Sophie nodded. “It’s the Lodestar.”

SIXTEEN

EVERYONE ELSE SEES the symbol, right?” Sophie whispered. “I’m not imagining it?”

“Oh, it’s definitely there,” Fitz said. “Though I don’t remember this.”

He pointed to one of the rays, where the open circle at the end had thin lines running through the center.

Linh circled the symbol, moving to the part closest to the rubble. “This is the angle they would’ve seen it from when they first entered from the elevator, right? If you look at it from here, that new mark looks like two runes that spell out . . . Alabestrine.”

“The star?” Sophie asked.

Fitz grinned. “I keep forgetting you have the stars memorized.”

“You do?” Tam and Linh asked, their jaws falling in unison when Sophie nodded.

“Wow, what must it be like to live in your head?” Tam asked.

“It’s very complicated.” Sophie squinted at the rune. “So does this mean the symbol is some sort of constellation?”

“If it is, it’s none that I’ve heard of,” Mr. Forkle told her. “My memory is far inferior to yours, but as I recall, Alabestrine is what we call a solo star—one that’s not connected to anything else.”

“Are there a lot of those?” Sophie asked.

“Millions. No idea why this one would be special.” Mr. Forkle wandered the symbol several times, turning his head this way and that. “The problem is, even if this is a constellation they’ve created, we’d need to know more of the stars before we’d be able to match it up. And if we did . . . I’m not certain what that would tell us.”

Sophie didn’t know either.

But it had to mean something.

“Just to be sure that I’m understanding this correctly,” Mr. Forkle said, turning to Tam, “you were able to create this mark because the symbol was projected here?”

Tam pointed to the damaged ceiling. “I’m betting there used to be a gadget right there that flashed the symbol across the foyer.”

Mr. Forkle scratched his chin. “I don’t understand why I didn’t see it during the rescue. Mind you, I had a lot to consider in that moment—but I can’t believe that I would overlook a glowing mark projected across the floor.”

“Maybe they didn’t keep it lit up all the time,” Linh suggested.

“But it would’ve had to be on a lot in order to leave this strong of a shadow impression,” Tam reminded her.

Sophie had a much bigger, much more terrifying question.

“Do you think this means that my kidnapping was part of the Lodestar Initiative?”

She knew the Neverseen had taken her, but she’d thought it was because they wanted to learn why the Black Swan created her. She’d never considered it might’ve been part of some sort of bigger plan.

Mr. Forkle sighed. “I figured you might be worrying about that—and before you panic, remember that it’s possible this hideout was chosen for its convenience or availability. In fact, that could explain why the symbol wasn’t illuminated while I was here.”

“Maybe,” Sophie said. “But those bars in Dex’s cell were permanently installed, weren’t they? So even if it wasn’t built for me, it was built to hold someone.”

“And therein lies the problem of only having pieces of information,” Mr. Forkle told her. “It raises more questions than it answers. Which means we need to focus our efforts on learning as much about this symbol as possible—and try not to worry about the possibilities in the meantime. Have you memorized the details of this shadowprint? I’ll need you to project it for me when we return to Havenfield. And speaking of which, I believe we’re already past the timeline I gave your father.”

They were.

And Grady was not happy.

“I was five minutes from hailing the Council and begging them to track your pendants!” he told them as Sophie made her way over and squished him with a hug. “Missed you too, kiddo. Everything all right?”

It wasn’t.

But it felt better knowing she was home.

“Did you find anything?” Grady asked.

Mr. Forkle explained about the symbol.

“Wow,” Grady whispered, hugging Sophie tighter. “I guess it’s a good thing you went.”

“It appears so,” Mr. Forkle said, handing Sophie the memory log.

She projected the shadowy symbol on the opposite page from where she’d recorded Prentice’s memory. The marks were the same except for the runes.

The design had sixteen rays with sixteen circles—so if each one was linked to a star, that meant they had a lot of secrets to discover.

“Speaking to Gethen has taken on a new level of priority,” Mr. Forkle told her, “so use this time to start working on a plan for how to trick him into cooperating. We’ll need something clever to get his attention, beyond showing him this symbol. It’s always a game with him, and we cannot face him until we know how to win.”

Sophie handed him back the memory log. “How long do you think it’ll be before the Council lets us meet with him?”

“I’m on my way to Eternalia right now to find out. Mr. Ruewen, do you have any gnomes who might be willing to bring Mr. Tam and Miss Linh to the Alluveterre for me?”

“Lur and Mitya live here now,” Grady suggested.

“Perfect. In fact, it might be wise to see if they know anything about the symbol,” Mr. Forkle said.

Lur and Mitya had been the ones to discover the hideout in Paris. If it weren’t for them, Sophie and Dex wouldn’t be alive.

“So that’s it?” Tam asked. “You’re sending us home to wait?”

“Only because the next step falls squarely on my shoulders,” Mr. Forkle told him. “I’ll have more specific assignments once I secure the meeting with Gethen.”

“Are you going to see the Council looking like that?” Grady asked, pointing to his Forkle disguise.

“Of course. This is the only identity the Councillors are allowed to know. And, if I’m being honest, it also makes the whole process of haggling with them much more entertaining. Councillor Emery looks so delightfully frustrated as he tries to push past my mental blocking. And Councillor Alina loves to pretend like she almost recognizes me. I’m certain she’ll fall out of her chair when she realizes they nearly elected me instead of her.”