[present day]

Someone's arm is wrapped around her. Sophie leans into them as she's half-carried, half-dragged along.

They must have recently lightleaped, because the air smells different. It's still dark out, although she doesn't know what time it is. She sees trees, glass windows, and a tall fence gate. The dim glow of the gate sears at her sensitive eyes, and she squeezes them shut as bright spots bloom against her eyelids.

"Why are we at Everglen?" Sophie murmurs. She turns her head to the side and her vision drags behind it, as if in slow-motion.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Dex sighs, but he doesn't stop shuffling her along the path towards the Vacker's grand elvin residence. "We couldn't tell how bad it was, but you probably have a concussion. Elwin's already here."

That would explain why her head is throbbing. There's a faint ringing in her ears, too, from the blast.

The blast. The glass pyramid, the Foxfire dance, the outdoor balcony—

Sophie shoves down the flood of memories. "Dex, where's Wylie? He was at the pyramid. Is he—"

Dex stills against her. "He was," he replies. "Tiergan found him. Wylie is... well, he's not in the best shape, but he's alive."

She closes her eyes, relieved tears pricking at the corners of her vision. Wylie's alive. That's all she needed to hear. She can work with that. "Thank you."

"Of course," Dex says softly. "Now come on, you really do have to see Elwin. Can you walk?"

Sophie manages a few shaky steps forward, keeping a firm hand on Dex's shoulder as he guides her through the doors of Everglen.

The Vacker residence is as grand and elegant as she remembers, but this time the crystal chandeliers and sparkling windows are achingly bright instead of eye-catching, sending sharp pains through her head.

Sophie keeps her face angled toward the marble floor. To her dismay, her dress is completely ruined—where the skirt isn't torn to shreds, it's grimy with dirt. It makes her flush with embarrassment for ever entertaining the idea of going to the dance. Tonight was a stark reminder of why she never bothered with normalcy in the first place.

"Sophie! There you are!"

She looks up in shock as Fitz appears in the hallway in front of them. He's shedded his formal tunic, leaving him in just a shirt and vest. Aside from his distressed expression, he looks mostly untouched.

He rushes towards her and wraps her in a tight hug. She sinks against him in relief, ignoring the way her ribs ache in protest when he squeezes her.

"I was so worried when you didn't come back," he tells her. "I thought the worst had happened—"

"It's good to see you too," she says with a small laugh.

"Hey, easy," Dex warns, pulling Sophie back. "She's concussed and still has to see Elwin."

Fitz straightens up. "Yeah, sorry," he says, but his eyes are still on her. "Maruca brought a lot of us back here. They're either waiting in the living room to see Elwin or going home using our Leapmaster."

Sophie furrows her brows. "Were there that many injuries?"

He lowers his gaze. "No. Just Biana and Keefe."

She widens her eyes. "How did they—"

"Fitz. Where's Elwin?" Dex asks impatiently.

"Right, of course," Fitz answers. "He's upstairs in Biana's room."

Dex hasn't been to Everglen before, so Sophie leads him up the grand spiral staircase to Biana's room. She's regained most of her balance, but keeps her hand on Dex's shoulder for a sense of support.

She wants to ask him what happened at Foxfire, but she's almost afraid to know. The fact that Biana and Keefe are hurt shakes Sophie to the core in a way she can't explain. They should have been well out of harm's way. Her only purpose was to protect Biana, and she couldn't even do that.

"Snap out of it, Soph," Dex murmurs, disrupting her spiraling thoughts. "For your sake."

"I know." She lets out a heavy sigh. "I just—I can't let it go. I could have done something—"

He turns and places his hands on her shoulders, his eyes wide with concern. "It would have gone a lot worse if you weren't there. I don't know exactly what happened, but the Neverseen would have done what they did regardless. Okay?"

She gives him a stiff nod in reply, not trusting herself to speak.

They come to a stop in front of Biana's room; the door is left slightly ajar. Sophie stares numbly at the roses carved into its surface.

"When you're done with Elwin, we can go home." Dex's face softens. "I'll see you soon."

He urges her through the door, and then Sophie is standing in Biana's bedroom.

The curtains are drawn and the lights turned down, leaving the room dimly lit. There are two people sitting by Biana's bedside. One is Elwin, in a bright yellow tunic and his multi-colored goggles. The other is Maruca, still in her purple dress from the dance.

They both glance up as Sophie approaches, and Maruca signals for her to be quiet. Elwin hovers over the bed, flashes of multi-colored light swirling from his palm. Sophie recognizes Biana's dark hair fanned across the pillows, but that's where the recognition ends.

Her stomach sinks. "What happened?" she asks shakily.

Biana's arms are resting on top of the duvet, covered in dozens of thin, angry red slashes. They trail from her hands to her shoulders, up her neck and over part of her face. Despite the extent of her injuries, Biana's eyes remain closed, her chest rising and falling with slow breaths.

Elwin closes his palm, and the flashing lights disappear. "Multiple lacerations from glass shards, and a couple minor burns from the explosion," he answers, removing his goggles with a tired sigh. "She's going to make a full recovery, but not without some scarring. If she was any closer to the blast site, it could have been a lot worse."

Biana looks peaceful resting in her bed, like a princess right out of a fairytale. Sophie's heart feels heavy.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to run downstairs and let the Vackers know she's stable now," Elwin tells them. "I'll just be a moment."

He slips out of the room, leaving Sophie with Maruca. The other girl has barely moved a muscle since Sophie arrived, seemingly insistent on sitting by Biana's bedside. Sophie notices that Maruca is holding one of Biana's hands by the fingertips, gingerly avoiding the cuts on the back of her hand.

"Are you okay?" Sophie asks her, sitting in Elwin's chair on the other side of the bed.

Maruca looks up at her wearily. Her makeup is smudged off her face, leaving her eyes ringed with dark circles. "I found her like this, Sophie," she says quietly. "In the courtyard. I brought back as many people to Everglen as I could, but when I got to her she was already hurt. And there was so much blood—"

Sophie shakes her head. "You can't think like that," she tells her, repeating Dex's earlier advice. "You know how dangerous guilt can be."

Maruca rubs the bridge of her nose. "You don't get it," she says. "Biana shouldn't have been near the pyramid in the first place."

"But I'm glad you were there to help. It could have been much worse."

"And where were you, Sophie?" Maruca asks sharply.

Sophie glances up in surprise at her harsh tone. "I was at the pyramid. I distracted Vespera and Lodestar from going after her—"

"I don't care about Vespera or Lodestar," Maruca snaps. She stands up, and Sophie notices with no small amount of shock that Maruca's dress is covered in blood. "I care about my best friend getting hurt when you were supposed to protect her. And what about Wylie? Were you too busy playing mind games with the Neverseen to think about helping him, too?"

Sophie shakes her head in disbelief. "Maruca, I-I'm sorry. I tried to save them, I really did."

"Did you know he's not waking up, either?" Maruca continues. "My uncles are distraught. If someone had gotten to him earlier, maybe he could've..." She trails off with a sniffle.

Sophie remains silent, stunned in place.

Maruca slumps back in her seat, wiping at her eyes. "It's just... you're the Moonlark. You're supposed to help people." Quietly, she adds, "Maybe Stina was right."

Sophie bites down on her lip as she's overcome with a flurry of emotions. Guilt and betrayal. Anger. Hurt, mostly. Her eyes sting.

"You don't get it," she says shakily.

Maruca averts her gaze. "Yeah, well," she replies, "neither do you."

Her words weigh heavily on Sophie's mind. She wants to scream, cry, plead her case, but part of her knows Maruca's right. Sophie knows she could've helped Biana instead of confronting Vespera, or even found Keefe in the first place instead of running into Lodestar on the balcony—

She suddenly can't stand to be here, staring down at Biana's motionless figure and marred skin.

Maruca doesn't spare her a glance as Sophie turns abruptly and runs out of the room.