He shrugged. “I didn’t want to interrupt your Ella cuddle time.”
“So . . . you just sat outside by yourself? For how long?”
“Not that long. It wasn’t a big deal. I was heading home from a thing and decided to check on Calla on a whim.”
“A thing . . .” she said slowly, waiting for Keefe to elaborate. When he didn’t, she told him, “If you hate being at Candleshade, Keefe, you don’t have to stay there.”
“I know. I probably won’t. Aren’t you going to put that on?” he asked, changing the subject.
The beads felt cool on her skin as she slipped the necklace over her head. “How does it look?”
Keefe’s smile looked more sad than happy. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but she could see Edaline giving her one of those isn’t that the CUTEST? smiles straight out of every teenager’s nightmares.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ears. “It’s really beautiful.”
Keefe shrugged. “It’s nice to see someone finally wearing it.”
“Well, you’ll be seeing a lot of it. I’m going to wear it every day.” She hoped that would earn her a smile, but Keefe’s eyes returned to his feet. He seemed almost . . . nervous. His palms even looked a little sweaty.
The Council arrived then, ending the uncomfortable moment—though they brought their own tension to the mountain.
“Just because you’ve been pardoned, Miss Foster, doesn’t mean you get to demand our attention,” Councillor Alina snapped.
“Tell us, Miss Foster,” Bronte said. “Why have you called us here?”
Sophie reached for Keefe’s hand, needing his support as she stared into the faces of the twelve Councillors and said, “I want you to set Silveny and Greyfell free.”
SEVENTY-SIX
AT FIRST THE Councillors laughed, assuming Sophie was joking. But when the punch line never came, they switched to shouting and arguing.
Sophie stood in silence, waiting for one of them to get to the right question. Oralie was the one to finally ask it.
“Why?”
“We had to tell King Dimitar that Silveny’s pregnant,” Sophie said, causing a whole lot more yelling and arguing. “It was the only way to sell the lie we used to distract him. So he knows. And I’m sure he’s going to go after the alicorns even harder, now that he doesn’t have the drakostomes. It’s only a matter of time before he finds a way to break into the Sanctuary. They’re getting closer each time.”
“So we move the alicorns,” Councillor Terik suggested.
“To where?” Sophie asked. “Some tiny underground cavern where Silveny and Greyfell will be miserable? How will that be good for the baby?”
“We also don’t know if the Neverseen have any other spies helping them,” Grady added. “They’ve been pretty good at hiding right under our noses.”
“And how is it safer to release the alicorns and leave them completely unprotected?” Councillor Emery asked.
“Because they can teleport,” Sophie reminded the Council. “Why do you think it took you so long to find Silveny? The only reason she let me catch her was because she chose to come to me—and it took tons of convincing to prove to her I was safe. I’m sure she’ll be even more careful now that she has a family to protect. And the ogres can’t steal her if they don’t know where she is.”
“Her reasoning does have its merits,” Councillor Clarette said quietly.
“How?” Councillor Alina demanded. “This world is too dangerous.”
“The alicorns survived for thousands of years on their own,” Bronte argued.
“Yes, and Greyfell very nearly didn’t,” Councillor Emery reminded him. “We’ve all seen his scars—and those happened decades ago, before humans built their weapons of mass destruction.”
“They’ll also have ogres hunting them this time,” Councillor Alina added. “And the Neverseen.”
“Not if we make them think the alicorns are still in the Sanctuary,” Edaline suggested. “They’d never expect us to set them free. So let them keep their focus on the wrong place.”
“And Sophie can transmit to Silveny and check to make sure she’s okay,” Oralie added.
“Silveny can also transmit to me if she needs anything,” Sophie agreed.
Councillor Emery frowned at the other Councillors. “It appears we have much to discuss.”