“That’s what happens when you leave your kids alone with nowhere to live and nothing to eat,” Sophie snapped, no longer able to bite her tongue. She knew this moment fell into the none-of-her-business category. But she’d already watched one friend unravel because of his horrible family. She wasn’t going to let it happen to Tam and Linh.

“Whatever excuses you’ve given yourselves,” she told the Songs, “whatever lies you’ve let yourself believe—this is the truth, right in front of you. You have two incredibly talented, smart, powerful kids who don’t need you anymore. And if you ever want them in your life again, you have to earn it.”

“How?” both of the Songs asked.

Sophie shrugged. “You have to figure it out for yourselves or it won’t mean anything. Come on,” she told Tam and Linh, taking their hands. “We have better places to be.”

“I can’t believe you said that,” Linh whispered as they moved to a spot in the front of the tent and Sandor stood behind her, creating a wall of muscle between them and the Songs.

Sophie lowered her eyes. “Sorry if I shouldn’t have interfered.”

“No—you absolutely should have,” Tam said.

Linh nodded. “The look on my father’s face—that was the greatest gift you ever could’ve given me.”

“I wish I could do more.” It didn’t seem fair that Sophie had been given two loving families, when so many of her friends hadn’t even gotten one. And for all she knew, her genetic parents were also awesome—though that was a little harder to believe, given the whole never-meeting-their-daughter-and-letting-her-be-experimented-on thing.

“Dude,” a voice said behind her. “Am I in the same Hemisphere as the Great Sophie Foster? Never thought that would happen!”

Sophie turned and found a familiar face grinning at her near one of the tent poles.

“Guys, this is Jensi. And Jensi, this is Tam and Linh,” Sophie introduced.

“Cool!—I love your hair!” Jensi practically shouted. “Is that real silver?—And wait—are you from Exillium?—Is that where you met Sophie?—What’s it like there?”

Jensi had a way of talking like he’d drunk a dozen bottles of caffeinated soda. Tam and Linh were naturally overwhelmed.

“Jensi was one of the first people to help me find my way around Foxfire,” Sophie explained. “Though I haven’t seen him around much lately.”

Jensi’s round cheeks flushed, and he ran a hand through his messy brown hair. “Sorry—you’re just always so busy—and I figured I fit in better with the Drooly Boys, anyway.”

“You fit in wherever you want,” Sophie told him. “Though, for the record, I’ve never seen a drop of drool on your chin.”

Coach Rohana strode into the tent before Jensi could respond, carrying a big bag of purple splotchers. The Ping-Pong-ball-size orbs were like squishy paintballs, and had Sophie hoping the day’s exercise would give her a chance to hurl a few at Tam and Linh’s parents.

“Outward channeling requires a different understanding of your power,” Coach Rohana said, rolling a splotcher around the palm of her hand. “The method you’ve all learned for telekinesis taught you to gather energy from deep within your core and then thrust it out with your mind, controlling the force as though the energy were an extension of your existing limbs. But you need to stop thinking of the energy as core energy. It’s simply your energy—and it does not need to remain connected to you in order for you to manipulate it. In fact, it’s far more powerful when you bury it in other things. For instance”—her eyes narrowed at the splotcher in her hand—“you can hide it here, letting it swell and surge until . . .”

The splotcher erupted, splattering her with purple.

“It’s a bizarre concept, I realize,” she said, wiping the paint off her cheeks. “And it will take time for your minds to accomplish it. In fact, I’d wager that most of you will not burst any splotchers today. We’re providing them mostly to give you a goal—a first stepping-stone to strive for. But there’s nothing wrong with needing several baby steps before you get there. Try to trust your instincts. Also don’t be surprised if you find the process exhausting. Please take breaks if you need them. Everyone ready?” She handed the bag of splotchers to Jensi.

He grabbed enough for Sophie, Tam, and Linh before he passed the bag along and plopped next to Sophie on the purple grass. “Maybe I can absorb some of your awesomeness,” he said, then told Tam and Linh about Sophie’s performance during the Ultimate Splotching Championship. “Flung herself and Fitz into the wall and knocked them out cold!”

Linh laughed. “Sounds like Sophie’s caused almost as many disasters as I have.”

“You should come to Foxfire!” Jensi said. “You two could have a Chaos Competition—it would be epic!—Or wait—can you come back to Foxfire?”

Linh glanced over her shoulder at her parents. “When we’re ready.”

“Let’s get started!” Coach Rohana called. “Place your splotcher on the ground in front of you and clear your head. I won’t be giving you any specific pointers, because it’s far better for you to find your own natural trick. But try to understand that your body is not an impermeable vessel holding a well of energy. It’s a stake in the ground, marking the epicenter of your own personal energy cloud.”

“Does Exillium training always sound this loony?” Jensi asked. “Or is this extra weird?”

“It’s extra weird,” Tam said.

“I don’t know. I kinda get it.” Linh furrowed her brow as she stared at her splotcher. “It’s like how water is both without and within.”

“Uh, sure . . . ,” Jensi said.

Tam laughed. “Don’t worry. I don’t understand half the stuff my sister says.”

Sophie was just as confused. But she tried to imagine her energy like a seed, and pictured herself planting it in the center of the splotcher. She hummed a song in her head to make it grow, letting the energy spread through the paint like roots through soil and . . .

. . . the splotcher burst with a squish of purple.

Jensi pumped his fist. “Told you she’d kick our butts!”