Sophie nodded, her voice momentarily abandoning her.
“You’re right to be nervous,” he told her. “Exillium is on the front lines of this plague. And their program is far more rigorous than anything you’ve experienced. But we have no doubt that you and your friends can handle it. You’ve proven time and again that you are both resourceful and brave. Still, you will need to prepare. And we’ll have to wait until Mr. Vacker is fully recovered. You also must secure your cache in the void.”
“The void?” Sophie asked.
“It’s a confusing process,” Mr. Forkle admitted. “But I’ve brought a Conjurer to guide you through. She’s waiting for you in the main room.”
Sophie dressed quickly, expecting to find another elf in a crazy disguise.
Instead she found an achingly familiar figure in a simple blue gown waiting for her by the waterfall.
“Edaline?”
THIRTY-SIX
TEARS STREAMED DOWN Sophie’s cheeks as she tackled her mom with a hug. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
“I’m having a hard time believing it myself,” Edaline whispered. She glanced around the room, smiling at Della and Biana. “This definitely wasn’t what I’d been imagining for your hideout. It feels almost . . . homey.”
“It’s not as good as home,” Sophie promised.
Edaline traced her hands across Sophie’s back, and for a second it felt like they were back at Havenfield, everyone safe, nobody hurt or banished.
“I love you, Mom,” Sophie whispered, taking her chance to say it.
“I love you too.”
Sophie leaned back, trying to read the shadows on Edaline’s face. Rings under her eyes hinted that she wasn’t sleeping, and a crease between her brows gave away her stress. But otherwise she looked pretty normal.
A sniffle from the doorway made them turn to where Dex stood.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, wiping his eyes. “Just . . . you know.”
Dex’s mom and Edaline were sisters, and they looked a lot alike—same wide turquoise eyes and soft, amber-colored hair.
“Come here, Dex,” Edaline said, stepping aside to include him in the hug. “Your family is going to be so jealous when I tell them I got to see you.”
“They don’t know you’re here?” Sophie asked.
“No, even Grady doesn’t. He’s off with Alden. I was out working in the sasquatch pasture when Mr. Forkle appeared.”
“Sorry to catch you by surprise,” Mr. Forkle said. “The Council is monitoring Havenfield extremely closely.”
“Are they doing the same to my family?” Dex asked.
“Of course,” Edaline said. “But your dad’s enjoying it. He’s been rigging traps all over Slurps and Burps to catch anyone snooping. Several Emissaries have left covered in pink slime.”
Dex grinned. “Wish I could be there.”
“He wishes you could too. But he’s so proud of you. Your whole family is—Oh! I can’t believe I forgot!”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wriggling bundle of orange fur.
“IGGY!” Sophie and Dex shouted at the same time.
The tiny imp squeaked and flapped his batlike wings, fluttering over to Sophie’s waiting hands. She kissed his furry cheeks, gagging from the Iggy breath.
Dex coughed. “Whoa, I think he’s gotten stinkier.”
“He has,” Edaline agreed. “He’s been refusing to clean himself. And if I leave him in his cage, he flings his poop. So I’ve been carrying him in my pocket and bribing him with treats.”
Sophie poked Iggy’s belly, which felt chubbier—though it was hard to tell under the orange dreadlocks. His natural fur was gray, but Dex had a habit of slipping Iggy elixirs.
“Next time you’re getting shorter fur,” Dex told Iggy. “So it won’t hold the stink in.”
“You should make him blue,” Biana said. “With sparkles!”
Iggy responded with an extraordinarily loud fart.
“Fine, no sparkles,” Sophie said, rubbing his fuzzy chin and filling the room with his squeaky purr. “I didn’t realize how much I missed him. I wish Grady . . .”
“I know,” Edaline said.
“What is he doing with Alden?” Della asked.
“Does it have to do with the scrolls I saw you reading through my Spyball,” Sophie asked.
Edaline smiled. “I’ve wondered if you were watching.”
“What’s in the scrolls?” Mr. Forkle asked.
“We’re honestly not sure. The Council had ordered them destroyed, so Alden snuck them home to figure out why. So far they’ve all been about testing trees for something called drakostomes.”
Sophie, Dex, and Biana shared a look.
“Why do I feel like there’s something you haven’t told me?” Mr. Forkle asked them.
Dex explained what he’d found in the archive, and how the drakostomes seemed like something the ogres held as leverage against the Council.
Mr. Forkle rubbed his temples. “That’s the kind of information I expect you to tell me.”