Neverseen

For my readers.

I love you more than Silveny loves Keefe.

*mallowmelt and custard bursts for everyone!*

S
OPHIE STUMBLED BACKWARD
, scrambling closer to her friends as a cage of neon yellow flames erupted all around them.

Heat licked across her skin and smoke choked her lungs while the Neverseen moved forward, their black cloaks gone, disguises abandoned.

There would be no more hiding.

The Neverseen shouted insults and warnings that Sophie tried to focus on, but her mind was too fixated on other words.

Trick.

Trap.

Traitor.

The last word made it impossible to look one of the figures in the eye.

Another betrayal.

Another lie.

Sophie was done with all of it.

She reached for her pendant—the sign of the swan carved into cold black metal curled around a piece of smooth glass. She still didn’t fully understand the reason the Black Swan had given it to her. But she knew enough of its power to realize it was their best chance.

She held the glass into the fading rays of sunset, letting the searing beam of white light refract toward the flames of Everblaze.

It was time to fight fire with fire.

W
E HAVE TO
go,” Fitz said, bursting through the doors of Everglen’s upstairs guest room.

He found Sophie sitting alone on the edge of the giant canopy bed, already dressed in some of her old human clothes.

“I thought we were waiting another hour?” she asked, glancing out the window at the endless black sky.

“We can’t. The Council is already convening to vote on our punishments.”

Sophie took a slow breath, letting the words pulse through her veins, steeling her nerves as she reached for her purple backpack. It was the same bag she’d used when she’d left her
human life nearly a year earlier. And now she would use it again to leave the Lost Cities.

“Is everyone ready?” she asked, proud of her voice for not shaking. She also resisted the urge to tug out an itchy eyelash.

This was not a time for nervous habits.

It was time to be brave.

The Council had vowed to punish anyone associated with the Black Swan—the mysterious organization responsible for Sophie’s existence. But Sophie and her friends knew the real villains were a group called the Neverseen. Fitz, Keefe, and Biana had even tried to help the Black Swan catch the rebels on Mount Everest. But the Neverseen guessed their plan and turned the mission into an ambush. Sophie had discovered the trap in time to warn her friends, and they’d escaped with their lives—and managed to capture one prisoner. But they’d each broken numerous laws in the process.

Their safest option now was to flee to the Black Swan and go into hiding. But Sophie had mixed feelings about getting up close and personal with her creators. The Black Swan had tweaked her genes to enhance her abilities as part of their Project Moonlark—but they’d never given her any clue as to
why.
They’d also never told her who her genetic parents were, and Sophie had no idea if she’d finally have to meet them.

“ ’Bout time you got here,” Keefe said as Sophie followed
Fitz down the twisting silver staircase. He stood next to Dex in Everglen’s glittering round foyer, both of them looking very human in hoodies and dark jeans.

Keefe flashed his famous smirk and patted his carefully mussed blond hair, but Sophie could see the sadness clouding his sky blue eyes. During their confrontation with the Neverseen, Keefe had discovered that his mother was one of their leaders. She’d even attacked her own son, before fleeing to the ogre capital and abandoning her family.

“Hey, no worrying about me, Foster,” Keefe said, fanning the space between them. He was one of the few Empaths who could feel Sophie’s emotions rippling through the air.

“I’m worried about
all
of you,” she told him. “You’re all risking your lives because of me.”

“Eh, what else is new?” Dex asked, flashing his dimpled grin. “And will you relax? We’ve got this! Though I’m not sure about my shoes.” He pointed to his soft brown boots, which were a typical elvin style. “All the human ones Fitz had were too big for my feet.”

“I doubt anyone will notice,” Sophie told him. “But I guess it depends on how long we’ll be around humans. How far away is the hideout after we get to Florence?”

Fitz smiled his movie-ready smile. “You’ll see.”

The Black Swan had taught Fitz how to sneak past Sophie’s mental blocking and view the secret information hidden in her brain. But for some reason he wouldn’t share what he’d
learned. All Sophie knew was that they were headed to a round window somewhere in the famous Italian city.

“Hey,” Fitz said, leaning closer. “You trust me, don’t you?”

Sophie’s traitorous heart still fluttered, despite her current annoyance. She
did
trust Fitz. Probably more than anyone. But having him keep secrets from her was seriously annoying. She was tempted to use her telepathy to steal the information straight from his head. But she’d broken that rule enough times to know the consequences definitely weren’t worth it.

“What is
with
these clothes?” Biana interrupted, appearing out of thin air next to Keefe.

Biana was a Vanisher, like her mother, though she was still getting used to the ability. Only one of her legs reappeared, and she had to hop up and down to get the other to show up. She wore a sweatshirt three sizes too big and faded, baggy jeans.

“At least I get to wear
my
shoes,” she said, hitching up her pants to reveal purple flats with diamond-studded toes. “But why do we only have boy stuff?”

“Because I’m a boy,” Fitz reminded her. “Besides, this isn’t a fashion contest.”

“And if it was, I’d totally win. Right, Foster?” Keefe asked.

Sophie actually would’ve given the prize to Fitz—his blue scarf worked perfectly with his dark hair and teal eyes. And his fitted gray coat made him look taller, with broader shoulders and—

“Oh please.” Keefe shoved his way between them. “Fitz’s human clothes are a huge snoozefest. Check out what Dex and I found in Alvar’s closet!”

They both unzipped their hoodies, revealing T-shirts with logos underneath.

“I have no idea what this means, but it’s crazy awesome, right?” Keefe asked, pointing to the black and yellow oval on his shirt.

“It’s from Batman,” Sophie said—then regretted the words. Of course Keefe demanded she explain the awesomeness of the Dark Knight.

“I’m wearing this shirt forever, guys,” he decided. “Also, I want a Batmobile! Dex, can you make that happen?”

Sophie wouldn’t have been surprised if Dex actually could build one. As a Technopath, he worked miracles with technology. He’d made all kinds of cool gadgets for Sophie, including the lopsided ring she wore—a special panic switch that had saved her life during her fight with one of her kidnappers.

“What’s my shirt from?” Dex asked, pointing to the logo with interlocking yellow
W
’s.

Sophie didn’t have the heart to tell him it was the symbol for Wonder Woman.

“Why does Alvar have human stuff?” she asked. “I thought he worked with the ogres.”

“He does,” Fitz replied. “Or he did before you almost started a war with them.”

Fitz said the words in a light, teasing way, but the truth behind them weighed heavily on Sophie’s shoulders. They’d be in a
lot
less trouble if she hadn’t ignored the rules of telepathy and tried to read the ogre king’s mind. She’d known it was a dangerous risk, but she’d been desperate to know why the ogres had snuck into the Sanctuary and hidden one of their homing devices in Silveny’s tail. The rare female alicorn wasn’t just essential for the survival of her species, she was one of Sophie’s closest friends. If only Sophie had known that ogres’ minds could detect Telepaths—even genetically enhanced Telepaths like her. She hadn’t learned anything useful,
and
she’d nearly voided the elvin-ogre treaty and started a war.

“But that still doesn’t explain why Alvar has human stuff,” Sophie reminded Fitz. “Ogres hate humans even more than elves do.”

“They do,” Fitz agreed. “But these clothes are from years ago, back when Alvar used to go out looking for you.”

“He did?” Sophie asked. “I thought that was your job.”

Fitz was the one who’d found her on her class field trip about a year earlier and brought her to the Lost Cities.

It was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Also the hardest.

Fitz smiled sadly, probably remembering the same thing: the moment she’d had to say goodbye to her human family. He was the only one who really understood what she’d
lost that day, and she couldn’t have gotten through it without him.

“I started searching for you when I was six,” he told her, “after Alvar started his elite levels and wasn’t able to sneak away from Foxfire anymore. But my dad searched for you for twelve years, remember? I couldn’t go on secret missions when I was a toddler.”

“What a slacker,” Keefe interrupted. “I totally could’ve pulled that off. But then again, I’m Batman, so”—he draped an arm over Sophie’s shoulders—“I could be your hero any day.”

Dex pretended to gag, while Biana stared at Keefe’s arm around Sophie.

“Aren’t we supposed to be leaving?” they both asked at the same time.

Sophie pulled away from Keefe as Alden called “Wait!” from the top of the stairs. His elegant cape swished as he rushed to catch them. “You can’t leave wearing your registry pendants.”

Sophie grasped the choker around her neck, hardly believing she’d overlooked that essential detail. The pendants were special tracking devices from the Council. She wondered what other important things she might be forgetting. . . .

Alden pulled out a pair of sharp black pliers and said, “Let’s start with Fitz.” He spoke with the same crisp accent as his children, but his voice sounded weak and wobbly.

Fitz flinched as Alden cut the thick cord and the crystal pendant clattered to the floor.

“Whoa. This just got real,” Keefe whispered.

“Yeah it did.” Fitz traced his fingers across his now-bare neck.

“Are you okay?” Alden asked Biana, who was clutching her pendant in a white-knuckled fist.

“I’m fine,” Biana whispered, lifting her long dark hair to expose her necklace.

Alden hesitated only a second before he sliced through the silver band. Her pendant landed next to Fitz’s, followed by Keefe’s.

“Yours will be trickier to remove,” Alden reminded Dex and Sophie.

The Council added extra security measures after the Neverseen used their pendants to convince everyone Sophie and Dex had drowned instead of been kidnapped. Both of them even had trees in the Wanderling Woods—the elves’ equivalent of a graveyard—from the funerals their families had held.

Alden’s brow beaded with sweat as he pried at the thick metal until the cords broke free. “I’ll need to remove your nexuses, as well,” he said, pulling out a dime-size disk.

Sophie sighed.

Another very important detail she’d overlooked . . .

A nexus was a safety device meant to hold their bodies together during light leaps, but the force field it created could be tracked.

“I guess I didn’t plan this running-away thing very well, did I?” Sophie mumbled.

“It’s not the kind of thing one can plan for,” Alden reassured her. “And do not expect yourself to think of
everything
. You’re part of a team now. Everyone works together and helps.”

The words would’ve been a lot more comforting if her “team” hadn’t forgotten the same important things—though Fitz, Keefe, and Biana were already nexus-free. Their concentration strength had reached the required level. Dex was almost there too. The meter on his wide blue cuff had less than a quarter of the way to go.