Lodestar Read online

  “Uh, this is the Black Swan we’re talking about,” Keefe argued. “They take a million years to do anything—and just so you know, I’m rooting for Phaser. Think of how much havoc you could cause if you could walk through walls.”

  “Shouldn’t we be trying to come up with an actual plan?” Fitz asked. “Instead of putting all the pressure on Sophie?”

  “But Foster’s always the one who figures it out. You just gotta give that fancy brain of hers a second to work.”

  “That’s not true. I . . .” Sophie’s words trailed off as an idea started to take shape.

  Keefe grinned. “Go ahead, Foster. Amaze us.”

  She stared at the black sludge trickling across the sand. “It’s not a full plan yet. But the ogres and the Neverseen already have a precarious relationship, right? So what if we do something to push it over the edge, and make sure they never trust each other again?”

  “See?” Keefe said. “Told you she’d solve it. Maybe we’ll get our wish and they’ll destroy each other in the process. So what are you thinking? Convince Dimitar that Fintan told everyone Dimitar’s butt looks dimply in those metal undies? Or maybe we fill Fintan’s bedroom with those nasty ogre plants Lady Cadence used to make us peel in detention—what were they called? Curdleroots?—and he’ll be like, ‘Oh no Dimitar didn’t—it’s on!’ ”

  “Do you even know where any of the Neverseen’s other hideouts are?” Sophie asked.

  “Wait,” Fitz said. “Are you actually considering those plans?”

  “No, they’re totally insane. But if we’re going to come up with something better, we need to know what we have to work with, like who we have access to, and how much time we have. Do you think you can find out when and where King Dimitar and Fintan are going to meet?” she asked Keefe. “Because if we can cause something to go wrong during that meeting, they’ll each think the other set a trap.”

  “I . . . don’t know. One thing I’ve learned as New Kid in the Evil Rebellion—it’s not a good idea to ask too many questions. And I’ve been trying to save them to find out how to steal the caches.”

  “The caches are important,” Sophie said. “But this has a bigger time crunch. It sounded like the Peace Summit is coming up quick, and I’m assuming they’ll be meeting before then.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Keefe said, shaking the sand off his cloak. “I’ll see if I can find a way to bring the ogres up during my next empathy lesson. Maybe the fact that Fintan’s going to be angry at everyone for botching the Wylie thing will make him a little more willing to open up to me.”

  “Be careful,” Sophie begged, still imagining fiery punishments. “None of this is worth what they’ll do to you if they figure out you’re helping us.”

  “I got this,” Keefe said, ducking behind the rocks he’d been leaning on when they arrived. He returned carrying a sludgy, stinky bucket. “I’d better get back. I’m sure the person meeting me at the rendezvous point is there by now.”

  “I think we should check in more than once a day from now on,” Sophie told him as he fished out a simple blue crystal. “That way you won’t have to try to slip away again. Is there another time that’s safe to talk?”

  “I get a breakfast break around sunrise, and a dinner break around sunset, so we could go with either of those times. Or both. But no check-ins tonight. I’m supposed to have a special skill lesson with Ruy—and even if that’s changed, I should probably lie low.”

  “Tomorrow morning, then,” Sophie said, trying not to think about how early she’d be waking up from now on.

  “Woo-hoo for bonus Keefoster time! Try not to get jealous, Fitzy. She still likes you better than me—but someday I will wear her down. I’m sneaky like that.”

  “Not sneaky enough!” a voice growled behind them.

  Sophie’s panic mixed with dread when she realized the voice was high-pitched and squeaky.

  Sure enough, when she turned around, she found Sandor, Grizel, Alden, and Grady glaring at them.

  “Uh-oh—that’s my cue,” Keefe said, his eyes on his feet as he moved his crystal to the light and disappeared through the path.

  Grady’s lips pressed into a rigid line, parting enough to only release one word.

  “Grounded.”

  Alden added, “For the rest of eternity.”

  FORTY-FOUR

  GRADY MADE GOOD on his threat, sending Sophie to her room the second they got back to Havenfield and informing her that she wouldn’t be leaving the house again until her ears turned pointy.

  Even after she’d warned him about the alliance between the Neverseen and ogres.

  Even after she’d explained the plan they were working on to prevent it.

  Even after she’d shared Keefe’s darkest memory to help prove he was trustworthy.

  Reasoning with Grady was sometimes like giving Verdi something new to eat.

  And from the look in Alden’s eyes as he dragged Fitz back to Everglen, she had no doubt Fitz was meeting the same fate—though Grizel’s lecture would surely be less brutal than Sandor’s. Sandor’s stretched on for an hour and seventeen minutes—and yes, Sophie counted. He ranted for so long, her butt went numb—and she was sitting on her very soft, very comfortable bed.

  Apparently Alden had come to Havenfield after Grady told him about Cyrah, and they’d gone upstairs to ask Sophie a few follow-up questions. Cue massive chaos when they found her note on the bed. They’d hailed Sandor to have him find her through the emergency trackers hidden in her clothes, and Grizel had insisted on coming along, since Fitz was her charge.

  “Don’t tell me you were careful,” Sandor ordered when his speech finally wound down. “If you were careful, you would’ve waited for me. After what just happened to Wylie—”

  “Keefe wasn’t a part of that,” she interrupted. “And they needed you at Foxfire, trying to figure out how the Neverseen got into the Silver Tower—not wasting time on me.”

  “Protecting you will never be a waste of time. You’ve also proven that you can’t be left without supervision, so Lur and Mitya are taking over the search at the tower. Gnomish senses aren’t quite as keen, but they’ll be able to work much faster. And you will not leave my side from this moment forward—I don’t care what any cute boys leave on your pillow.”

  Sophie’s cheeks burned. “It wasn’t about that. He—”

  Sandor held up his hands. “Whatever your reasons, the answer will forever remain, I go where you go.”

  “Which means you’ll be seeing a lot of these walls,” Grady said as he stalked into the room with Edaline. Sophie opened her mouth to argue, but he held up his hand. “We’ll discuss it in the morning. Right now, I want you to eat some dinner and go to sleep.”

  Edaline snapped her fingers, conjuring up a tray of something neon orange and gloopy. Fortunately, elvin food always tasted better than it looked.

  Sophie sighed as they each kissed her on the cheek and closed her in her room with Sandor guarding the door. If they were freaking out this much about her sneaking off to meet with Keefe, she couldn’t imagine what they’d do if they found out she’d also visited Eternalia. . . .

  You okay? she transmitted, stretching out her mind to Fitz after she’d eaten and showered and climbed into bed.

  Yeah. I’m good. Though Grizel says I’m now required to participate in Sandor’s dancing humiliation. There was lots of talk of matching silver pants.

  Sophie giggled. Maybe you and Sandor can work out some choreography.

  Hey—if I have to dance, you are SO dancing with me. In the frilliest, sparkliest gown Biana can find in her closet. And heels.

  She knew Fitz was only teasing—but the idea sounded . . . interesting. Well, the dancing part—not the stupid dress.

  What about you? he asked. How bad is the punishment?

  I’m still awaiting sentencing.

  Yikes. Waiting’s the worst. Sorry.

  No—I’m sorry. I’m the one who got you into this.

 
Nah, I chose to go. And I’m glad I did. I think I finally get where Keefe’s coming from. That memory . . .

  I know. I’m pretty sure I’ll be having nightmares about it for a while. Though that’s still less terrifying than imagining what’ll happen to him if he gets caught.

  Seriously, I think you were right when you told me that we’re probably going to have to figure out a way to save him by the end of this. I mean, this isn’t the kind of thing he can just walk away from. If he tries to leave, they will come after him—and that’s assuming he gets out before they figure out what he’s doing.

  Sophie reached for Ella. How do we save him when we don’t even know where he is?

  No idea, Fitz admitted. But . . . Keefe is dead-on about one thing. You do always find the solution.

  Gee—no pressure there.

  I know. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help. I just meant . . . try not to stress about it too much. If we really need to help him, you’ll figure it out.

  How can you be so sure?

  She could almost feel the warmth of his smile radiating through the connection between them as he told her, Because you’re Sophie Foster. That’s what you do.

  • • •

  “Well, at least you obeyed one thing I told you,” Grady said, startling Sophie awake. “I think this is the latest you’ve slept as long as you’ve lived here—without sedatives, at least.”

  Sophie rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Lunchtime.”

  “LUNCHTIME?” Sophie groaned as he opened her shades, flooding the room with sunlight. “Ugh—I slept through my check-in with Keefe.”

  “Good,” Grady said.

  “No—not good. Now I can’t make sure he’s okay until dinnertime.”

  “You should be more worried about you. We need to discuss your punishment.”

  Sophie sighed and sat up, twisting her Sucker Punch bracelet. “I’m sorry I worried you. But . . . Fitz and I weren’t actually in danger.”

  “Every minute you spend with That Boy is dangerous,” Grady insisted. “If he wants to risk his own life—that’s his choice. But I’m not letting him drag you—or Fitz—down with him.”

  “He’s not dragging us down—he gave us crucial information. Why can’t you see that?”

  “Actually, I can. I was up late giving Mr. Forkle a thorough update on everything you told me. He’s asked you to record all of your memories—especially the one about that door. And the whole Collective will be brainstorming ways to prevent this new alliance from forming. They think your plan to sabotage Dimitar and Fintan’s meeting is very clever. But none of that changes the fact that you met up with a member of the Neverseen without permission and without protection—that’s never going to be okay.”

  “Neither is grounding me for meeting with a friend,” Sophie argued. “Especially since I left a note!”

  “Yeah, let’s talk about that.” Grady scooted her lunch tray closer. “Your mom and I were right downstairs. You could’ve told us what you were doing. But you chose to scribble a hasty message and sneak away. Why do you think that is?”

  Sophie hated when he made good points.

  “I didn’t have time to deal with anyone trying to stop me,” she mumbled. “I know you guys want to keep me safe—but Keefe is putting his life on the line to help us. So . . . if he gives me instructions, I’m going to follow them—grounding or no. Same goes for whatever plan we come up with to ruin the ogre–Neverseen meeting—and if the Black Swan need me to search more of Wylie’s memories, or to check on Prentice, or meet with Gethen, or—”

  “I’m aware that you might find some extenuating circumstances,” Grady interrupted. “In fact, I’ve already assured Mr. Forkle that if something urgent comes up, all he has to do is hail me. I’d prefer he bring the problem here, but if he can’t, I’ll allow you to go with Sandor.”

  “And I will ensure that you come home immediately after,” Sandor said from the doorway.

  “I’m also still going to let you have this”—Grady handed her a wrapped parcel—“so that you’ll have a way to stay connected to your friends and the Black Swan.”

  Sophie peeled back the thick paper and found a new Imparter along with the black case Mr. Forkle had put Keefe’s Imparter in.

  “It’s still in there,” Grady explained. “The Black Swan’s Technopath couldn’t trace the signal either.”

  Her shoulders slumped.

  “Yeah, I know. I was hoping we’d learn something from it too. But try to remember that a dead end is better than any of the awful things that could’ve happened if that listening device had still been active. The Black Swan locked the case so you can’t open it. You’re welcome to throw it away, or smash the whole thing into itty-bitty pieces—”

  “I’d be happy to crush it for you,” Sandor offered. “But Mr. Forkle suspected you’d want to hang on to it.”

  She did—even though she knew it was silly. Somehow knowing the Imparter still existed made it feel like she might someday discover a secret from it.

  “I’m not going to put any restrictions on who you’re allowed to contact,” Grady added. “And I’m willing to let you have your friends visit to work on projects. Despite what you may be thinking, I’m not grounding you because I’m angry. I’m just trying to protect you—even if it means being annoying. I know you’re the moonlark. I’d like to think I’ve been pretty supportive. Didn’t I let you fly off with Silveny to get your abilities fixed? And didn’t I let you run away to join the Black Swan? If you think any of that was easy for me, you overestimate my inner calm. Most days, I want to grab you and Edaline and find somewhere safe to hide until all of this is over. But I know that’s not what you want—and I’m proud of you for being so ready to accept your responsibilities. I just need you to remember that you’re also my daughter, and I’d like to keep you alive.”

  “Okay, but . . .”

  “But what?” Grady asked, when she didn’t finish.

  Sophie stared at the crystal stars that dangled over her bed. “If I hadn’t gone to meet with Keefe, would you have gotten so angry?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re getting at, kiddo.”

  “I mean, if I’d snuck out with Dex or Biana to do something for the Black Swan—or if Fitz and I had left to do some Cognate training—would you have grounded me like this?”

  “Of course,” Sandor said.

  Grady didn’t look as sure. “That’s not a fair question. None of them are actively involved with our enemies. And none of them have ever sent you home in a panicked, sobbing heap after betraying you.”

  “Uh, Biana and I had that huge fight at Foxfire a few months back, remember? I ran home crying and went to the cave to be alone and ended up getting kidnapped—not that Biana had anything to do with that. And Fitz blamed me for what happened to Alden and said all kinds of mean things that made me cry. And that ability restrictor Dex made for the Council was one of the most painful, humiliating things I’ve ever been through.”

  “So you want me to be mad at all of your friends?” Grady asked.

  “No—I want to know why you’re so much harder on Keefe. Now that you know what he’s been through . . . why won’t you cut him some slack?”

  Grady let out a sigh that seemed to drain all the air from his body. “Okay, if you want to have this conversation, I guess we can.”

  “What conversation?” Sophie asked.

  Grady raised an eyebrow. “About boys.”

  FORTY-FIVE

  BOYS?” SOPHIE REPEATED, trying to come up with any other meaning for the word besides the one Grady’s raised eyebrow implied.

  “Yeah, it’s always awkward to talk about this stuff with your parents,” he told her. “But remember, I went through this with Jolie. I know it’s not easy dealing with . . . feelings.”

  “He means crushes,” Sandor clarified, just to add the final nail to her coffin of misery.

  “Ugggggggggggghhhhhhh—seriously, why are we talking a
bout this?” Sophie asked, wondering if she could slip past Sandor if she sprinted for the door.

  Sandor and Grady shared a look.

  “We’re talking about it because you asked why I’m harder on That B—on Keefe,” Grady said.

  “He seems to be special to you,” Sandor added. “And he also happens to be a very good-looking boy—for an elf.”

  “THIS IS THE WORST EVER!” Sophie shouted, flopping back on her bed and pulling her hair over her face to hide.

  “I’m right there with you, kiddo. If I had my way, you wouldn’t get your match lists until you’re at least a hundred. But even if I got my wish on that, I also know that feelings . . . happen.”

  “Well, they’re not happening here. He’s. My. Friend.”

  “That’s often how it starts,” Sandor said. “And then the friendship turns to teasing and the teasing turns to flirting and—”

  “Yeah, but this is Keefe,” Sophie interrupted. “In case you haven’t noticed, he teases everyone. It doesn’t mean anything. Especially with me.”

  “You really believe that, don’t you?” Grady asked, glancing at Sandor when she nodded.

  “If you guys look at each other like that again I’m going to punch you,” Sophie warned. “And I’m still wearing my Sucker Punch!”

  “Look at each other like what?” Sandor asked.

  “Like . . . Isn’t she cute?”

  “You are cute.” Grady took both of her hands and pulled her back to a sitting position. “And you’re sure there’s nothing you want to tell me? I promise I won’t freak out.”

  “Kinda sounds like you would. Not that it matters, but aren’t you basically telling me that you don’t approve of Keefe? Isn’t that why I’m grounded?”

  “You’re grounded because you nearly gave me a panic meltdown,” Grady told her. “And it’s not about approval. This is your life. You’ll get to choose who you share it with. But I will say this: Anyone who wants to be special to you should have to prove that they deserve you. Not just Keefe—though he’ll definitely have more of an uphill battle. I’d be saying the same thing if we were talking about someone else. Like . . . oh . . . I don’t know. Dex? Or Fitz?”