Sophie was watching as Stina finally reached the ceiling through her levitation, when the door slid open, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor.
At any other given time, Sophie would've laughed at Stina's fall, but something was off. There were three cloaked figures at the door, and she couldn't imagine that it was already time for her meeting with Gethen.
The Neverseen members entered the cell, each grabbing hold of one of the detainees. Sophie immediately began struggling when the figure in the middle grabbed her by the shoulders.
A voice then filled her mind, Sophie, it's time. Her fighting ceased as the meaning of Echo's words sunk in. This was it, the Black Swan was there. Keefe was there.
Echo wrapped bonds around her wrists, leaving them loose enough for an easy escape.
She then discretely placed a vile in the palm of Sophie's hand, which she cupped her hand around to keep hidden.
She and her friends were escorted to the bottom floor, where there was a wall of black that looked almost like the void. It didn't take Sophie long to realize that, like the void, it wasn't solid. They stepped through the wall, which transported them to the center of a bright field.
She suspected that the exit was a security feature, only one way in, and only one heavily guarded way out.
And that wad when Sophie saw him, Keefe. She was so overwhelmed, so full of relief. But sorrow struck when she realized what he was doing: turning himself over. If she hadn't already been on her knees, she would've collapsed. She wanted to scream at him to turn back, that Lady Gisela wasn't planning on an exchange, but she knew that she would only make matters worse.
What came next horrified Sophie: Keefe was pushed into the large pond in front of them. But what happened next was even more terrifying.
The group appeared at the edge of a forest.
Keefe knew what he had to do.
He glanced at his friends, who all provided him with reassuring nods and expressions.
He then took a deep breath, and stepped into the clearing in front of him. It was a large, empty field. There was a single pond placed in the center, but no base. He assumed it must've been underground, or else they were in trouble.
The soft sound of nature filled his ears; birds chirping, small animals scuttling through the clearing. You would never expect such a beautiful place to house a hideout belonging to an organization of murderers.
Keefe was walking towards the middle of the clearing, when Mommy Dearest suddenly appeared less than fifty feet in front of him, on the other side of the pond.
He stopped dead in his tracks, the urge to use a command on his mother already burning. But he used what he had learned in his sessions with Grady to stifle the word. It wasn't time yet.
"This is my surrender! Now hand over my friends!" he finally yelled.
Even over the distance, he caught the gleam in the eyes of the Neverseen leader, though her expression remained unreadable.
Suddenly, about a dozen cloaked figures appeared behind Gisela, holding Sophie, Dex, and Stina by the shoulders.
When his friends were pushed to their knees, Keefe caught sight off something that sent a chill through him. They were each wearing a familiar circlet, one that Keefe automatically recognized as Dex's ability restricting invention.
Anger ran through him, almost causing him lose control of his voice, but he regained his hold.
"Let. Them. Go! It's me that you want!" he yelled.
A cruel smile curled his mother's lips. "Actually, on the contrary, I no longer need you."
Before Keefe could realize what was happening, a figure appeared behind him, pushing him into the pond.
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