ᴅᴇx ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴꜱ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ 「 ˢᵒʳᵘʸ 」

22 || the awkwardness

Sophie rolled her eyes at Alvar's antics. The prick was just trying to upset his siblings and they were taking the bait.

Freaking idiots, she mentally scoffed. And they were, because if they knew any better they would have known that Alvar was just trying to get a rise out of them.

Then she heard a laugh from behind her and saw that it was Reynn—and then she saw that the others were trying to not laugh. So she raised a questioning brow and Reynn was pointing at the Vacker siblings who were turning red in the face.

"They are freaking idiots aren't they, Soph." Alvar snickered.

It was Sophie's turn to turn red in the face this time. And it was different from the Vacker siblings who were offended and a tad bit angry, their red faces almost purple. Her face was bright red with shame and embarrassment.

Clearing her throat, she shoved down the awkwardness and put on one of her figurative masks to hide her emotions. "So, as I was—"

"Smooth," Tam coughed into his sleeve, drawing the eyes of everyone to him. They must have missed him and the others in the beginning because of all the commotion Alvar caused, but he had their sole attention now.

And if Sophie was being honest, the look Biana was giving Tam was a bit unsettling.

Thankfully someone saw her discomfort and came to the rescue. "Cut the shit Tammy boy," Glimmer, "It wasn't just smooth, give our girl more credit. Her cover was flawless, polished, and effortless—she's my hero."

She wished to take back the thought that Glimmer was coming to her rescue. Right now all she wanted to do was shove the gorgeous flasher into the nearest tree, shoving all the leaves down her throat.

Bright side was that Biana was no longer looking at Tam, but at Sophie and Glimmer in horror.

Glimmer noticed the attention immediately and started batting her eyes prettily. Sophie let a little chuckle slip as she cleared her throat again. It was time to get to business and everyone, including herself, needed to stop joking around.

"So, as I so vaguely said before, I need all of your help." She breathed, "And I kid you not, the world is literally depending on you guys."

They seemed to hear what she was saying, just not letting it sink in. So she faced Keefe, "I wasn't lying in the alley about the Lost Cities being broken and the Councillors being corrupt and power hungry." She faced Fitz, "Unjust liars," Then Dex, "They are the reason I've stayed hidden for so long—why I had to bury Sophie Foster and stay away."

Sophie smiled at Biana, "I really did try to keep you all out of this, but fate isn't letting me. And that is why I had Linh warn you whilst I led Ruy somewhere private to talk," She said, looking quickly at Marella then Ruy.

"I was an innocent human before the Neverseen came knocking on my door six years ago. Before the Black Swan dragged me into this whole mess with the Council. Before they told me that I was the solution to their problems—the weight is becoming too heavy because their focus is shifting. And if it doesn't change, they will be the same as the Council."

From her peripheral vision she saw Glimmer, Reynn, and Alvar shift. "But it's not too late. We can still stop this, we can still make the difference our causes were originally planning to do."

Sophie then looked at Tam and Linh, "Because I lied, I think that the world is still very much worth saving."

//

They all didn't say anything for a while after Sophie spilled her guts on the fact that she—someone who was probably the most powerful person in the world—was asking for help. She didn't like this feeling of being helpless and insecure about not being strong enough.