“Not close enough,” Brant argued.
The Boy threw out his hands. His words were garbled—damaged in the memory—but Sophie was pretty sure he said, “It’s not easy to leave Foxfire.”
“Then perhaps you should go to Exillium,” Lady Gisela told him. “Ruy is having no problems there.”
“You know I would draw way too much attention if I left,” the Boy whispered.
The memory crackled too much to hear Lady Gisela’s reply. Brant said something too, but the words mushed together—or maybe that was Sophie’s brain trying to make sense of what she’d just learned.
The scene cleared as Lady Gisela said, “It’s a good thing Fitz is close to my son’s age. Perhaps they need to spend more time together.”
At the mention of himself, Keefe stepped forward. “Mom? What’s going on?”
Lady Gisela hid her surprise well.
“Nothing, baby,” she said, opening her arms for a hug. “Why are you out of bed?”
Sophie couldn’t decide what made her sadder: watching Keefe cuddle against his mom, or watching Lady Gisela turn to Brant and whisper, “Go get our Washer.”
Washers were Telepaths with the ability to erase memories. That explained why the scene had blips and damage. Lady Gisela had it wiped from Keefe’s mind.
But washed memories could come back. All it took was something to trigger it. Fintan mentioning the Lodestar Initiative must’ve been enough, and now Keefe’s mind was fixated.
The memory started over, and Sophie watched it replay, searching for clues she’d missed. One thing she knew for sure: Ruy—the Psionipath—wasn’t the Boy Who Disappeared.
But that didn’t matter at the moment. She needed to get Keefe back.
“He’s remembered something his mom erased,” she told Elwin when she pulled her mind back, “and now his brain is stuck on it.”
“What did he remember?” Timkin asked.
Sophie stayed silent. Her trust in Timkin Heks only went so far.
“If that’s the case, what his mind really needs is to rest long enough to reset,” Elwin said, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a vial filled with deep purple serum. “This will knock him out for twenty-four hours, which should be enough time. I wouldn’t leap him until he wakes up, though. He already looks a little faded. I’ll give him something for that—don’t worry.”
“He can stay here,” Timkin said.
“I’m staying with him,” Sophie told him.
“I assumed.”
Sophie helped Elwin prop Keefe up and pour the elixir on Keefe’s tongue. Thankfully, Keefe swallowed it without a fight.
“I’ll bring him to his room,” Timkin said, lifting Keefe and heading for the stairs.
Sophie turned to follow, but Elwin blocked her, forcing her to drink several elixirs while Dex endured a full checkup.
“Do you think Fitz and Biana will be safe at Everglen?” Sophie asked Dex.
“Of course they will,” a stern female voice said behind them. “The Council has far larger problems than teenage runaways.”
Vika stalked into the room, eyeing Sophie and Dex like intruders. She was tall, like her daughter, and her dark hair was slicked into a ponytail as tight as her features.
Sophie stood taller. “What’s happening with the gnomes?”
“They’re testing the cure. And then . . . who knows?” Vika undid her ponytail, letting her wild hair fall over her face. “Going to Ravagog is a death sentence for them. But so is staying here.”
“You really think the ogres can unleash the plague in the Lost Cities?” Elwin asked.
“Assuming they haven’t already,” Vika said. “They could’ve done it today, while we all stood there watching. They’ve already done an excellent job of making us look the fools.”
Sophie shivered as she realized that Vika was right. All the gnomes were gathered in Eternalia—it would’ve been the perfect chance to unleash the plague.
But she hadn’t seen any sign of the Psionipath.
Then again, Fintan had made it sound like the force-fielded trees were just part of their timing system.
“For what it’s worth,” Elwin said, resting a strong hand on Sophie’s shoulders, “I think the ogres need the gnomes, and that’s what they’re really aiming for. King Dimitar said he had a project for them, remember? So I doubt they’re infected yet, but I’d sure like to get my hands on that cure.”
“Do you think we can make more from the sample they gave?” Dex asked.
“I’m sure the healers will keep a bit to try,” Elwin said. “But I’m betting the Neverseen would have planned for that. I’m going to stop by Lumenaria after I leave here and see what’s up. I’ll be back to check on Keefe when the sedatives wear off.”
Elwin was about to leap away, when Sophie ran over and whispered one additional request.
Elwin smiled. “Consider it done.”
“What was that about?” Dex asked when Elwin was gone.