Keefe barked a bitter laugh. “That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Mommy Dearest wants us to thank her for being so evil!”

Lady Gisela rolled her eyes. “Never mind. Time to focus.”

She waved Tam closer, and when he stepped into Sophie’s line of sight, it was impossible not to stare at his glowing bonds.

Sophie knew how it felt to be powerless—but she couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be for someone else to have control.

And not just anyone.

Lady Gisela.

Sophie’s insides squirmed just thinking about it. And she wondered how much it had cost Tam to give her that warning about Keefe.

How desperate he’d been to avoid the exact situation they were now in.

I’m sorry, Tam, she transmitted. This isn’t your fault. I hope you know that. No one’s going to blame you.

He angled his face away, but Sophie could still see how hard he was blinking.

And she wanted to say more, but Lady Gisela clapped her hands, demanding attention.

“What’s about to happen couldn’t be simpler. On my command, Tam, you’ll launch a bolt of shadowflux at the stone in the wall that I showed you earlier. You shouldn’t have to do anything else, but since this is all untested—and I’m assuming you’d prefer my son to survive this—”

“Eh, I don’t know if that’s a safe assumption,” Keefe interrupted. “Bangs Boy and I aren’t exactly besties. Also, it’s super awesome hearing how ‘untested’ this is.”

Sophie had gotten stuck on that same word.

“Still trying to convince yourself this isn’t an experiment?” she spat.

“Assuming you’d prefer my son to survive this,” Lady Gisela repeated to Tam, ignoring Sophie and Keefe, “you’ll monitor the reaction and step in as needed. The command I’ll be giving you is to rely on your instincts—”

“And then you’ll let me go?” Tam cut in. “That’s what you told me. I train with you. I hear you out about all your reasons. I do the thing. And then I’m done and my sister is safe and my friends are safe and these are gone”—he patted the bonds on his wrists—“and it’s up to me if I want to come back.”

He stole a glance at Sophie after he said it, as if he were worried she might hate him for bargaining about this.

What other choice do you have? she transmitted to reassure him.

And she held her breath, whooshing it out as a sigh of relief when Lady Gisela told him, “Yes, Tam. That’s the deal.”

“And did you just say ‘do the thing’?” Keefe jumped in.

“What else am I supposed to call this?” Tam countered.

Keefe considered that for a second. “Fair enough.”

“Yes, well, while Tam is ‘doing the thing,’ ” Lady Gisela said with an eye roll, “Glimmer will send a bolt of light at the crown to activate the ethertine to balance the reaction.”

“That’s what the crown’s for?” Sophie asked.

She hadn’t meant to blurt out the question—and Lady Gisela must’ve guessed why she was asking because she told her, “Ethertine only affects Shades the way you’re thinking.”

And Sophie’s heart lightened ever so slightly.

Everything was still terrible.

This was still happening.

But at least she wouldn’t have to wonder if that crown would somehow affect Keefe’s mind.

“Back to what I was saying,” Lady Gisela added. “After Glimmer adds light to the reaction, it’s a waiting game—don’t ask how long, because I don’t know. And Keefe: You already know your job. You have to embrace the change. Don’t fight it. Don’t fear it. Even when there’s pain. Think of it as being forged by fire.”

“Who’s jealous of my life right now?” Keefe wondered.

The panic hidden behind the joke nearly broke Sophie’s heart—but it also made her realize…

Even if she couldn’t save Keefe from this—

Maybe she could get them through.

So as Lady Gisela showed Tam where to stand, Sophie stretched out her consciousness, making sure she had Keefe’s permission to slip into his mind.

I’ll be with you the whole time, she promised. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.

Pretty sure you can’t control that but—

Uh, yes I can. I mean… I can’t stop any pain—I wish I could—but… I’ve been in broken minds and lost minds and ogre minds and gnomish minds and so many other types of minds—and I’ve done healings and probes and all kinds of fancy Telepath things that will sound super boring, so I’ll stop there. And the one thing I’ve seen over and over is that we all have… an inner sense of self. I’m probably not explaining this very well, but just… when I’ve had to heal people, THAT’S how I’ve done it. I just find that true piece of themselves and bring it back, and that makes them THEM again. So when this goes down, I’ll be right here with you. And I’m not going to let you lose YOU. Trust the Telepath. My other abilities may let me down sometimes, but this one always comes through.

They locked eyes across the room, and Sophie’s heart ached when he let his walls come down, showing her all the fear and fury and doubt and worry and hate he was feeling in that moment because of what was about to happen.

Trust the Telepath, she repeated.

I do. And she could feel how strongly he meant those words. I’m… really glad I met you, Sophie.

Me too, she told him, hoping he could feel how much she meant it too.

“Are we ready?” Lady Gisela asked, clapping her hands again and snapping Sophie back to the cold, shadowy reality of that dim, miserable room.

But she could also still feel the warm hum of the mental connection between Keefe and her. Like their minds were holding hands—which might’ve been the goofiest, sappiest thought she’d ever had. But it helped her feel a little less devastated, seeing Keefe alone on that cruel throne that had been rigged to trap him there like flypaper, crowned with a responsibility he should never have to carry.

She was pinned and tied up and too far away to reach him.

But they could both still hold on.

Hold on, she told Keefe, in case he needed the reminder too. I’m here, she added as Tam stepped into position. We’ll get through this. Like I said: Trust the Telepath.

I do, Keefe promised again.

And because he was Keefe, his lips pulled into a smirk as he focused on the wary Shade standing across from him, and he said, “So here we are, Tammy Boy. It’s just you and me in this epic showdown we always knew was coming. Bangs Boy versus the Keefster.”

Tam didn’t smile.

And his voice was raw—almost ragged—as he told Keefe, “I tried to warn you.”

“I know,” Keefe told him. “And I tried to listen.”

“I know,” Tam said quietly. “And… here we are.”

“I’m pretty sure it was inevitable,” Keefe agreed. “So I want you to know three things, okay? The truest things you’ll ever hear.” He waited for Tam to nod before he told him, “Number one: I still don’t like you.” Tam’s lips twitched at that, but he stayed silent as Keefe added, “Number two: I will always make fun of your bangs.” That earned Keefe an actual smile. “And number three: I don’t blame you, okay? I get it. You have to do this. And I have to face my legacy. So let’s stop being angsty and get it over with.”