I don’t care, she transmitted back. She would find a way to make it work.
“Too hasty, Miss Foster,” Councillor Alina told her. “Caches can only be accessed by the person who created them.”
“Do you really think Kenric would’ve given it to her if he hadn’t made a way for her to gain access?” Oralie asked.
“Even if that’s true,” Councillor Emery said, “are you going to betray your world and hand it over to our enemies, Miss Foster? Do so, and you will prove that you’re every bit as evil as we’ve expected.”
The word “evil” hit hard, but not as hard as the question.
What would she do with the cache?
“You’re right,” Sophie said after a moment. “The cache can never go to the ogres or the Neverseen. But I could give it to Sandor. Or maybe King Enki would want it.”
Sophie had no idea if the cache held any secrets related to the goblins or dwarves, but it was the only card she could think to play.
Another nod from Oralie told her she’d played it well.
Councillor Emery closed his eyes to moderate the thoughts of the other Councillors, and Sophie bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.
“What are your demands?” Councillor Emery finally asked.
“Let us go!” Sophie said.
“Yes, we figured that. What else?”
“Full pardons for all of us, including Prentice!”
Emery gritted his teeth. “That is not an option.”
Sophie leaned toward the jagged beam of light.
“Stop!” Bronte shouted. “Grant them the pardons! That cache must not fall into anyone else’s hands.”
“So they break our laws with no consequences?” Emery asked.
“Expel them from Foxfire,” Bronte suggested.
Councillor Alina snorted. “That goes without saying! They need a proper punishment, not a slap on the wrist.”
“Then send us to Exillium,” Sophie said, hardly believing the words as they came out of her mouth.
Mr. Forkle couldn’t believe it either, and filled her mind with a plethora of objections. Oralie was shaking her head as well.
But it would give them a chance to find out more about the Psionipaths who’d gone there.
It was also too late. Councillor Emery accepted the deal.
“What of their leaders?” Alina asked. “Surely we’re not letting them go.”
Do not worry about us, Mr. Forkle transmitted to Sophie.
But she wasn’t leaving anyone behind.
“They’re coming with us,” she said, moving her foot closer to the light.
Councillor Emery sighed. “Fine, we’ll grant a temporary reprieve—and resume our hunt tomorrow.”
“And Prentice?” Granite asked. “He does not belong here.”
Emery frowned at the bubble cage. “Rumor has it you’ve captured one of the Neverseen. We’d be willing to make an exchange.”
“Deal,” Mr. Forkle jumped in. When he saw Sophie’s surprise, he transmitted, Prentice is more important than Gethen.
“Very well,” Councillor Emery told them. “Bring your prisoner to Lumenaria at sunrise tomorrow for the trade. Are you done?”
“What about Oralie?” Sophie asked.
“I can handle myself,” Oralie promised.
“She can,” Bronte agreed. “So hand over that cache, Miss Foster, and you may leave.”
“The cache isn’t part of the deal,” Sophie said. “Otherwise how do I know you won’t betray us tomorrow?”
When they started to argue she moved toward the light. “Does that mean you’d rather I take this to the goblins? Or maybe the gnomes?”
The last word triggered the strongest reaction yet and left Councillor Emery waving his arms for silence.
“If you leave here with that cache, Miss Foster,” he warned, “you will be accountable for its protection. And should you fail, the consequences will be far worse than Exillium.”
“I can handle it,” Sophie said.
Emery glared at Oralie. “So be it. And you can find your own way out of Exile,” he told Mr. Forkle. “We’ll give you ten minutes, then the guards will restrain anyone in the halls.”
“We’ll be gone in five,” Granite promised as the Councillors raised red crystals up to the light.
Before they glittered away, Councillor Alina’s eyes met Sophie’s.
“You’re forgetting that Exillium is for the Unworthy,” she said. “You’ve just banished yourself and your friends from the Lost Cities—permanently.”
THIRTY-ONE
PHYSIC IS TREATING Fitz right now,” Dex told everyone as they rushed into the boys’ tree house. He sat on the floor, his legs curled into his chest, staring at the flickering fire pit.
“Can we see him?” Sophie asked.
Dex shook his head. “She said I should stay out here because it was going to get messy.”
“I’m his mother,” Della said. “I can handle messy.”
“I can as well,” Mr. Forkle said, following Della down the hall.
“Will you be okay?” Granite asked Sophie, Biana, and Keefe. “The rest of us should get back to the Lost Cities to avoid suspicion.”
Sophie nodded, wishing she could leap away with them—but she was banished.
She could never go home.