Hello! Fast update, right? I was feeling very inspired. And very bored. So, you're welcome!
Princess Book: Yay! Fitz was kind of a jerk in Legacy, though he always got on my nerves. Just characters like him... ugh. Thank you! Marellinh is glorious. Nothing wrong with being obsessed! Thank you, bye!
FlowerGirl15: I won't. I could never. Literally everything you said was true. Fear not, I am 100% Sokeefe! Well, I'm also Sophiana and Kam and stuff. But between Keefe and Fitz, I am 100% Team Keefe! Thanks!
Lilac: He is.
all i see is sky: Definitely! Marella is totally right. That sounds about right. Yay for plot! Thank, I'll try!
Siren: Ugh! Imagine what torture it was to write that! You're totally normal! Just like me... hehehe... *Gets locked in asylum* Darn. Okay, I wasn't sure if you were just done with writing or if you were leaving altogether. Thanks!
Cary: Thank you! Chandelitz forever. SOKEEFE! Yay! Pb crackers! But imagine what torture that was to write! I know, Fitz is such a ******* ******* SHE IS! Soon, though, soon... what else am I supposed to do during quarantine? XD.
MidnightBunnyy: Yeah. Marella is definitely right. I love Sophiana, but for Sophie to completely fall for someone new, get over two boys at once, and realize she's pan (at least that's how I headcanon her) would be way too much focus on romance for this book, sorry. If you're looking for Sophiana content, check out Teal Eyes over on wattpad! Thanks!
Mallowmelt: Yeah. Thanks!
"So, why can't you just use your fancy Moonlark Telepathy tricks?" Stina asked, twisting a brown curl around her finger. Both girls stood at the entrance to Carcerem, the prison where both Axel and Blur were kept.
Sophie pulled out an eyelash, no longer caring if Stina thought that it looked unprofessional. "I told you. The members of the Neverseen are able to bury the important information so deep inside that I won't be able to find it without doing a memory break. We might end up using Telepathy anyway- but only as a last resort. For now, let's just try asking questions and using your Empathy to determine if they're telling the truth. I'll threaten them with Inflicting, but try not to use it unless absolutely necessary."
Stina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I still say you should actually use the powers that the Black Swan gave you. Maybe it'd be easier if your cognate boyfriend came."
"He's not my boyfriend," Sophie muttered. She was still furious with Fitz for blowing that first 'I love you.'
Stina snickered. "Ooh, right. The Sophie Foster love triangle boy drama."
Sophie ignored her. "And anyway, I'm the boss." Another eyelash made its way off of her eyelid.
"Yeah, I'm still not seeing why the council did that... but whatever. Ready?"
No. Sophie was honestly really not ready. But when she joined Team Valiant, she promised to do her best to fight for our world to be a haven of peace and harmony. And if that meant going to interrogate Blur and Axel even though every fiber of her being wanted to bolt... and then teleport... and then go hide behind Silveny... then it was her responsibility to do so. She was done with putting off her responsibilities in favor of personal drama. Sophie was ready to deserve the title of Lady Fos-Bos.
"I am Lady Fos-Bos," she whispered to herself as she twisted the door handle and yanked. Her free hand clapped over her mouth. Sophie hadn't meant to say that out loud... and she squeezed her eyes shut as she braced for Stina to mock her mercilessly.
But to her surprise, Stina only took the door and held it for Sophie to walk through as she said "Yeah you are!"
Sophie stared at Stina like she'd suddenly grown a third head. Stina flushed. "I mean... we're not going to suddenly become BFFs like you and Princess Prettypants, but... for all the snide remarks I make about you being terribly incompetent, you're actually..." she cleared her throat. "Listen closely, because you're never going to here me say this again. You, Lady Fos-Bos, are actually really powerful, and when you need to, you're good at taking charge, and... well, I think the council really did make the right choice."
Of all the things Stina could have said, Sophie least expected that one. She had heard similar things said by her friends and the council and her parents, but coming from Stina, the girl who used to absolutely despise Sophie, it really meant a lot. She blinked hard, hoping that Stina couldn't tell she had teared up a little. "Thanks."
Stina flushed darker. "Don't make a big deal about it," she muttered.
Sandor, who had been following close behind the two of them, reached the door. "I'm going to come inside Carcerem with you two, and Bo is going to guard the door. Does that sound good?"
Sophie nodded. Back to her normal manner, Stina muttered "Why don't I get a bodyguard? Now that I'm working with the moonlark- and we've probably got spies that have told the Neverseen this- I'm in danger too."
Sophie wasn't sure who's eye roll was more exasperated, her own or Sandor's. "I'll see about getting you one," he said finally.
Stina shrugged. "Okay. Lady Fos-Bos, you ready for real this time?"
Sophie nodded, another eyelash making its way onto her fingertips. "Let's do this."
She was not ready. It was all she could do to keep her voice from shaking as she approached the two Neverseen members. "I- I'm going to ask you guys some- some questions about the Neverseen. Answering is not optional. With me I have- I have Stina, who's an Empath, and she'll tell me if you're lying."
"What about your Empath boyfriend?" Blur asked.
Sophie was proud that her voice stayed steady (steadier, anyway) as she answered "I'm asking you questions, not the other way around. So let's get started."
"And La- and Sophie's an Inflictor, remember, so you better answer honestly," Stina interjected.
Sophie nodded, hands in clenched fists so she wouldn't start pulling out her eyelashes again- the last thing she wanted to do was look weak in front of her enemies. "All right." Her eyes scanned the paper, all of their questions scrawled in her messy handwriting. "Um... we need to know more about the members of the Neverseen. If you have their 'real' identities, that would be amazing, but the priority is finding out how many people we're up against and what abilities they have. Remember, Stina will know if you're lying, and I'm- I'm an Inflictor."
Axel made a face. "Let's see. In addition to the ones you already know, we have a Vanisher, a Fluctuator, a Charger-"
"Hold on," Stina interrupted. "Sophie, shouldn't we be writing this down?"
"Photographic memory, remember?"
Stina's lips twitched a little at Sophie's unintentional joke. "Oh, yeah. In that case, proceed."
"Vanisher, Fluctuator, Charger, a Beguiler, two Gusters, and... Mist, can you think of anything else?" Axel continued.
Blur nodded. "We have a Voiciferator- code name Scream- and a Conjurer. Oh, and don't forget-"
"Right. Our youngest member- she's a student at Foxfire, level four- just manifested as a Mesmer."
Sophie swore loudly. Sandor sent her a look, but she didn't care. The Neverseen had a Mesmer. The only good news was that they were newly manifested- Grady would definitely be more powerful, but still.
"They're telling the truth," Stina added. Sophie cursed again. Her team member shot her a look like, Stop acting like you think we're doomed in front of them. Out loud, Stina asked "Any real identities?"
Blur nodded and recited a list of names that Sophie didn't recognize, but at least she would remember them for when they could tell the Council. Arresting all of those people would be progress- real progress. Sophie repeated that to herself as she cleared her throat and asked the next question. "Glimmer mentioned an attack on the goblins- on Gildingham. What information can you give us about that? How do you expect to do that?"
"We're using humans," Blur answered. "Our Mesmer will be controlling them- humans are much easier to control than elves. With training, our Mesmer can probably control hundreds at a time before getting exhausted. You know how humans have much weaker minds, Telepaths can hear their thoughts naturally?" Sophie nodded, remembering all too well the headaches she got back in the Forbidden Cities. "And our beguiler will probably also be convincing some of them to fight. Vespera has been continuing her human experimentation, and I don't quite get how that works, but she feels confident that somehow they will be able to fight as well. All in all, we should have more than a thousand attacking Gildingham."
Again, Sophie cursed- but at least this time it was under her breath. When Stina nodded, confirming that Blur was telling the truth, Sophie swallowed and said "I see. And when is this attack supposed to take place?"
Axel looked like he'd rather be anywhere right now than answering these questions. "A week from today."
Wow, after all these long chapters, this one seems kinda short- even though it's over a thousand. But the plot development! O.o I may have to add in a whole extra chapter just for the Black Swan's reaction to this stuff. Things are starting to get pretty intense! Heh heh heh... and they only have a week! Honestly, I'm a little scared to start writing this stuff- we all know that I'm going to need a fight scene, and I suck at fight scenes. Say hello to online writing tutorials! Lol.
No love triangle this chapter! Woo! And Sophie's choosing pretty soon... so does that mean... I'M BASICALLY DONE WITH WRITING IT!? AHH! YAY!
All right, I'm done rambling. Please review!