keep your friends close

(37)

In the seconds immediately after, Sophie can't tell if the room gets louder or quieter. All she can hear is Stina's anguished scream.

Sophie scrambles to her feet. Standing at the back of Tribunal Hall are three black-clad figures. Only one of them has their hood down, revealing pale skin and dark hair draped in a net of gold. Vespera.

The sight chills Sophie to her bones, as if all the warmth had suddenly been sucked out of the room.

"Guards!" Emery yells, but no one appears.

Mr. Forkle is hurriedly directing everyone towards the exits. Stina and her mother are trying to shove their way forward, held back by the mass of panicking audience members.

Sandor grabs Sophie's shoulder. "Get Alden's family and get them out."

He rushes off, presumably to find a weapon. Sophie scans the hall and quickly picks out Fitz and Biana at the edge of the crowd. She shoves her way to them, calling their names, and they turn towards her, their faces a mix of shock and confusion.

A dark-cloaked blur suddenly sprints into her path. On instinct, she lunges at the Neverseen soldier. A quick flick of her wrists allows her daggers to slide into her hands. She silently thanks her past self for the foresight to disobey the weapons-free rule in Tribunal Hall—being left weaponless at the dance in front of the Neverseen was a mistake she was only going to make once.

She slashes out at the Neverseen soldier and they stumble over themselves to avoid her. But they make no move to counter her, and she watches, dumbfounded, as they run past her, in the opposite direction of Fitz and Biana.

It's only when she notices their head tilt slightly upwards, towards the platform, that it dawns on her what they're doing.

They're going after Alvar! Sophie transmits to Sandor.

A little busy over here, he replies, and a quick glance over at her goblin advisor shows he's preoccupied with fighting Vespera away along with some of the other Councillors, and nowhere near able to help.

Sophie curses under her breath and watches helplessly as the Neverseen soldier begins climbing the platform towards Alvar. But she knows she can't handle two things at once.

Without missing a beat she turns back to the Vacker siblings, still frozen to the spot and watching her with identical expressions of disbelief.

"You both need to come with me," she insists. "I need to get you somewhere safe." She reaches toward them, but stops in confusion when Fitz jerks away from her touch.

He shakes his head slowly, his brow furrowing. "Were we even friends?"

Desperate, Sophie nods. "Yes, I am your friend. I can explain later, just please come with me—"

He steps back again. "I don't even know who you are," Fitz says.

Her heart sinks at the betrayal in his eyes. "The Neverseen are after your brother," Sophie tries to explain. Around them, people are still screaming, frantically trying to escape through the exits. She looks at Biana, hoping she had a better sense of urgency. "They might come for you too. Please."

The other girl just stares back with wide eyes. "What did you do to Alvar?" she asks, and Sophie realizes, belatedly, that Biana isn't scared—she's angry. "What did you do to my brother, Sophie?"

She opens her mouth to explain, even though she has no idea how to begin. No answer could explain to Biana just how horrific Alvar's crimes were while part of the Neverseen. Nor could it explain how Sophie tortured him with her inflicting to the point of insanity and watched as he writhed on the ground.

But she doesn't even get a chance. A sudden bright light flashes across the room, blinding her temporarily.

When she blinks the spots out of her eyes, Vespera and the Neverseen have vanished.

She spots Sandor on the other side of the room, alive and weary. Beside her, Fitz and Biana are also standing and in one piece. Sophie allows herself a moment of relief. At the very least, she hadn't failed in her mission, even if they hate her now.

But all of those thoughts are abruptly pushed aside at the sight of Stina and her mother, kneeling over Timkin's lifeless body. The front of his shirt is almost entirely red, staining Vika Heks' hands as she clutches at her husband desperately, feeling for a pulse that was long gone.

Sophie can't help but notice that the raised platform above them is now empty. Vespera had taken Alvar right back, in front of the whole Council and the Black Swan. All their progress had been reset to square one.

Vika begins to wail. It's a long, mournful sound. Sophie closes her eyes and looks away, unable to watch as Stina numbly attempts to comfort her mother.