Шеннон Мессенджер - Keeper of the Lost Cities

Dex flashed a slightly evil grin. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

GRADY AND EDALINE TOOK SOPHIEto Atlantis. She hadn’t been there since the day Alden and Fitz brought her—the day her human life ended—and she still hadn’t figured out how to feel about any of that. She’d been with the elves a little more than three months now, and she’d come a long way. But she still had a long way to go.

Passing her midterms was the biggest obstacle.

She glared at her wrinkled pinky. How many points would she lose for the mistake? And how many more for not finishing?

Grady squeezed her shoulder when he caught her tugging out an eyelash. “Try to stop stressing, Sophie. We’re here to have fun, not worry about grades.”

She was tempted to point out that Grady and Edaline looked more stressed than she did. Their shoulders were rigid, their jaws set, and Edaline had deep shadows under her eyes. But they were making a huge sacrifice for her. The least she could do was enjoy herself.

It took seven stores to find suitable gifts for all of her friends, and with each store Grady and Edaline looked more strained. The worst was the jewelry store. The woman who ran the shop remembered them. Apparently, they used to come in all the time to buy new charms for a charm bracelet—which had obviously belonged to Jolie.

Sophie took Edaline’s hand.

Edaline jumped. Then her eyes welled with tears and she squeezed Sophie’s hand and didn’t let go. Grady took Sophie’s other hand, and they walked that way for the rest of the night.

When they got home, Grady stopped her on her way to her room.

“I’m glad you came to live with us, Sophie. It’s . . .” His mouth formed a word, then changed to a different one. “It’s nice.”

“I’m glad I live here too,” she whispered.

He cleared his throat. “Big day tomorrow. Better get some sleep.”

“Good night, Grady.”

Even though she was terrified about her exam grades, she fell asleep believing that everything was going to be okay.

F OXFIRE WAS ALMOST UNRECOGNIZABLE.Silver streamers wrapped every tree, every shrub, every tower—like the school had been toilet-papered with tinsel. Confetti and flowers covered the floor, and giant bubbles filled with prizes floated through the halls. Prodigies ignored their parents as they dashed around popping as many as they could.

Grady and Edaline were overwhelmed by the crowd, so they went straight to where they’d meet for their first Mentor appointment and left Sophie to celebrate on her own. She made her way to the Level Four wing, deciding to drop off Fitz’s and Keefe’s presents before meeting up with her friends.

A tiny part of her had been hoping she’d find Fitz at his locker, but all she found was a long line of Level Four girls, all of whom glared at her as she added her small, teal-wrapped package to his nearly full hat. The glaring turned even uglier when she added a bright green box to Keefe’s collection.

Girls.

She kept her head down as she slunk away, hurrying back toward her own wing. Which was how she ended up plowing straight into Sir Tiergan.

“Sorry,” she exclaimed as he struggled to regain his balance. He’d been moving fast, and they’d crashed pretty hard. She rubbed her forehead where it had slammed into his elbow.

“Sophie!” He glanced around, thin lines stretched across his brow. “What are you doing here?”

“I just came to drop off some gifts. Why? Is everything okay?”

He smiled, but it looked forced. “Of course. I just didn’t expect to run into you here. Especially so literally.” His smile turned real with his joke.

“Well, well, who do we have here?”

Sophie’s heart sank as she turned around, expecting to find Keefe with lots of prying questions and one of his trademark smirks. And he was there. But his grin was gone, and it wasn’t he who’d spoken.

A tall, slender man in a sapphire-encrusted navy-blue cape stood next to him, studying Sophie intently. The family resemblance was striking, though Keefe’s disheveled hairstyle and untucked shirt sharply contrasted his dad’s slicked blond hair and pristine tunic.

“This must be the girl who was raised by humans,” he said, much louder than Sophie would’ve liked. “How curious to find her in the Level Four wing, talking to Foxfire’s most infamous Mentor.”

“Infamous?” Sophie couldn’t help asking. She glanced at Keefe, but he was staring at the ground. It was strange to see him so . . . deflated. Like he’d wilted in his father’s presence.

Keefe’s father grinned, an oily sort of smile that dripped with insincerity. “Few Mentors have resigned, then returned years later—out of the blue—to train a mystery prodigy.” He winked with the last two words, like he knew exactly who the prodigy was.

Sophie felt her cheeks flame and searched for some sort of lie. But Tiergan beat her to it.

“Interesting theory, Cassius—”

“ Lord Cassius,” he corrected.

Tiergan’s jaw tightened. “ Lord Cassius. But do you really think I could be tempted back by a little girl? Especially one performing so unremarkably in her sessions?”

She knew he didn’t mean it. That Tiergan was only trying to keep her telepathy hidden. But the words still stung. A lot.

“Come on, Dad,” Keefe said, looking at Sophie, not his father. His eyes radiated the apologies he couldn’t say. “I’m sure Fos—er—Sophie has somewhere she needs to be.”

Cassius glared at his son. “Yes, of course. And I need to meet with your Mentors. See how disappointing your scores will be this time.”

Keefe rolled his eyes as his father turned to Sophie with another fake smile. “Fascinating to meet you. I look very forward to seeing what you can do.”

Sophie nodded and took off down the hall without saying goodbye. She felt bad leaving Keefe and Tiergan that way, but she had to get away from that man. It wasn’t because he was intimidating—though he was definitely that. She felt sorry for Keefe, having to go home to a cold, critical father every day.

But what she really didn’t like was the way Cassius had looked at her, like he was trying to see through her. And the last thing he’d said: I look forward to seeing what you can do. Almost like he knew something she didn’t. Totally gave her the creeps.

It was a relief to reach the safety of the Level Two wing, which was packed with prodigies running around, popping the prize-filled bubbles. She poked a bubble floating by her locker and a box of Prattles dropped into her hands.

“Good catch,” Dex said, running up beside her. He jumped for a bubble but didn’t quite reach it. Before he could try again, Stina shoved by, raised a bony arm, and popped it.

She waved the bottle of lushberry juice in Dex’s face. “Must get frustrating being shorter than the average dwarf.”

Sophie snorted. “This coming from someone who looks like a giant lollipop. If your head gets any bigger, you’ll topple over.”

Dex cracked up.

“Awfully brave words coming from a girl who’s going to flunk out of here today,” Stina growled.

Sophie opened her mouth but couldn’t find a snappy comeback. Stina could be right, and Sophie was trying very hard not to think about that. Especially after Tiergan’s comment.

Stina giggled. “Enjoy your last day at Foxfire, loser.” She bumped Sophie into the wall and stalked away.

“Don’t let her get to you—and if Lady Galvin fails you, I’ll organize a protest.” Dex pointed to her thinking cap, which was overflowing with presents. “Look at how many people care about you here.” He frowned at his own, half-empty cap.