keep your friends close

(30)

Dex hasn't been to Everglen before, so Sophie leads him up the grand spiral staircase to Biana's room. She's regained most of her balance, but keeps her hand on Dex's shoulder for a sense of support.

She wants to ask him what happened at Foxfire, but she's almost afraid to know. The fact that Biana and Keefe are hurt shakes Sophie to the core in a way she can't explain. They should have been well out of harm's way. Her only purpose was to protect Biana, and she couldn't even do that.

"Snap out of it, Soph," Dex murmurs, disrupting her spiraling thoughts. "For your sake."

"I know." She lets out a heavy sigh. "I just—I can't let it go. I could have done something—"

He turns and places his hands on her shoulders, his eyes wide with concern. "It would have gone a lot worse if you weren't there. I don't know exactly what happened, but the Neverseen would have done what they did regardless. Okay?"

She gives him a stiff nod in reply, not trusting herself to speak.

They come to a stop in front of Biana's room; the door is left slightly ajar. Sophie stares numbly at the roses carved into its surface.

"When you're done with Elwin, we can go home." Dex's face softens. "I'll see you soon."

He urges her through the door, and then Sophie is standing in Biana's bedroom.

The curtains are drawn and the lights turned down, leaving the room dimly lit. There are two people sitting by Biana's bedside. One is Elwin, in a bright yellow tunic and his multi-colored goggles. The other is Maruca, still in her purple dress from the dance.

They both glance up as Sophie approaches, and Maruca signals for her to be quiet. Elwin hovers over the bed, flashes of multi-colored light swirling from his palm. Sophie recognizes Biana's dark hair fanned across the pillows, but that's where the recognition ends.

Her stomach sinks. "What happened?" she asks shakily.

Biana's arms are resting on top of the duvet, covered in dozens of thin, angry red slashes. They trail from her hands to her shoulders, up her neck and over part of her face. Despite the extent of her injuries, Biana's eyes remain closed, her chest rising and falling with slow breaths.

Elwin closes his palm, and the flashing lights disappear. "Multiple lacerations from glass shards, and a couple minor burns from the explosion," he answers, removing his goggles with a tired sigh. "She's going to make a full recovery, but not without some scarring. If she was any closer to the blast site, it could have been a lot worse."

Biana looks peaceful resting in her bed, like a princess right out of a fairytale. Sophie's heart feels heavy.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to run downstairs and let the Vackers know she's stable now," Elwin tells them. "I'll just be a moment."

He slips out of the room, leaving Sophie with Maruca. The other girl has barely moved a muscle since Sophie arrived, seemingly insistent on sitting by Biana's bedside. Sophie notices that Maruca is holding one of Biana's hands by the fingertips, gingerly avoiding the cuts on the back of her hand.

"Are you okay?" Sophie asks her, sitting in Elwin's chair on the other side of the bed.

Maruca looks up at her wearily. Her makeup is smudged off her face, leaving her eyes ringed with dark circles. "I found her like this, Sophie," she says quietly. "In the courtyard. I brought back as many people to Everglen as I could, but when I got to her she was already hurt. And there was so much blood—"

Sophie shakes her head. "You can't think like that," she tells her, repeating Dex's earlier advice. "You know how dangerous guilt can be."

Maruca rubs the bridge of her nose. "You don't get it," she says. "Biana shouldn't have been near the pyramid in the first place."

"But I'm glad you were there to help. It could have been much worse."

"And where were you, Sophie?" Maruca asks sharply.

Sophie glances up in surprise at her harsh tone. "I was at the pyramid. I distracted Vespera and Lodestar from going after her—"

"I don't care about Vespera or Lodestar," Maruca snaps. She stands up, and Sophie notices with no small amount of shock that Maruca's dress is covered in blood. "I care about my best friend getting hurt when you were supposed to protect her. And what about Wylie? Were you too busy playing mind games with the Neverseen to think about helping him, too?"

Sophie shakes her head in disbelief. "Maruca, I-I'm sorry. I tried to save them, I really did."

"Did you know he's not waking up, either?" Maruca continues. "My uncles are distraught. If someone had gotten to him earlier, maybe he could've..." She trails off with a sniffle.

Sophie remains silent, stunned in place.

Maruca slumps back in her seat, wiping at her eyes. "It's just... you're the Moonlark. You're supposed to help people." Quietly, she adds, "Maybe Stina was right."

Sophie bites down on her lip as she's overcome with a flurry of emotions. Guilt and betrayal. Anger. Hurt, mostly. Her eyes sting.

"You don't get it," she says shakily.

Maruca averts her gaze. "Yeah, well," she replies, "neither do you."

Her words weigh heavily on Sophie's mind. She wants to scream, cry, plead her case, but part of her knows Maruca's right. Sophie knows she could've helped Biana instead of confronting Vespera, or even found Keefe in the first place instead of running into Lodestar on the balcony—

She suddenly can't stand to be here, staring down at Biana's motionless figure and marred skin.

Maruca doesn't spare her a glance as Sophie turns abruptly and runs out of the room.