Her memories crashed into his mind in loud, vivid detail, and he found himself grinning at her snarky comebacks even as his stomach turned extra churn-y at the sight of his dad.

Keefe had always disliked his father—but that dislike was slowly morphing into fist-clenching hate. And he couldn’t decide if he wanted to grab his dad and shake him as hard as he could or punch him dead in the face.

“Everything okay, Hunkyhair?” Ro asked. “You’re getting a little twitchy. You haven’t wrecked things with Blondie, have you?”

Keefe shook his head.

To Sophie he added, Yeah, I have no clue what that was all about. But you can bet Daddio and I will be talking about it as soon as it’s safe for me to do that.

Or maybe before.

He definitely wouldn’t feel guilty about numbing his father—though his father was such a cold, emotionless shell, it probably wouldn’t make any difference.

You’ll let me know if you find out more? he asked.

Of course. Though… we’re not really focusing on him right now.

He tried not to let that “we” sting, but of course his brain had to remind him that she was talking about Fitzphie time.

But that was good. Fitz had botched things majorly, but he definitely still cared. So hopefully he’d get his act together and figure out how to be the kind of boyfriend that Foster deserved.

He had a way better chance of pulling that off than Keefe ever would.

You okay? Sophie asked, and Keefe tried to shove those thoughts away, hoping he hadn’t accidentally let her hear any of them.

Yep. All good. So, what are you and the Fitzster working on?

He wished he hadn’t asked when she told him, Well… we really need to find Kenric’s cache.

It was the mistake that kept on giving.

The betrayal Keefe never seemed to be able to fix.

Got any good leads? he asked, pretty sure he already knew the answer.

Not really. But… we’re going to try talking to Glimmer tomorrow. Maybe she’ll know something.

She didn’t sound convinced.

Keefe couldn’t blame her for that. But… who knew? Maybe Glimmer would surprise them.

He wasn’t sure he believed that Glimmer had truly turned against his mom, but his mom was also pretty creepy and evil, so maybe she finally scared Glimmer off.

Will you let me know what she says? he asked.

Of course. Anything you want me to ask—or tell her?

Oh, he had quite a list—most involving words that would make Foster’s innocent little ears burn.

Nah, I’m sure you and Fitzy have it covered. Just… keep me in the loop.

Will do.

They fell back into slightly painful silence before she added, What are you going to do tomorrow? Draw more memories?

He probably should.

He needed to sketch what happened in Loamnore, see if it helped him figure out what was happening to him right now.

But he wasn’t in the mood to relive it all yet.

You know what might help? Sophie asked. Maybe you should try writing about the memories after you draw them. I remember learning that words and images are processed by different parts of the brain, so using both might help you discover new things.

She went on for a few more sentences about the power of words, but Keefe spent most of the speech imagining how she looked as she was saying it. She was so adorable when she was trying to get him excited about something.

I guess I can give it a try, he agreed when she finally finished.

You should. And you should also get some rest. You sound… tired.

So do you, he noted. And that was probably his fault. I think you need a Wynn-and-Luna snugglefest tonight.

I’m actually with them right now.

UM, EXCUSE ME—YOU’VE BEEN CUDDLING WITH BABY ALICORNS THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME? I NEED A MENTAL PICTURE OF THIS IMMEDIATELY.

Okay, hang on.

His mind filled with what might’ve been the cutest thing he’d ever seen—Foster leaning against the Panakes’s trunk with Wynn’s head resting in her lap and Luna lying on her back beside her, getting a major belly rub. Flowers drifted all around them, and the sky was that perfect dusky purple, with tiny stars just starting to break through.

Wish I was there, he told her, hoping it wasn’t too sappy of a thing to admit.

Sophie’s reply was a soft, sweet whisper. Me too.

For a second, Keefe could imagine himself right there beside her, with her head resting gently on his shoulder—but he shoved that thought away as fast as he could, hoping she didn’t notice.

Get some rest, Foster.

I will if you will.

Keefe smiled. Deal.

He wasn’t sure how long their minds stayed connected after that, but at some point he drifted off to sleep—and he didn’t have a single nightmare.

* * *

“He looks so peaceful—I feel bad waking him,” someone said—a voice that sounded familiar, but Keefe’s snoozing brain couldn’t recognize it.

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have any problem with it,” someone else added, followed by a bone-shaking shout of “WAKE UP, HUNKYHAIR!”

Keefe bolted upright, struggling to catch his breath as his heart slammed against his ribs and the room sharpened into focus.

Ro grinned. “Looks like I need to start calling you Droolyhair.”

Keefe gave her an I-will-make-you-suffer-later glare as he reached up to wipe his chin.

“Oh… hey,” he mumbled when he noticed Dex hiding in the doorway—then sucked in a sharp breath and clamped his hand over his mouth.

“HE SPEAKS!” Ro shouted. “And once again, the world did NOT end! MORE! MORE! MORE!”

Keefe gave her a less-than-friendly gesture instead.

Dex laughed. “Sorry. Elwin sent me up here to wake you. My dad and I stopped by with a few things we wanted to test to see if they help.”

Keefe was on his feet immediately, wobbling as his body adjusted to being vertical.

“Hang on,” Ro said, putting out her arms to block him. “Shirt first. And maybe do something about that morning breath?”

Keefe glared at her.

But she had a point, so he grabbed the nearest tunic and pulled it on before chugging some Youth to rinse his mouth.

Dex snorted. “Nice pajamas.”

Keefe hadn’t even noticed what he was wearing, but it must’ve been something Elwin had given him. The bright blue fabric was covered in colorful murcats, which had all been dusted with glitter.

He shrugged, dragging a hand through his wild hair as he followed Dex into the hall.

“Uh, just so you know, it’s about to get really loud,” Dex warned. “My dad thought it would be a good idea to bring the triplets for this, so…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

Keefe could already hear the screaming.

“DAD—LEX KEEPS LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW!”

“IT’S NOT YOUR WINDOW!”

“YES, IT IS—I’M STANDING IN FRONT OF IT!”

“SO AM I!”

“NOW YOU’RE NOT!”

“DAD—REX SHOVED ME INTO BEX. AND SHE SMELLS LIKE ROTTING FLOWERS!”

“YEAH, WELL, YOU SMELL LIKE YOU’VE BEEN ROLLING IN POOP!”

“HE WAS!”