Chapter One

SOPHIE TOSSED AND TURNED IN BED, UNABLE TO SLEEP.

There were too many things on her mind: Prentice, King Dimitar, the Neverseen—but the most important one was Keefe.

She buried her head in her pillow, hoping it would cushion some of the pain in her heart. She had lost too many people. She couldn't lose Keefe too.

Sophie remembered the last words he had said to her before helping her escape Brant and Fintan: "Please don't hate me."

She choked back a sob, knowing that she had to stay strong. They couldn't give up on Keefe. Sophie just had to trust that he had joined the Neverseen for the right reasons.

She jumped when the door to her bedroom creaked open.

"I thought you wouldn't be able to sleep," Edaline said, and sat down on the edge of Sophie's bed.

"Well, you were right," Sophie replied and tried to smile, but she was pretty sure it came out looking like a grimace. She hugged Ella—the stuffed blue elephant she couldn't sleep without—closer to her chest.

Edaline reached for one of Sophie's hands. "I know this has been hard on you, Sophie. But Grady and I agree that you're the strongest person we know. If you can't save your friend, nobody can."

Edaline had an uncanny knack for guessing exactly what was troubling Sophie.

"I hope you're right," Sophie whispered.

"Don't worry, it's all going to be fine," Edaline promised. "Look, I brought you some slumberberry tea, but in case you don't want it"—she snapped her fingers and a tiny black vial covered in silver dots appeared in her hand—"there's also somnalene."

Sophie took the vial gratefully and carefully squeezed one drop of the liquid into each of her eyes. She sighed. The tiny universe swimming behind her eyes was so beautiful.

"Do you want me to stay here tonight?" Edaline asked. Sophie nodded and Edaline lay down in the bed beside her.

"I love you, mom," Sophie tried to say, but she fell asleep before she could complete the sentence.

When she woke up, sunlight was streaming in through her windows and Edaline had left her room. For one blissful moment she forgot about everything that was troubling her, but then it all crashed back over her, a giant wave of worries too big for one thirteen—no, fourteen year old girl. She was still getting used to the idea of counting her age from inception instead of birth.

Sophie reached up to rub her bleary eyes, and her fingers found the necklace of painted flowers that Keefe had given her. Suddenly the pain of betrayal burned in places she hadn't even known could hurt, and she had to take deep breaths to steady herself.

She couldn't break down today of all days. Today was the day she healed Prentice.

With that notion to fuel her, she dressed in a plain white tunic and pants and headed downstairs. Thankfully it was the weekend, since Sophie didn't think she could face Foxfire yet.

She found Mr. Forkle, or Magnate Leto, or whatever she was supposed to call him, in the kitchen along with Granite-as-Tiergan. They were talking with Grady and Edaline, but stopped as soon as Sophie entered the room.

"Sophie," Granite-Tiergan greeted. "As soon as you're ready, we're leaving."

"Okay," Sophie agreed. She sat down next to Edaline, who conjured her a small plate of custard bursts. Sophie didn't hesitate to stuff the gooey treats into her mouth, and she had to hold her hands up to her chin to avoid dribbling cherry everywhere.

Edaline laughed. "I know those are your favorite. Brings back lots of good memories." Sophie smiled. She knew that her parents would always miss Jolie, their biological daughter who had been killed in a fire years before, but it was nice to see them able to talk about their time with her more freely.

Sophie swallowed the custard bursts and stood up. "I'm ready," she declared.

"Good. Alright, here's the schedule: we heal Prentice, then pay Gethen a visit," Mr. Forkle-as-Magnate-Leto announced grimly.

"Um," Sophie said, wondering for about half a second if she should raise her hand like she'd had to during her human years. "What should I call you two now?" she finished. "The whole multiple identities thing is getting confusing."

"You kids, always getting confused," Forkle-Leto grumbled.

"Whatever you're comfortable with, Sophie," Granite-Tiergan said. "How about just Tiergan for now, since that's what you're used to using?"

Mr. Forkle-as-Magnate-Leto rolled his eyes at Tiergan. "When you need to address me, my name is my current appearance. I can't go handing out my secrets for free. And for the record, I have many more than three identities."

Great. Like that wasn't going to be annoying.

"Wait—am I healing Prentice without Fitz?" Sophie asked.

"The Vacker family is still getting over the shock of Alvar's betrayal. Fitz might not be able to handle the stress of the healing," Magnate Leto replied, sounding somewhat troubled. "And most likely Prentice's mind will be much easier to handle than Fintan's. What is left of Prentice's consciousness will be trying to help you, not trap you."

Sophie had to agree with that logic. Plus, she was secretly glad that Fitz wasn't coming. She was determined to be the only one taking risks this time.

Magnate Leto turned to open the door, and Sophie started to follow him. But then she stopped and turned back to hug Grady and Edaline.

"I'll see you soon," she whispered.

"See you soon," they echoed back with their arms around her.

She wished she could stay like this forever, sharing this peaceful moment with two of the people she loved most in the world. But she knew she couldn't put off what she had to do forever, so she took a deep breath and pulled out of the embrace. She walked through the door, tension building up inside her. Everything rested upon what happened next. She had to heal Prentice, or they would never find out what he had been hiding.

Tiergan pulled out a blue pathfinder and twisted the sparkling facets. From what Sophie had learned, blue went to the Forbidden Cities, green went to the Ogre cities, black went to Exile, and pale yellow...pale yellow went to the Neutral Territories. Her heart ached as she remembered Keefe pulling out a yellow crystal to take him to the Neverseen….

Sophie managed to squash the pain into a deep, isolated recess of her being. She would deal with that later—only one problem at a time. For a second she stood there, steeling her nerves, wondering what could possibly come out of this. Then she stepped into the beam of light Tiergan was holding in place, letting the light carry her away.

Bright sunlight pierced Sophie's eyes, and she had to squint to make out the outline of a familiar stone cottage. She tried to stumble toward it, but her legs wouldn't move. Everything had just become a hundred times more real. What if she failed? What if she couldn't heal Prentice?

And even worse...what if he woke up, but then the grief of losing his wife broke him all over again?

Tiergan, whom Sophie hadn't noticed appear, reached for her hand. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the whole Tiergan-is-Granite thing, but today she needed somebody to lean on. And it definitely was not going to be Magnate Leto.

As they walked through the doorway, Sophie reached for her necklace. But this time, it didn't hurt; instead it filled her with determination. She was going to stay strong and fix Prentice, and then she would get Keefe back, no matter what. They were friends, and friends needed each other.

Her head cleared, and she stood up straighter. She just had to trust that everything would turn out alright.

Last time, she had left the stone stone cottage carrying the weight of despair on her shoulders. Now she was marching back in, filling the little cottage with the light of hope.