Mr. Forkle nodded. “I’d suspected that might occur.”

Squall used her ability as a Froster to crust herself with ice and obscure her identity—and whoever she was in real life seemed to make it very difficult for her to sneak away from the Lost Cities for long.

“Blur should be here momentarily,” Granite added.

Almost on cue, a smudged-looking figure passed through the solid wood of the cottage’s front door. As a Phaser, Blur could break down his body and walk through anything—but he only let himself partially re-form, in order to hide what he looked like. All Sophie could see were splotches of color and shadow in a vaguely elflike shape as he turned back to open the door for two familiar figures.

“You know, you could use the door like a normal person,” Tam said as he stalked into the room.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Linh asked, trailing behind her brother.

She’d opened her mouth to say something else when she spotted Sophie and Fitz. Then there was a whole lot of hugging—while Tam settled for a nod-shrug-wave from the doorway.

The twins looked a lot alike—especially with their silver-blue eyes, and the silver tips they’d added to their jet-black hair. But personality-wise, they were night and day.

“I wish I’d known you’d be here,” Linh mumbled. “I was so happy to leave the house, I didn’t bother changing out of my training clothes.” She fussed with the sleeves of her simple blue tunic, which were wet along the edges. She must’ve been practicing hydrokinesis.

“You look beautiful,” Sophie promised.

Linh always did.

All elves were inherently gorgeous, but Linh was especially striking with her soft pink cheeks and lips contrasted against her dramatic eyes and hair. Tam was just as handsome, but with more edge to his style, thanks to his jagged bangs and ultra-intense stare.

“Why aren’t you letting Tam and Linh leave Alluveterre?” Sophie asked Mr. Forkle.

“The same reason we haven’t let you visit,” he told her. “Far too many people would love to find that hideout.”

Tam and Linh lived in the same tree houses that Sophie and her friends had stayed in while they were banished from the Lost Cities, hidden deep under the earth in a subterranean forest only the Black Swan knew how to access. They could’ve returned home when their banishment was lifted, but they chose to stay away from their family—not surprising, considering their parents let them spend more than three years scrounging for food and living in tattered tents instead of standing by Linh’s side as she adjusted to the strength of her ability.

“Does that mean you’re not going to Exillium anymore?” Fitz asked the twins.

“No, they let us out for that,” Tam told him, “but only with our dwarven stalkers.”

“Bodyguards,” Blur corrected. “And they’ll only surface if they hear trouble.”

“King Enki assigned four of his royal brigade to Tam and Linh’s charge,” Granite clarified as he made his way over to check on Prentice, who seemed completely unaware of the noise around him. “The goblins have been spread a bit thin, between the forces they’ve stationed outside Ravagog and the patrols in the Lost Cities. And honestly, it’s better for Tam and Linh to have a discreet form of cover at Exillium.”

“How’s it going there, by the way?” Sophie asked.

Linh smiled. “It keeps getting better—thanks to you.”

Sophie shrugged, not sure she should be given credit for the changes. All she’d done was tell Councillor Oralie what life was truly like at the neglected school. Oralie had arranged the improvements herself.

“I never thought I’d miss that place,” Fitz said. “But some of the skills they taught were pretty awesome.”

“We miss you guys even more,” Sophie added. “Dex and Biana are going to be so jealous that we got to see you.”

“Seriously,” Fitz said, “Biana was already super sulky that she couldn’t come with us this morning, so when I tell her we saw you guys she’s going to flip.”

“All four of them have been nagging me to let them visit you two for weeks,” Mr. Forkle added. “I’d wager they’ve broken Mr. Sencen’s record for Most Visits to the Principal’s Office to plead their case.”

The name drop might as well have dragged a giant woolly mammoth into the room.

Tam cleared his throat. “So . . . have you heard from him?”

“You could say that,” Fitz said, glancing at Sophie.

“I saw him yesterday.” She hoped Tam would leave it at that. But of course he didn’t.

“I’m guessing there was drama?”

“Mr. Sencen has chosen a very challenging path,” Mr. Forkle said carefully. “But we’re still hoping for the best. And I want you all to know that we are not trying to keep you separated from each other. But we have to protect Alluveterre. The Council is watching your pendant feeds very closely, and while they may not be actively working against our order, we also cannot truly count them on our side.”

“I’m sure Dex could cover us sneaking away for a few hours,” Sophie argued.

“Mr. Dizznee’s talents are especially creative,” Wraith agreed. “But the Council’s new measures are cleverer than you might expect. It took our Technopath most of last night to set up the false feed we’re using right now. And it’s only for a limited time.”

“Besides, we need Dex concentrating on other things,” Blur added.

“Like what?” Sophie asked, surprised that Dex hadn’t mentioned anything.

Mr. Forkle shot Blur a look that seemed to say, That was top secret information! before his voice filled her head.

We’ve given Mr. Dizznee access to all of the eldest Mr. Vacker’s registry records, hoping he’ll be able to determine why the Neverseen went to such lengths to destroy the files.

Is that why they broke in to the registry? Sophie asked.

In part. The investigators were unable to determine if any additional files were accessed. But all of Brant’s, Fintan’s, Ruy’s, and Mr. Vacker’s records were erased. It’s quite fortunate we’d made our own copies before the break-in. And I’m sure you can understand why we asked Mr. Dizznee to keep this project quiet.

“I know you’re talking about me,” Fitz said when Sophie’s eyes darted his way. “And you know I can eavesdrop on what you guys are saying, right?”