“Yeah… the thing is… it sounded like Tam was in some sort of dry desert cave the last time I talked to him,” Sophie hated to tell her.

“Even if he is, there’s always water.” Linh wiggled her fingers, letting the sphere she’d formed unravel with a soft splash. “I realize this won’t make much sense to you, but… when you enhanced me in Atlantis, I became very aware. It felt like I was connecting with water on a whole other level—like I was part of it, and it was part of me, and my consciousness had no beginning or ending because the water was everywhere and in everything. And I think, if you enhance me again, I can use that awareness to find Tam. I just need him to let his shadow touch water while I’m listening—and in order to tell him to do that, I need you to reach out to him telepathically.”

“I’m not saying I won’t,” Sophie said—ignoring Sandor’s protests. “But… you know contacting him puts him in danger, right? No matter what you say to him or how much the Neverseen understand, they’ll still know we reached out and punish him somehow?”

“Why do you think I haven’t asked you before?” Linh waved her hand, pulling the tears from her eyes and letting them glisten like tiny diamonds in front of her before she flicked her fingers and they vanished into mist. “I wouldn’t put my brother at risk—or any of you—if I didn’t truly believe this would work. I can find him, and we can bring him home safely.”

Sandor opened his mouth, but Sophie cut him off. “All she’s asking for right now is a telepathic conversation.”

“Yes, but if this convoluted plan works, I need you to understand that you’re not going anywhere—none of you are,” Sandor informed them. “End of discussion. I will allow you to attempt to gather the information, in case it proves helpful to those who can safely carry out the kind of ambush you’re describing—though I also seem to remember your last conversation with Tam triggering your echoes,” he reminded Sophie.

“Then Flori can sing to me again,” she told him. “But I doubt I’ll need her. I’m stronger now. Especially here, under Calla’s tree.” She closed her eyes, breathing in the sweet floral scent and soaking up the breezy melody before she turned back to Linh, studying the determination in her features. “You know what’s best for your brother way better than I do. And you know your abilities. And you’ve clearly put a lot of thought into this. So if you want to try…”

Linh nodded, lowering herself to the grass and crossing her legs as Sophie sat across from her.

“Is there anything you need me to do right now?” Maruca asked.

“Or me?” Marella added.

“You can keep an eye on Wynn and Luna,” Sophie told them. “Apparently they have super-poor taste in friends. So if they try to go near the gorgodon—stop them.”

Marella shuddered. “Ugh, I forgot that creepy beast lived here. I mean, I know we’re supposed to be all about protecting animals and stuff, but… that thing’s not natural. I can’t believe the Council hasn’t ordered it to be destroyed.”

“And I can’t believe the Council isn’t resetting the Timeline to Extinction again,” Linh said absently, gathering dewdrops off the fallen Panakes petals and letting them hover around her like twinkling stars.

“Why would they?” Sophie wondered.

“Because the gorgodon’s the last of its kind,” Linh reminded her. “Once it’s gone, the species is extinct.”

“Yeah, but it’s not a real species,” Marella argued.

Linh let her watery stars evaporate. “Being created doesn’t make it any less real. Look at Sophie.”

Sophie definitely wasn’t sure what to do with that comparison—or Linh’s point about the gorgodon. But that wasn’t what she needed to be focusing on anyway. “Am I supposed to enhance you now?” she asked.

Linh shook her head. “Not until Tam’s ready to send the signal. Once I connect to the water, it’s all-consuming, and I need to concentrate on sending the message first.”

Sophie tugged off her gloves anyway, since she still had her fingernail gadgets to block the ability, and she doubted Linh wanted all the crusty mud near her face. But she hesitated before reaching for Linh’s temples. “I might be able to open a mental channel between the three of us, so you guys can communicate directly. I’ve never tried doing that over such a long distance, so I don’t know if it’ll work. But we can find out, if you want.”

Fresh tears brimmed in Linh’s eyes. “I’ll be able to hear his voice?”

“That’s what I’m hoping—but… no guarantees, okay?”

Linh nodded. But she looked so heartbreakingly hopeful that Sophie almost wished she hadn’t mentioned it until she knew whether or not it was possible.

“I’ll also need permission to open my mind to yours,” she said, closing her eyes and gathering her mental strength.

“Of course,” Linh whispered, and Sophie pressed her fingers against Linh’s temples and stretched out her consciousness, imagining it wrapping around both her and Linh like a sheer curtain.

Linh’s thoughts poured slowly into her mind, and the world turned quieter.

Softer.

Reality drifting gently away.

It took Sophie a second to realize that the sensation reminded her of being underwater.

Is this what your head feels like all the time? Sophie asked, trying to remember if she’d noticed it the other times she’d communicated telepathically with Linh.

A little. But it’s stronger when I’m trying to concentrate. The words rippled like waves. I think better when I let the pull of the water fill my mind, if that makes sense.

Not really, Sophie admitted. But I’m not a Hydrokinetic. And it IS easier to focus this way.

With the rest of the world muffled, she could feel each of her thoughts individually, stretching them into threads, which she used to tether Linh’s mind to hers.

We’ll see if that holds, Sophie transmitted, letting her mental energy pool between the two of them, the warm hum growing stronger and stronger and stronger. If it does, you and Tam should be able to hear each other—assuming I can make contact.

Thank you for doing this, Linh told her.

You don’t have to thank me I’ll do anything I can to help you and your brother—I hope you know that.

I do. And I want you to know that this is my choice—what you’re doing right now, and what I’m asking you to do if this works. If any part of this backfires, I won’t blame you.

Let’s hope we won’t have to think about that, Sophie transmitted, squeezing her eyes tighter as the humming inside her mind turned crackly, like static—or maybe a better analogy would’ve been like a wave crashing toward the shore. She could feel her consciousness get swept up in the inertia, surging forward, forward, forward…

Brace yourself! she warned. This next part will be loud.

Linh nodded under her fingertips, and they both sucked in a breath as Sophie shoved the energy out of her mind in a blaring transmission.

TAM! PLEASE DON’T IGNORE ME!

PLEASE!

PLEASE!

PLEASE!

She repeated the call again and again, each transmission like a mental river, carrying her plea along with the rush, churning farther, farther, farther. But no matter how far the words flowed, only silence followed.