“Um… but doesn’t that mean we’d all have to go through the King’s Path again?” Biana asked, turning a little pale.

“I’m sure once we tell Nubiti what’s going on, she can get us enough magsidian to make it so we pass through unaffected,” Sophie told her. “Especially since being in the Grand Hall puts us in the best position to protect King Enki.”

“Really?” Marella asked. “Kinda sounds like we’d be leading the Neverseen straight to him.”

“Assuming they even come after us,” Stina added. “Which they might not.”

“They will,” Sophie assured everyone. “I don’t know why, but they clearly need us in Loamnore—otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to get our attention. And I’m sure they’ve been planning this all along, so we have to assume they have a way past all of the city’s security—even the King’s Path—and that they picked the main marketplace for a reason. So we get there early and set up in the Grand Hall instead and make it clear that that’s where we are. If King Enki wants to be somewhere safer, that’s his call. But we stand our ground and say, ‘You want us? Come and get us.’ ”

“And then what?” Wylie asked.

“Then… I don’t know,” Sophie admitted. “Probably a fight of some sort.”

“Oh, is that all?” Grady grumbled, falling silent when Edaline put a hand on his shoulder.

“I know that sounds scary. But I can control my inflicting now,” Sophie reminded him. “And they might not have Ruy—and Maruca can keep all of us shielded and—”

Wylie cut her off with a grunting sound.

Maruca rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever you’re about to say, stop it,” she said, tossing her dreads. “This is happening. I’m helping. And you need me, bad.”

“We do,” Sophie agreed.

“You also need your bodyguards,” Sandor informed her.

“Probably,” Sophie said, “but goblins aren’t allowed in Loamnore.”

“Oh, I think I can convince King Enki to make a few exceptions,” Councillor Alina chimed in.

“Better include an ogre, too, then,” Ro added.

“I’ll do my best,” Alina said with the kind of mysterious smile that made Sophie wonder if she was planning to use her beguiling on the dwarven king.

“Does that mean you’re in favor of this plan?” Councillor Bronte asked Alina.

Alina shrugged, smoothing her hair. “I have to admit, it sounds more promising than everything else we’ve been discussing. Sophie’s right—we’re never going to be able to anticipate everything the Neverseen are planning. So maybe it’s better to just say, ‘Forget this—here’s what we’re doing.’ I’m sure King Enki would certainly appreciate the authority it demonstrates, rather than letting him see us capitulating to the Neverseen’s demands.”

Councillor Emery exchanged a look with the other Councillors. “I suppose.”

“I still don’t see why the Neverseen would come to us if they’ve set up a big thing in the marketplace,” Stina pressed.

“Well… we’d have Keefe,” Biana reminded her.

Keefe clapped his hands. “Oh goody, I get to be the bait! Should we make it extra dramatic and have you guys, like, tie me up or something?”

Sophie shook her head. “Nope. Because you’re not going to be there.”

“Uh… you saw the note,” Keefe pointed out slowly. “I’m the only one invited by name.”

“Which seems pretty desperate, doesn’t it?” Sophie countered. “And if we’re taking a stand, we’re taking a stand.” She turned toward the group, meeting most of their eyes before she added, “Tam warned us what would happen if we let Keefe get near the Neverseen. And I saw the way Lady Gisela reacted when she realized he’d done that. We have to take that warning seriously. So Keefe’s not going anywhere near the dwarven city. And if the Neverseen don’t like it—tough. That’s the point of this. Showing them that they’re not calling the shots anymore, and proving we’re stronger and smarter than they are.”

“You seriously think it’s a good idea to show up in the wrong place at the wrong time—without the person the Neverseen told us to bring—and hope they don’t immediately make good on all the threats they made in their note?” Fitz asked, and the heavy skepticism in his tone hurt more than anything he’d said to Sophie the night before.

Apparently, she wasn’t just losing her boyfriend.

She’d lost her friend—and even Fitz’s faith and trust in her.

Which made her eyes sting and her nose burn, and she told herself, Breathe, breathe, breathe, because she was right about this, and if she started crying, she’d lose all of her credibility.

But the tears were still welling up, turning everything blurry, and—

“Okay,” Keefe said quietly, and Sophie spun toward him.

“Okay?” she asked.

He nodded, wrapping his hand around hers, twining her gloved fingers with his.

And Sophie almost started to smile—until Keefe’s back straightened and he said, “Wow, I can’t feel your enhancing at all right now.”

The change probably did surprise him—but there was something off with his tone.

That was when Sophie noticed the glare that Fitz had aimed at her and Keefe’s hands—and she couldn’t believe he’d look at them like… like…

She didn’t know.

But he was wrong.

And she didn’t want Keefe to feel awkward. So she pulled her arm back and told him, “Yeah… I learned how to control it.”

Which of course reminded her of the other person in the room she was trying so hard to avoid.

“Well,” Keefe said, frowning a little as her mood plummeted, “I knew you could do it.”

Her cheeks heated. “Thanks.”

“What do you mean by ‘okay’?” Fitz demanded, not letting them change the subject. “ ‘Okay’ what, Keefe?”

Keefe huffed out a breath. “I was saying okay, I think Foster’s right. If I’m there, then my mom’s pulled off at least half of her plan already, and I’m not really a fan of making it that easy for her. If she wants to force me to face my legacy, she should at least have to come and get me, right? Plus… I promised Foster I’d stay away from the Neverseen. And I don’t think this note gets to change that.”

“Seriously?” Fitz’s eyes narrowed when Keefe nodded. “Wow, you really hate Tam that much? Because he’s the one who’ll pay the price if you’re not there—you get that, right?”

“He’s also the one who told Keefe to stay away,” Sophie argued. “Twice.”

“Yeah, well… just because he’s willing to sacrifice himself, it doesn’t mean we should let him,” Fitz countered. “Plus, who knows? Maybe the way they’ll punish Tam is to hurt Linh. Did anyone think about that?”

All eyes turned to the silent Hydrokinetic, and Linh let go of Maruca’s and Marella’s hands and drew the moisture in the air toward herself, bending it into a small floating sphere. “Water’s felt different the last few days,” she murmured, closing her eyes. “Darker, somehow. And… I think that’s my brother. I think he wants me to see how powerful he is, so that I’ll be willing to trust him. And if that’s what he wants…”