“I’ll go,” Sophie said.
“Nope,” Fitz told her. “You’ve almost died enough times. Time to let me take a turn.”
“Or you could just be careful,” Sophie said.
He flashed his perfect smile. “That works too.”
He slipped one leg into the opening, testing his weight on the rung before stepping onto the ladder.
“Once I see what’s at the bottom I’ll let you know if it’s safe.” He stepped down another rung. Then another.
The darkness swallowed him on the next step, and Sophie kept one hand poised on the ladder, ready to rush down at the first sound of danger.
After an agonizingly long time Fitz shouted, “All clear!”
“Yes,” another voice called—one Sophie would’ve recognized even if he hadn’t started the next sentence with his favorite expression. “You kids took your sweet time getting here!”
FIVE
SOPHIE HAD ASSUMED the Black Swan would be done with disguises now that they were letting her and her friends join. But when she reached the bottom of the murky tunnel, she found Mr. Forkle looking as shriveled and swollen as ever. His huge belly barely fit between the curved walls, and the cramped space was filled with the dirty-feet stink of the ruckleberries he ate to alter his appearance.
“Not to complain,” Keefe said as he stepped into the ankle-deep sludge, “but you guys seriously need to pick some better hideouts.”
“This is not our hideout,” Mr. Forkle said, handing them each a pendant.
They breathed on the crystals, and the warmth activated the balefire inside. The pale blue glow seemed especially eerie, but that might’ve been because Sophie despised balefire.
The everlasting flames had been Fintan’s trademark—until he learned to spark Everblaze. But Sophie was still grateful to have light in the claustrophobic tunnel. Especially when she saw the shadowy path ahead.
“Well, that looks fun,” Keefe said, pushing Fitz forward. “Lead the way, buddy!”
“Actually, that path only goes to our demolished hideout,” Mr. Forkle said.
“So it was at the Palazzo Vecchio?” Sophie asked.
“No. That was marked as a decoy. But if the Neverseen found it, we knew it was only a matter of time before they located the real one. So I collapsed our grotto before I came here.”
“Where are we going, then?” Dex asked.
“Through our emergency exit.” Mr. Forkle licked one of the slime-covered bricks, opening a secret door hidden in the wall.
Sophie gagged. “That’s gross.”
“It certainly is, Miss Foster. But let that be a lesson. The best places to hide are the places no one wants to go.”
He was right about that. The air in the tunnel smelled like eggs mixed with skunk spray, and cold slimy muck rained down on their heads as they walked.
“Do you know how the Neverseen found your decoy?” Sophie asked.
“I swear it wasn’t me,” Keefe jumped in. “I threw my Sencen Crest into the ocean, and Elwin melted off a ton of skin, so I am aromark free. Remind me to thank my mom for that one, by the way. So awesome of her to let me lead my friends into ambushes.”
The sharpness in his tone made Sophie reach for his hand.
“I’m fine,” he promised. But he didn’t pull away.
“We do not blame you, Mr. Sencen,” Mr. Forkle said. “We assume they used Gethen. We’d been holding him here after we captured him on Mount Everest—but don’t worry, we’ve relocated him to somewhere much harder to reach. And we’ll figure out what enzyme they’re tracking him with so this won’t happen again.”
“Have you learned anything from him?” Keefe asked, voicing the question Sophie was sure they’d all been thinking.
Gethen was the first member of the Neverseen they’d captured. He’d also been one of Sophie and Dex’s kidnappers.
“Not yet,” Mr. Forkle said. “His mind is . . . tricky. We’ll discuss it more later. Right now, I need to get you to your new homes.”
Sophie wasn’t sure which felt stranger—trying to imagine feeling at home with the Black Swan, or the fact that he’d said “homes.”
“Are we going to be living together?” Biana asked, noticing the plural as well.
“Of course.”
“Will you be living with us?” Sophie asked.
“No. I live in the Lost Cities. I cannot disappear too long without someone noticing my absence.”
“But you lived with humans for twelve years,” Sophie reminded him.
“Yes, and someday I’ll tell you how I managed to escape anyone’s notice.”
“So wait,” Dex said. “Does that mean we could’ve met members of the Black Swan and didn’t know it?”
“I’m sure you have, Mr. Dizznee. Many of us are fans of your father’s store.”