And she reminded them that Tam thought the process would be fatal.

“Should we have Maruca stay with Keefe?” Stina asked. “That way she can put a force field around him if his mom shows up at his house or something?”

“Tam can break through force fields,” Sophie reminded her, wishing that Shades weren’t quite so powerful. Because Keefe probably was going to need extra protection. And Sophie had no idea what would actually be able to stop Tam.

“Have you told any of this to Linh?” Wylie asked, and Sophie fought back a tinge of guilt as she shook her head.

“I’ll tell her,” he offered.

“And I’ll reach back out to Lady Zillah,” Stina added, “and see if she has any ideas on how shadowflux would trigger an ability—or how to stop it, or… I don’t know. Seems worth checking.”

“It is,” Sophie agreed, wishing she’d thought of the idea herself.

The best she’d come up with was to mention to Dex, “I don’t suppose you can build a gadget—”

“That’ll block shadowflux?” Dex finished for her. “I doubt it, since I don’t really understand how that stuff works. But I’ll still do some brainstorming.”

“If you need me to enhance you again, let me know,” she offered—and almost ended the conversation there.

But…

Biana deserved to know about Alvar.

The news did not go over well—especially the part about how Alvar was very likely dying.

And when Sophie asked, “Are you mad at me for letting him go?” there was an endless stretch of silence.

But Biana did sound like she meant it when she eventually told Sophie, “No.”

That was all.

Just that one word.

But it was enough to give Sophie a trickle of hope that maybe Keefe’s conversation with Fitz wasn’t going as badly as she feared.

Part of her wanted to sit there, staring at her Imparter long after her teammates had clicked away, waiting to see if Keefe or Fitz would hail her. But she was getting better about remembering to focus on the bigger, less personal problems.

Sandor was updating Flori on everything, so Flori could pass a message on to Mr. Forkle. But the Council should probably know as well—and not just the bullet points, like Sophie had given her teammates.

The Council should have the whole story.

And since the idea of discussing fertility treatments with Bronte sounded about as fun as having her head chewed on by a T. rex, Sophie told her Imparter to show her Councillor Oralie.

The pretty blond Councillor’s expression was impossible to read as Sophie filled her in on everything. The only noticeable reaction was a slight flinch when Sophie described how painful Lady Gisela’s “treatment” had been.

“Thank you for telling me,” Oralie said when Sophie finished. “I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sure what to do with that information.”

“Neither am I,” Sophie said. “But I still thought you should know.”

“We should,” Oralie agreed. “And actually… it’s helped me make up my mind about something I’ve been debating. Mr. Forkle told me that the strength of your enhancing has increased significantly since your abilities were reset, and that he’s now hoping you’ll be able to find the means within yourself to switch the power on and off in order to prevent anyone from taking advantage. I’m assuming you’ve not had much luck with that endeavor?”

“I haven’t,” Sophie agreed. “It turns out I’m not good at journeys of self-discovery.”

“Few of us are,” Oralie assured her. “And honestly, I think a ‘journey’ is the wrong way of looking at it. I think it’s more about being aware of yourself and being mindful of your power and focusing on becoming fully aware of how everything within you is working in each moment.”

“Okay,” Sophie said, biting her tongue to stop herself from pointing out how that sounded even more vague and confusing than Mr. Forkle’s suggestions.

Oralie laughed. “I realize that probably seems very abstract. Which is why I’d love to walk you through an exercise that might be helpful. It’s something used in empathy training, but since my ability is also connected to touch, I think it could easily apply to enhancing.”

“I’m game,” Sophie told her, happy for any help she could get. “Did you want to try it now, or…?”

“I suppose it would be wise to avoid delay,” Oralie agreed, “especially since the challenges we’re facing do seem to be gathering momentum. Can you come to my office?”

“Oh, you want to do it in person?” Sophie asked.

“The exercise works best if we can be in physical contact,” Oralie explained. “But I’m just now realizing that it’s late and you’ve had a trying day, so if you’re tired, we can choose another time.”

It was late.

And Sophie was tired.

And part of her still wanted to sit around waiting to see if she’d hear from Fitz or Keefe.

But her mind reminded her of the ominous words Oralie had just used.

Gathering momentum. Gathering momentum. Gathering momentum.

“Just let me tell my parents where I’m going,” Sophie decided.

Oralie nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

FORTY-TWO

SO… HOW DO WE DO this?” Sophie asked, ordering herself to relax as she surveyed the diamond-shaped sitting room that Oralie had led her to. But her heart still insisted on beating much faster and louder than it should—which was ridiculous.

Oralie was a nice Councillor.

A trustworthy Councillor.

A Councillor who’d always been on Sophie’s side and had helped her numerous times.

She was Sophie’s assigned point of contact for Team Valiant.

She’d even given Sophie a makeover!

And Sophie had been in that same sitting room once before, and nothing scary had happened—and surely nothing scary could happen in a room that was so sparkly and pretty and… pink.

Pink armchairs.

Pink jeweled ottomans.

Pink chandeliers.

Pink stones set into the glittering walls in intricate floral patterns.

It was basically Biana’s dream space.

And Ro’s worst nightmare.

But the Council had a strict “no bodyguards in the Councillors’ offices” policy, so the ogre princess would never have to endure the sparkly pink overload.

Even Sandor had been forced to take up a post outside of the massive crystal castle—which meant that it was just Sophie and Oralie standing alone among all of that rose-colored shimmer. And it felt…

… awkward.

And overwhelming.

And intimidating.

It didn’t help that Sophie had forgotten to curtsy when Oralie first opened the door. Or that Sophie hadn’t thought to change before heading over, so she was still wearing a simple white tunic and gray leggings. Meanwhile, Oralie’s perfect blond ringlets were crowned with her pink-tourmaline circlet, and her pink gown was made from different lengths of tulle, as if the skirt had been sewn together from oversize, pearl-lined rose petals.

“It’s probably best if we sit,” Oralie suggested, and Sophie obediently sank onto one of the throne-size armchairs.