"Drop the act," Sophie said. Fitz looked about as convinced.
"You're such a fake," Fitz said, leaning in close. "A real stinking fake. So you can drop the act. We want information, and you have it."
"You're going to have to believe me! I don't have what you're looking for!"
"A lack of straight-up saying he doesn't know anything makes it seem like it may not be fake. So let's ask his name and see how he answers," Alden reasoned.
"I'll do it," Sophie said. She looked Alvar in the eye. "If Alvar isn't your name, then what is it?"
"What? Huh? Name? Right." Alvar looked like he was racking his mind for a name. He looked up. "I forget."
"Okay, no." Sophie turned around. "No. He just said he forgot his name, like we should believe that. I agree with Fitz. He's a real awful fake."
Alden looked like he was trying to find a way to defend his, traitor or not, son. "Well, he was under Soporodine for a long time. Maybe that toyed with his memory."
"So was Prentice." Sophie was not going to show any mercy to the one who had lived in Everglen as a jerk and a spy.
Alden sighed in defeat. "This is his chance to be my son again."
"Well, you might let him be your son again," Fitz growled, "but he will never be my brother again."
"I just need to be careful with my conscience." Alden looked away.
"Oh. Right." Sophie looked down at her feet. "I forgot about that."
Fitz bit his bottom lip.
"Can you please, please tell me what's going on?" Alvar thrashed around.
"It's a very long story," Sophie said, mostly to herself.
"You're the Telepath." Sophie at first thought she had said it, but realized the two problems with that theory: One, she was a telepath too, and two, both Fitz and Alden were staring at her, like they were waiting for a response.
"You guys are telepaths too-" But then she realized what they meant. She was different. If she could find the buried or hidden memories, great. But if she could implant better memories, ones that could turn him away from the Neverseen… awesome. "Okay. I'll go in."
It was empty.
There was nothing in his mind at all.
At all.
Except…
Suddenly his mind seemed to click. Like he was remembering everything. But they weren't the memories he should've remembered. It was almost like Alvar was… human. But even with as long as Sophie had been hearing their thoughts, she would never know how a human mind operated for real.
But she knew someone who could.