“I know your father is a difficult person, Mr. Sencen. And I do not agree with his parenting methods. But there are ways he could be useful—”
“Unbelievable!” Keefe shouted. “Please tell me this isn’t happening.”
“Nothing has happened yet. We are far from deciding. But . . . it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”
Keefe laughed—a dark, angry sound. “You know what is outside the realm of possibility? Me staying here if you let him in.”
“He wouldn’t live here. He would maintain his identity in the Lost Cities.”
“I DON’T CARE!”
“Keefe,” Sophie tried.
He jerked away as she reached for his hand. “Uh-uh. You promised you weren’t going to hide anything from me.”
“I’m really sorry.” She glanced at Mr. Forkle, knowing she was about to make everything so much worse. But if she didn’t tell Keefe now, she’d never be able to tell him. “I was afraid if I told you, I’d have to show you your mom’s note. They found it when they found the maps, along with a kit to make leaping crystals like the ones we use at Exillium. Mr. Forkle gave it to me and I was saving it until we knew more about what happened to her.”
“That wasn’t our deal,” he snapped.
“I know. But I was worried about you. We’ve all been dealing with so much.”
“So lying to me is better?” He rubbed his head so hard it looked painful. “Seriously, what is happening?”
“Perhaps we should leave this cave,” Mr. Forkle suggested. “Away from the affect of the mold.”
“I’M NOT MAD BECAUSE OF THE FUNGUS—I’M MAD BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN LYING TO ME.”
All Sophie could do was stare at her feet.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Fitz whispered to her.
“Dude, you don’t get to ask that,” Keefe told him.
“If you want to read the note we can go right now,” Sophie told Keefe. “I have it hidden in my room.”
Keefe shook his head. “Just tell me what it says.”
“It says, ‘Dear Keefe, I’m doing this for you. Love, Mom,’?” Mr. Forkle told him when Sophie hesitated.
Keefe mouthed the words to himself, over and over and over. Finally he asked, “Doing what for me?”
“She didn’t say.” Sophie tried for his hand again and he jumped off his toadstool and backed away. “No—you lied to me.”
“I know,” Sophie whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s not good enough!”
“Come on, it’s not her you’re mad it,” Fitz said. “I know—I’ve been there.”
“Have you? Because I seem to remember you having a bummer few weeks and then everything went back to perfect Vacker-land. So where’s my perfect fix? Why does it just keep spiraling and spiraling and spiraling?”
“How can we help?” Sophie asked as he covered his face with his hands.
“Right now? You can leave me alone.” He turned and stalked away.
The glowing mushrooms turned to a blur in Sophie’s eyes.
Her tears felt cold.
Everything felt cold.
“Come on,” Fitz said, draping his arm around Sophie’s shoulders. That was when she realized she was shaking.
He’d only led her a few steps before Sophie stopped and turned back to Mr. Forkle.
“If you let Lord Cassius join the Black Swan, I’m out.”
“Me too,” Fitz said.
“It’s not about who we want to work with,” Mr. Forkle told them. “It’s about putting aside differences for the greater good.”
“I don’t care!”
“I understand your anger, Miss Foster. I feel the same way every time I see Ms. Vacker sitting at Prentice’s bedside. But I still let her sit there.”
“My mom had nothing to do with what happened to him.”
“I know that in my head, but not my heart. Emotion isn’t logical. All I can control is how I act. Remember the oath you each swore when you joined us? You swore to do everything in your power to help your world. That includes relying on those we do not like, if they can help with something we need.”
Sophie gave Fitz the note from Keefe’s mom. He promised to slip it under Keefe’s door if he didn’t answer. Sleep felt impossible, so Sophie checked on Silveny, watching the alicorn’s memories of when Silveny told Greyfell he was going to be a daddy.
The joy that sparked in Greyfell’s eyes was one of the purest, most beautiful things Sophie had ever seen. It made her wonder what Lord Cassius had looked like when he discovered Lady Gisela was pregnant with Keefe.
Could a tiny bit of that spark have been there?
She hoped so.
She tossed and turned for another hour, then wandered to her window. She knew Keefe didn’t want to talk to her, but when she saw his lights on she couldn’t walk away.
It cost her three pairs of shoes to get his attention, and he refused to open the window. Fortunately, she’d prepared for that with a premade sign.
I’M HERE.
Time seemed to slow down as Keefe stared at the words.