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  “I have a friend who helps at the Prattles’ bakery, and I’d heard that a baby moonlark hatched recently. I asked her to save me the box with the new pin. I wanted to show you that elves aren’t the only ones who believe in you.”

  “Why?” Sophie had to ask. “I mean . . . I’m just one girl.”

  “All it takes is one to stand where others fall. Think of the way you defied the ogre king. No one on the Council was willing to take such a risk.”

  “But . . . wasn’t that a bad thing?” Sophie needed a deep breath before she could mumble her next sentence. “It sounds like the attack at the Wildwood Colony happened right after I read King Dimitar’s mind—”

  “Are you blaming yourself for the plague?” Calla interrupted.

  “It seems like they must be connected—assuming the ogres are responsible.”

  “Oh, they’re responsible,” Calla said darkly. “And someday we’ll finally be able to prove it. But that doesn’t mean you should put the blame on yourself.” She took Sophie’s hands, and her green thumbs felt warm and smooth, like stones heated by the sun. “You are a sprout, fighting to take root among the rocks of our world. It’s going to cause a few cracks, but that is the only way for you to grow strong.”

  Sophie tried to feel the comfort Calla wanted her to feel. But all she found were more reasons to worry. “How bad is the plague?”

  “I wish I knew. It’s been very hard to get information.”

  “Mr. Forkle said the same thing. Why would the Council keep it secret?”

  Calla released her hands, turning back to her blossoms. “I’m sure they’re trying to spare us unnecessary panic. Hopefully Gora and Yuri will return with a happy report soon.”

  “They’re the gnomes you mentioned earlier, who had family in the Wildwood Colony?”

  Calla nodded. “Yuri’s sister lived there, along with her husband and two daughters.”

  “Daughters,” Sophie repeated. “So . . . they’re kids?”

  “Not as young as you,” Calla said. “Though they are still far too young . . .”

  . . . to die, Sophie’s mind finished.

  “The physicians should be able to find the cure, though, right?” she asked.

  Calla smiled. “That is the plan.”

  Sophie tried to think of something else to say. All she could find was half a sentence.

  “If there’s anything I can do . . .”

  “There may very well be,” Calla said. “That’s why you’re the Moonlark.”

  She curtsied and turned to leave, then whipped back around. “Look at me, forgetting the reason I came here!”

  She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a fist-size black cube. “This is the package you were promised, to swear fealty to the Black Swan. There’s a sensor on the top that will respond to your DNA. Only when you truly mean your oath will the latch open.”

  “How can it tell?”

  “That’s one of the Black Swan’s mysteries. But you are their heir. Your spot is reserved. All you have to do is accept it.”

  She curtsied again, leaving Sophie alone with the tiny black box that suddenly felt very heavy. In her mind she could hear hundreds of unanswered questions mixed with all her doubts and worries and insecurities.

  She could also hear Mr. Forkle telling her she had a choice.

  Hands trembling and stomach fluttering, she raised the box to her lips and gave the sensor the tiniest of licks.

  As soon as her DNA registered, the cube flashed with white light. Words appeared through the glow, a single sentence written in frills and loops. The oath was far simpler than Sophie had imagined. But the words felt true. A promise she could stand behind. Believe in. Uphold.

  I will do everything in my power to help my world.

  Sophie closed her eyes, drawing the words from her heart as she whispered the oath.

  The last word had barely left her lips when a latch on the box snapped open. Inside she found a pendant made of curved black metal, shaped like the sign of the swan. Set into the center was a magnifying glass.

  Sophie assumed the tiny piece of paper enclosed with it would explain what the pendant meant. Instead it said—in Mr. Forkle’s familiar writing:

  Glad you made the right choice.

  THIRTEEN

  HOW MANY TIMES did you have to say the oath before your cube opened?” Biana asked, fiddling with her Black Swan pendant as she followed Sophie and Della down to breakfast.

  “I think it was my fourth,” Della said, lifting the hem of her long black-and-white gown to descend the stairs.

  Surprisingly, Biana had worn pants—though the tunic she’d paired with them was embroidered with butterflies, and she had jeweled butterflies pinned in her hair. Somehow Biana made it all seem effortless—even her matching lip gloss. “I got it on my third try,” she told Sophie. “What about you?”

  Sophie looked away. “My first.”

  “I guess I should’ve figured that,” Biana said through a sigh. She held her pendant up like a monocle. “Do you have any idea what these do? All my note said was ‘to show you the world in new ways.’ ”

  “Mine said, ‘For when you need to look closer,’ ” Della added.

  They glanced at Sophie.

  “Mine said they were glad I made the right choice.”

  “Huh,” Biana said. “It must be weird to be you.”

  Talk about an understatement.

  All the things Calla had told Sophie were still buzzing around her mind—especially the part about Calla being involved with Project Moonlark.

  For some reason she’d imagined the project only included Mr. Forkle, sitting alone in a lab with a microscope and some Petri dishes. But now she could picture a whole team—multiple people and species brainstorming and planning, resting their hopes on her to be their Moonlark. And what if—

  All thoughts dropped away when they reached the gazebo.

  “Your hair!” Della gasped, rushing to where Fitz sat at the table. His usual dark waves had been dyed green, and they stuck out in every direction.

  “Someone slipped an elixir into my shampoo this morning,” Fitz said, patting the spikes and eyeing Dex. “But it’s cool. I kind of like it.”

  Dex snorted. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “Actually, it’s not that bad,” Biana said.

  “Yeah, Fitz can pull off anything.” Sophie blushed as she considered the implication of her words.

  Keefe groaned. “I knew we should’ve gone with the balding elixir. Next time!”

  “Uh-uh,” Della told him. “You need to fix this—now. Do you really want the Black Swan to see what you’ve done?”

  Keefe shrugged and grabbed a pastry from one of the platters in the center of the table. “They’re walking around crusted with ice and turning their bodies to stone. Cactus head is nothing.”

  “Okay, lets try this a different way,” Della decided. “If you get to makeover my son, then I get to makeover both of you.”

  “Works for me,” Keefe said. “I look awesome in everything.”

  “Tell that to your feet when they spend the rest of the week balancing in my tallest heels,” Della told him.

  “Okay . . . forget that.” Dex reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny brown vial. “This will get rid of the green.”

  “Thank you.” Della rumpled Dex’s hair as he gave the vial to Fitz.

  Fitz downed it in one gulp, gagging at the taste.

  “No more pranks,” Della said, wagging a finger at all three boys.

  “Or—what if Fitz looks normal, but doesn’t smell very good?” Keefe asked.

  Biana giggled.

  Della sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Keefe?”

  “I hear the Lord of the Universe title is up for grabs. Unless Foster’s trying to snatch it.”

  “All yours.” Sophie had enough responsibility already.

  “So you guys didn’t have any problems with the oath?” Biana asked.

 
“Nope! Got it on my third try,” Dex said proudly.

  “Me too!” Biana said.

  “Ha—beat you both,” Fitz told them. “Only took me two.”

  “Don’t get so smug. I’m sure Foster nailed it the first try.” Keefe laughed when she blushed. “I knew it.”

  “How many tries did it take you?” Biana asked him.

  Keefe looked away.

  “So what did everyone’s notes say?” Sophie asked, saving him from having to answer.

  “Mine said ‘Because seeing is believing,’ ” Dex said.

  “Huh, I didn’t realize they were different.” Fitz smoothed his back-to-normal hair. “Mine said ‘The smallest things can be the most dangerous.’ ”

  Everyone looked at Keefe.

  “Do not lose your way.”

  Biana repeated the other notes and studied her pendant. “I still don’t get what they do.”

  “Typical Black Swan,” Fitz said.

  “Seriously,” Dex agreed. “Don’t they realize riddles are a huge waste of time?”

  “Are they?” Granite asked, crossing the bridge to reach the gazebo. His face looked like clay soil that had cracked in the sun. “And here I thought we were training your minds to think critically and solve problems.”

  “There are no easy answers in this world,” Wraith added, his silver cloak appearing beside Granite.

  Biana moved closer to study him. “How do you partially vanish like that?”

  “Work hard enough and I’ll teach you,” he said. “But today we’ll be perfecting the basics. Rescuing Prentice will require a level of precision you currently do not have, so prepare yourself for a long, exhausting day.”

  “Meanwhile, I’ll be initiating your Cognate Training,” Granite told Sophie and Fitz. “Today will be the test to see if Cognatedom is truly a possibility.”

  Sophie’s stomach dropped into her toes, and she was very glad she hadn’t eaten any of the pastries yet.

  “What about us?” Keefe asked, pointing to himself and Dex.

  “You both have study materials in your rooms,” Granite said.

  “You’re seriously telling us to go read?” Keefe asked.

  Sophie leaned close to whisper, “It’s only one day.”

  “A lot can happen in a day, Foster. You know that better than anyone.”

  “It’s cool,” Dex jumped in. “I have a project we can both work on.”

  The way he said “project” made Sophie wonder what prank he was planning. She hoped it’d be worth it, since she was sure Della would make good on her threat of high heels. But she was glad to see Dex once again keeping Keefe from getting too frustrated.

  Part of her wished she could go with them as they crossed the bridge and headed up the stairs. Instead, she followed Fitz and Granite down to the river, trying to convince herself Cognate training wouldn’t be as scary as it sounded.

  “Mr. Forkle and I spent last night preparing these,” Granite said, handing Sophie and Fitz each a black notebook labeled Cognate Lessons. “But as we developed the exercises, we realized we were skipping a crucial step.”

  The three of them sat in the shade of a tree with purple leaves, watching the glassy river rush past. Across the water, Della and Biana were practicing with Wraith, pacing back and forth while vanishing. Biana could only walk half the distance of the others before she’d reappear.

  “The Cognate relationship requires both trust and balance,” Granite said, reminding Sophie she should be paying attention, “and it’s impossible to work on the former without the latter. In your case, Fitz—while you’re an incredibly talented Telepath—your skills simply do not match Sophie’s.”

  Sophie cringed, wondering if the criticism would bother Fitz. But he grinned at her and said, “Yeah, she makes us all look bad.”

  “She does indeed,” Granite agreed, his face cracking further as he smiled. “So if you’re going to be her Cognate, we need to get you up to her speed.”

  “But aren’t her abilities strong because of all the tweaks you did to her genes?” Fitz asked.

  “Actually, much of Sophie’s strength comes from practice. Her ability was triggered eight years ago, and Mr. Forkle trained her mind every night until last year.”

  “He did?” Sophie asked, shuddering at the mental image. “I thought I had to be conscious to learn telepathic skills. Wasn’t that why he couldn’t teach me to shield?”

  “Certain skills, yes,” Granite agreed. “But others can be absorbed. I’ll show you how.”

  He instructed them to scoot closer, until their knees were touching. “It’ll be easier if you hold hands.”

  Sophie tried to return Fitz’s smile, but her palms were sweating—which was stupid. She’d held Fitz’s hand every time they light leaped or teleported. It was no big deal.

  “What now?” Fitz asked, twining their fingers together. Sophie hoped he couldn’t feel her racing pulse.

  “Now I want you to observe Sophie’s mind in action. And Sophie, I think it’s best if you focus on the skill that seems to come to you the most effortlessly—transmitting long distances.”

  “Ohhh, I’ve always wondered how she does that,” Fitz said.

  “Who should I transmit to?” Sophie asked. “In my telepathy sessions I always practiced on Fitz. Or I call for Silveny, but I’m guessing that won’t work, since she’s not an elf.”

  “Actually, that could be interesting,” Granite said. “It might open Fitz’s mind to two skills—distance transmission and telepathy with animals. I’m not sure the latter skill can be taught, but it’s worth the attempt.”

  “Does Silveny think in the Enlightened Language?” Fitz asked.

  “Only the few words I’ve taught her,” Sophie said. “Otherwise it’s her language or images and memories.”

  “That may make it confusing,” Granite warned, “but still a good test. In fact, this should be a definitive indicator of your Cognate success. If Fitz’s mind can’t learn from yours, it’ll prove you’re not compatible.”

  The last word dumped about a million pounds of pressure on everything.

  I won’t care if this doesn’t work, okay? Fitz transmitted after she gave him permission to slip past her blocking.

  But she could see the hope in his eyes—feel the excitement in his grip. And she definitely didn’t want him thinking they weren’t compatible.

  “Okay,” she said, stalling one second longer.

  She closed her eyes and pictured the Sanctuary, with its rainbow sky and rolling pastures. The dwarves had built the lush animal preserve inside the Himalayan Mountains to keep it secret from humans. The rock walls also prevented the alicorns from teleporting away. Sophie wished Silveny could’ve kept her freedom, but the precious alicorn needed protection. The Neverseen had tried to capture Silveny twice. One time they’d even broken her wing.

  Silveny? she transmitted, making Fitz jump.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I should’ve warned you it’d be loud.”

  “But it’s awesome,” Fitz promised. “I need to learn how to project with that kind of power.”

  “Hopefully this process will teach you,” Granite reminded him.

  Silveny, Sophie said again, and this time Fitz barely flinched. He even held steady as she repeated the call a few more times. But he did jump when an exuberant shout filled her mind.

  FRIEND! SOPHIE! VISIT! FLY!

  “That is so crazy,” Fitz said.

  “Does that mean you can hear Silveny?” Granite asked.

  Fitz laughed. “I’m surprised the whole universe can’t. Every word she sends needs to end with an exclamation point.”

  “Tell me about it,” Sophie said.

  “Can you understand what she’s saying?” Granite asked Fitz.

  “So far. But I think she’s speaking the Enlightened Language.”

  “She is.” Sophie’s mind filled with a new round of VISIT! VISIT! VISIT! plus several KEEFEs.

  Wow, she really loves Keefe, doesn�
�t she? Fitz transmitted.

  It’s adorable and obnoxious, isn’t it? Sophie asked.

  There were so many KEEFE! chants going, Sophie almost didn’t notice when Silveny added a GREYFELL! to the mix.

  Is everything okay? she asked.

  Greyfell was the male alicorn who lived at the Sanctuary. He’d grown violent not long after Silveny arrived, but only because he was afraid of the ogre homing device hidden in Silveny’s tail. Once the aromark had been removed, he’d calmed down. Still, Sophie remembered the ferocity in Greyfell’s eyes and the darkness she’d seen in his memories. He’d lived a much harsher life than Silveny, and it had made him cold and wary.

  And yet, the memories Silveny sent showed the two alicorns playfully dipping and diving through the hologram sky and chasing each other through the colorful meadows. If they hadn’t been sparkly flying horses, Sophie would’ve teased them for flirting.

  Plus, she honestly hoped that was what they were up to. Silveny and Greyfell were the last of their kind, and everyone was counting on them to repopulate the species. That was why the alicorns needed so much protection. The elves believed that letting any creature go extinct would cause the planet irreversible damage. So whoever controlled the alicorns controlled the Council.

  I’m glad you have a friend, Sophie said, wishing she could reach across the world and stroke Silveny’s shimmering nose. You’ll have to tell him “hi” for me.

  MISS, Silveny told her, making Sophie’s eyes burn.

  I miss you too. But you’re safe?

  SAFE! SAFE! SAFE! Silveny promised.

  Which of course led her back to more pleas for Sophie to visit, and a host of additional KEEFEs.

  Somewhere around the tenth chant a new voice joined the mix—one with a crisp accent.

  Hi.

  It was a small word, but its effect was huge.

  Silveny pummeled Sophie with worries as Fitz shouted, “I DID IT!”

  Sophie could hear Granite and Fitz celebrating, but first she had to calm Silveny down.

  That’s Fitz, she told the suspicious alicorn.

  FRIEND? Silveny asked.

  Yes, a very good friend. She sent her memories of the few times Fitz had been around Silveny to remind her who he was. When that didn’t seem to be enough, she replayed the moment Fitz had saved her life, finding her when she was fading away after her kidnapping.