Sophie woke up to the sound of water.
"Sophie?" she heard a voice call but she couldn't open her eyes.
Biana. Dead.
"Sophie, get up?" she heard a voice call as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Linh?" Sophie asked, slowly getting up. "Where's Keefe? How long has it been?"
"I'm right here, don't worry" Sophie heard the comforting voice say as she turned around and saw Keefe.
"Keefe! You're okay!" Sophie wanted to get up and hug him, but she could barely feel her legs.
Keefe's eyes were bloodshot and his smile was weary, "I'm so happy you're awake. And to answer your second question, it's been six months".
Sophie's smile disappeared. "What? Six. Months? What happened to the twins, why did it take so long to wake me up."
"It's honestly a miracle you woke up" Linh said as she twisted a strand of her hair and stared at the water droplets circling around the room. "It's been half a year since I've gotten proper sleep, and no one thought you would wake up. Edaline almost planned a planting."
"What?" Sophie said. The world didn't make sense anymore. What was going on? But first things first...
"Keefe, are you really okay?" Sophie said as she entwined her hands with his. "Your mom was caught, and now..."
"I'm alright, seriously" He said, as he squeezed Sophie's hand and came closer for an embrace. "Okay, fine, the last six months were pretty tough, but you're better now."
"Lady Gisela hasn't escaped, right?" Sophie asked, hoping they still had at least that one win.
"Yeah, we still have her but she doesn't know anything" Keefe said, closing his eyes in frustration. "We keep hitting dead ends".
"Okay..." Sophie said. She wasn't sure what to do, she wasn't even sure what was going on. "Where are the twins?"
"With Grady and Edaline. They've been taking care of them for a while now" Keefe said, looking away.
"At least they're alright" Sophie said. "And what about the humans, they found out about our existence right?"
Linh and Keefe looked at each other. "About that..." Linh started, "We might have underestimated the humans. They know far more than they should, and we've even discovered that they found a way to light leap here. The Lost Cities is on lockdown and everyone is scared."
Sophie could feel her anger rising, "This is all Fitz's fault".
"I wouldn't say that, it was technically his son" Linh said, with a concerned look on her face.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" Sophie said, begrudgingly. She needed someone to blame right now.
Sophie slowly tried to get up, which took her five minutes, and then she tried to walk.
"Woah, it might take me a while to start walking again" Sophie said with a small laugh.
"Don't worry about it, I was working with Dex to come up with a gadget that might enhance your strenghth" Linh said as she tied an anklet around each of Sophie's ankles. "There. Now try."
"Much better" Sophie said, relieved she wouldn't have to take on the whole world and learn to walk at the same time.
"Where do you want to go?" Keefe said, walking over and placing an arm around her shoulders.
"I..." Sophie didn't know. She could go to Edaline and Grady to make sure her family was alright. Or she could go straight to Forkle to demand answers. Or...
"Everglen." Sophie decided. "I need to talk to Della about Biana."
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Keefe said, concerned. "Oh, who am I kidding. You're Sophie Foster. You're definitely going to do this."
Sophie smiled and shoved him, "Thanks for everything, Linh".
"My pleasure" Linh said, smiling, as Sophie and Keefe light leaped away.