keep your friends close

(42)

His voice keeps echoing in her mind. I wish you didn't have to be the Moonlark.

She can feel someone carrying her, then setting her on the ground. Occasionally she can hear the cadence of voices, but she can't make out who it is or what they're saying. At one point she swears she can smell mint and hair gel.

Then all at once, she startles awake.

Sophie keeps her eyes closed as she regains awareness of her body. The surface beneath her is as smooth and cold as stone, and she suppresses a shiver when she realizes her clothes are still damp from the lake.

Her eyelids lift open ever so slightly, and she sees... nothing. It's pitch black.

She tamps down the familiar fear. She needs to know if anyone else is around. Her mind settles as she widens the range of her telepathy—and her whole body flinches as the energy rebounds into her like a jolt of lightning.

Her head throbs. There's something metal resting against her brow, like a circlet. Sophie reaches up and curls her fingers around it, trying in vain to yank it off her head.

"I wouldn't do that."

The voice is unfamiliar to her. Sophie scrambles up into a sitting position, now wide awake. "Who's there?" she demands.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Just calm down."

She grits her teeth. "I'm really sick of being told that."

A pause. Then a sigh. "Fine."

The darkness dissipates like a fine mist, revealing damp rock walls. Water drips from the ceilings. The room is dimly lit with a blue-tinged glow. Sophie glances around for the light source before realizing the light is coming from the water itself, running in rivulets down the rock walls and pooling in shimmery puddles around her. It's gorgeous, in an eerie sort of way.

She keeps her gaze focused on the boy in the dark cloak standing in front of her. His hood is lowered, and even in the low lighting his bright silver tips stand out against his dark hair. He regards Sophie through wary, narrowed eyes. Of course—the other person at the lake was Tam.

Then she stifles a gasp. A huge white wolf lies behind him, guarding the entrance to the cave. Its chin rests flat on the floor, between two huge paws. It appears to be asleep, but its ears are perked and swiveled toward her, tense and waiting. Sophie has a feeling the only thing separating her throat from its teeth was Tam's will.

Tam taps at his temple. "Ability restrictor," he explains, indicating the circlet around Sophie's head.

She swallows back her panic. "Where is he?"

Tam raises an eyebrow. "He has a name. And no, he is not here."

"Just tell me where—" Sophie stands up, only to lurch backwards, held back by something on her wrists. She glances down in surprise at the dark shadows curling around her arms, tethering her to the floor. The wolf snaps open its eyes and growls.

"It's fine, Mae," Tam says. To Sophie, he hisses, "You need to calm down. No one else knows you're here, so unless you want to be handed over to Neverseen leadership, you're going to behave and not do anything stupid."

Sophie glares, sullenly lowering herself back to the floor, and the shadows sink into the ground with her. Maybe, just maybe, there's a chance she can escape if no one knows she's here. The only thing in her way is Tam—and the horse-sized wolf behind him. She's clearly a prisoner in some underground—maybe underwater—bunker, but Tam looks just as miserable as she feels.

The wolf begins licking its paws, satisfied that Sophie has seemingly calmed down. "That was you and your sister in the Himalayas, wasn't it?" she asks Tam, keeping one eye on the wolf's massive claws.

He crosses his arms. "Possibly."

"What did Linh do to me?"

"Nothing permanent." Tam grimaces. "It feels weird though, right? The blood thing?"

So Linh really had been manipulating the liquid in her blood. Sophie shivers, partly in fear and partly in awe. She had never heard of a Hydrokinetic being able to do that—it was an unheard of skill.

"It does," Sophie admits. "So you're both with the Neverseen, too."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

She almost laughs. "Because it is."

Tam scoffs. "I'm not having this conversation with the Moonlark."

Anger flares in her. "And why not? Do you know just how much destruction you're responsible for?"

He doesn't say anything for a long moment. Then he asks, "Do you know how we ended up here? Me and Linh?"

She frowns, thinking back. "I know you were in Exilium. And... your parents are dead."

Tam nods. "We used to live by the ocean," he explains, looking a little wistful. "We turned eleven, and Linh manifested as a Hydrokinetic. From the start, her ability was much more powerful than anyone realized. It was harder to control. Our parents didn't believe her, even when she begged for help." He clenches his jaw. "And then one day, she flooded the entire coast."

Sophie feels frozen. The shadows wrapped around her arms feel heavier.

"Our parents drowned in the incident, along with all of the gnomes and dwarves on our property. The Council charged Linh with murder and banished her, and I went with her. There was no one in the Lost Cities who wanted to help us." He leans closer. "But you know who did?"

She doesn't say anything, unwilling to give him the satisfaction.

"The Neverseen," he says anyway. "They took us in, cared for us, and trained us properly. Without them, Linh and I would be dead." He scowls. "And I would much rather be responsible for the destruction of the Lost Cities than the death of my sister."

Tam's bitter, that's for sure, but Sophie can't bring herself to blame him. She probably would have done the same to protect her own sister.

Her sister. Sophie barely remembers her human family. Her sister must be twelve, maybe thirteen now. Sophie wonders what might have happened if she didn't have that head injury at five years old, prompting the Black Swan to take her back to the Lost Cities. She can't say she had a bad life—she grew up comfortable, surrounded by loving mentors and friends—but it wasn't a choice she made for herself. Is it possible she might have chosen differently, looking back? Could she have continued to live as a human, ignorant and care-free?

Her chest tightens, and she's surprised to find herself on the verge of tears. She blinks them away quickly.

Luckily, Tam doesn't notice. Not because of the low lighting, but because he's turned his attention to his wolf, who has stood up on all fours to face the cave entrance. A low growl rumbles in its throat.

There's a thumping sound, and Sophie realizes somebody is knocking from the other side. "Tam! Open up!"

Aggravated, Tam throws open the heavy wooden door. "What is it, Ro?!" he practically spits.

Standing under the rocky entryway is a large female ogre with bright pink pigtails. She looks slightly alarmed, her lips pulled back over pointed fangs in what looks like a pained smile.

"Tam!" Ro greets nervously. Her eyes flick to Sophie, anchored to the ground by shadowy tendrils, then back to Tam. "You'll never guess who wants to say hi!"

She steps aside to make room for a tall, slender elf in a dark Neverseen cloak. Her hood is off and blonde hair pinned back, revealing the many jagged scars crisscrossing her skin. She glances disapprovingly around the cavern.

"I know my son put you up to this, but I'm sure I taught you to treat our guests better, Mr. Song," she says coolly.

Sophie glances at Tam in betrayal, but he looks as taken aback as she does. "I—" He inclines his head. "Yes, you did, Lady Gisela. I apologize."

"It's quite alright. We have more... comfortable accommodations prepared." Lady Gisela's gaze lands on Sophie. Her eyes are a familiar shade of ice blue. "Hello, Miss Foster. I've been waiting a long time to meet you."