kenric’s, right?”
“Actually, I was thinking you and Fitz could talk to Tiergan about checking all the other stuff we took from the Neverseen’s storehouse,” Sophie told her.
Biana scowled. “You want us to read a bunch of boring scrolls?”
“I thought you’d be excited!” Sophie tried not to sound too smug when she added, “Weren’t you saying earlier that the storehouse probably had—how did you put it? Vital ‘evidence and intelligence, which probably would’ve told us everything we needed to take down the Neverseen’? This is your chance to find out if that’s true.”
“What are you going to do?” Fitz asked Sophie.
She tightened her grip on Kenric’s cache. “I’m hoping Dex can help me figure out how to open this thing.”
“I can try,” Dex said. “But the security on caches is beyond crazy.”
“I believe in you,” Sophie promised.
She also really didn’t want to have to bring the cache to the only other person who could open it.
“Won’t you need my help with the cache?” Fitz asked.
It felt very good to tell him, “I don’t see why.”
Ro snickered.
“Hang on,” Stina said as everyone started reaching for their home crystals. “Are we seriously going to let Sophie tell us what to do?”
“I don’t hear you offering any suggestions,” Ro pointed out. “You may not want Blondie to be your leader, but it sure is easier to complain than it is to come up with actual ideas.”
“Whatever.” Stina hooked her arms around Marella’s, Maruca’s, and Linh’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get away from these losers.”
Linh glanced over her shoulder at her brother. “You’ll let me know what the Council says?”
“Of course.” Tam kicked the toe of his shoe. “Are you going back to Choralmere?”
Linh nodded. “It’s better there than…”
She didn’t finish, but Sophie was pretty sure her last words would’ve been “staying with you.”
Wylie cleared his throat. “I’ll hail Councillor Ramira and Councillor Velia and let them know I need to arrange a meeting.”
“You won’t tell them why, though, right?” Tam asked.
“Only that it’s about Glim—uh, Rayni. Well, actually, I should probably keep calling her Glimmer. I don’t want to reveal too much until everyone’s there, and you can weigh in.”
“Thank you,” Tam told him, glancing at Rayni, who was staring at her cat statue, pretending none of them existed.
Fitz sighed and stumbled toward the door. “Well… I guess Biana and I will go ask Tiergan to show us the storehouse stuff.”
“Speak for yourself!” Biana held her crystal up to the light. “You can meet me at home with the boring scrolls.”
“What if Tiergan won’t let me leave with them?” Fitz asked.
“Then you can tell me everything you learn when you finish reading them!” She tossed her hair and winked as she leaped away.
Dex laughed. “She just left without poor Woltzer—again.”
“I don’t know how he doesn’t constantly want to strangle her,” Fitz said under his breath.
He called for Bo to let him out of the room and glanced at Sophie as the door opened. His eyebrows scrunched together, like he wanted to say something. But he left without another word.
Dex rushed to catch the door before it slammed shut. “I’ll get Lovise and go home and grab some tools. Meet you at Havenfield?”
Sophie nodded. “Should we all check in tomorrow to catch each other up on what we’re doing?”
“How about we just agree to update each other once we actually learn something?” Marella countered.
“I’m sure we’ll make progress long before you,” Stina added as she raised her home crystal and glittered away with Linh, Marella, and Maruca.
Wylie left right after, and Tam quickly followed.
“Well, that was even less fun than I expected,” Rayni groaned as she flopped back into her pillows again.
“Will you… um… be okay?” Sophie asked, feeling strange leaving her all alone in her tiny bedroom.
“Oh, don’t worry about me.” She traced her finger down the spine of her sparkly cat. “I can survive anything. But if you don’t get control of your group, you’re heading for an epic disaster. And no one will be able to save you.”