Sophie awoke with a start, her heart beating almost as loud as Iggy's snoring from the cage beside her bed. The memories of her terrible dream came flooding to her
like a tidal wave of emotions. There was no doubt about it now, the echoes had returned. Sophie clutched stomach in pain as a cold, terrifying feeing arose. Stay calm,
it's okay, stay calm, she repeated to herself repeatedly, but as much as she tried, she couldn't shake the growing darkness."It's your echoes again, isn't it?" A sweet
melodic voice asked from the doorway. Flori. Sophie almost cried out in relief. "Do you want me to sing your echoes back to sleep?""I think I'm going to get up," Sophie
said decisively. "Oh no you're not," said a squeaky voice from the doorway. Sophie sighed. "Sandor I'm fine, except for the fact that school starts in-" she glanced
around her room."20 minutes," replied Grady stepping into Sophie's room."Ahhh! I'm late! Sophie yelled. She grabbed her uniform which was in a bundle on the floor
and hurried across her giant room into her bathroom, which resembled a hotel minutes she had gotten dressed, brushed her hair while ignoring Vertina's snide
remarks on how tangled and bleak her hair was, grabbed 2 pieces of Custard Bursts and reached the Leapmater 500, somehow managing not to trip on the stupid half
cape that was unfortunately attached to her Foxfire uniform. "Rimeshire!" Sophie called and was swept away in a stream of light."Where were you?" Dex exploded the
moment she arrived neatly on the fresh grass that surrounded Dex's house, if you could call it a house. Dex's family was considered a bad match, but that didn't
mean their house was any less extravagant. The silver stoned path that lead up to his front door was caked with ice, as usual. Rimeshire was beautiful with its blue-
glass windows and its
five large towers that always reminded Sophie of some sort of ice castle."Sorry," she apologized, "my echoes were stirring again."Immediately, Dex's accusatory glare
melted into a frown of concern. "I thought that wasn't supposed to happen anymore, can't Flori do something?""She tried," Sophie replied, a bit defensively. "She's doing
her best. And… quick, think of a subject change, Sophie… Shouldn't we get to school? Midterms is in 2 weeks and we need all the studying we can get." "Studying's
never enough for your alchemy performance," Dex teased, "you'd be an Ancient before you could ace that class."Sophie tried not to laugh as she raised her crystal to the
light reflecting off Rimeshire's luminous walls and said in a clear voice, "Foxfire," hearing Dex do the same beside her."