keep your friends close

(29)

The knowledge that her friends are safe lifts a weight off Sophie's chest. She lets her anger and frustration toward Lodestar bubble to the surface, feeling the heat seep through her body and carry her toward the main campus.

She knows it's a risk to use her Telepathy to scan for other minds, but she does it anyway. She doesn't care if Lodestar could find out now. He would be expecting her to come after him. It's how it's always been between them—just a game of cat and mouse.

There's no one hanging around the main campus this late at night, so she quickly picks up on a few elvin minds centered near the pyramid—four in total.

At least it isn't an entire army. But what else would the Neverseen be doing here?

She quietly slips through a door that leads outside, and the glass pyramid looms into view before her, brilliant and gleaming under the night sky. At first, there doesn't seem to be anyone around.

And then she hears voices.

Sophie ducks back into the shadow of the doorway.

"... couldn't do anything about it?" a masculine voice says sharply, as if reprimanding. "Seriously, what are you even good for?"

"It was a third-story balcony!" responds another voice, more petulant and adolescent-sounding than the first. Lodestar. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

"Silence," says someone else, and the others fall quiet. Despite the person's soft tone, their voice makes Sophie shiver, like hearing nails scraping down a chalkboard.

"Got everything you need?" the first person asks sullenly. "Or are we sticking around until the kid tells everyone in the Lost Cities that we're here?"

Lodestar lets out a frustrated growl. "I said—"

"Enough, Fintan. You have a job to do, and I'm sure Lodestar has had enough drama for tonight," the feminine voice demands. "And besides, you're being rude to our guest."

Sophie's heart stops.

"Miss Vacker," they call out softly. "You don't have to hide. It's nice of you to join us."

Horror sinks into Sophie's veins.

"Who are you?" Biana demands loudly. "Where's Keefe?"

There's no way Sophie can leave her out there alone. She bursts through the doorway and runs out onto the stone campus courtyard before she can even think.

"Biana!" Sophie yells.

The three Neverseen members turn toward her. They're standing in front of the pyramid, silhouetted by its warm glow. She can see Lodestar in his cloak, his face still hidden under his dark gray mask. Next to him is a taller elf with unruly blonde hair, who she recognizes as Fintan almost immediately; the Pyrokinetic has been at the top of the Black Swan's wanted list for years.

It's the third elf that makes Sophie stop in her tracks. Her pale, angular features and old-fashioned gown make her look like a ghost in the dim lighting. A sleek melder is tucked into one of her slender hands, and pointed straight at Biana.

Sophie's never actually seen Vespera in the flesh before. She had studied her escape from Lumenaria almost daily, hoping to finish what Jolie couldn't do ten years ago, but to no avail.

Vespera arches a curious eyebrow. "What a surprise."

"Leave her alone," Sophie demands.

Biana glances at Sophie, bewildered. Her mask is gone and part of her dress is ripped, the pink fabric trailing along the ground. "Sophie? What's going on?"