"So... you're okay that I didn't teleport you?" Sophie asked nervously.

She was standing at Havenfield, right next to Fitz, and he was assuring her that everything was alright. But she still felt guilty. She'd seen the hurt in his teal eyes right before she vanished.

"It's fine," Fitz insisted.

"Well... I won't do it again," Sophie promised. Then she whirled around, almost doubling over at the sight of Edaline. "Mom! Was there something happening?"

"Yes," Edaline said crisply, "it's only been a month, but your list is ready. Do you want to... collect it?"

"Sure," Sophie replied. What if Keefe's name was on the list? That would hurt Fitz a lot. But it was fine. If she was Fitz's number one, he should be somewhere on her list as well. She wasn't even sure if Keefe was registered.

The list was collected. Sophie didn't even want to look at it, but... should she?

Edaline laughed. "You're all worked up, it's so cute. I'm sure Fitz's name will be there."

"Yeah..." Sophie mumbled, slowly unravelling the list.

She found Keefe at seven.

And she found Fitz at one.

She smiled at the words.

𝟏. 𝐅𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐑𝐎𝐘 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑

Both at number one recommendation. They were definitely a good match.

She didn't know whether to hail Fitz or to start a telepathic conversation, so she just hailed him. It was nice seeing him face-to-face, and now that they were dating, she didn't have to be bothered by always blushing and turning beet red.

She waved her list at the Imparter.

"Um, Sophie?" Fitz asked. "I can't see anything. I keep seeing Keefe at seven, what are you trying to show me?"

Sophie adjusted her hold a little and continued waving it.

"I'm seeing even lower now," Fitz whined. "Maybe stop waving it and just hold it still?"

Sophie made sure the number one was level with the Imparter and flashed it in his face. The words 𝟏. 𝐅𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐑𝐎𝐘 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 were displayed on Fitz's screen. Sophie heard an immediate gasp from the other end.

"You're my one," Fitz whispered, "and I'm your one?"

Sophie nodded eagerly and tossed the list aside. "I still have to hold Winnowing Galas," she reminded him. Then she frowned, turning to Edaline. "Actually? Where are we going to hold my Winnowing Galas?"

"It would be in the reception hall, but I did turn that into your bedroom," Edaline conceded. "Maybe in the pastures."

"To get soaked in Verdi spit?"

"Sophie? Are you still there?"

"Yeah," Sophie came back into view of her Imparter. "Just trying to decide where to hold the Winnowing Galas. Do I need one? I don't want to dance with so many people. I'm already dating Fitz, for goodness's sake."

"Well, I suppose not. It is a hassle," Edaline shrugged. "You've already got your love interest and he's high up on your list, so I suppose we don't need to go through the trouble of holding a Winnowing Galas."

Sophie cheered mentally.

"Do you wanna come over?" she asked Fitz.

"Dad is making us stay home," Fitz grumbled. "Family bonding time or something."

"Oh." Sophie fell silent.

His smile was evidently pained when he said, "Bye, Sophie."

"Bye," she echoed, and continued staring at her Imparter for several minutes even after his handsome face disappeared.

She had a sudden thought: Elwin was her father! She hailed Elwin and his face appeared.

"Hey, Sophie," he said, waving a stuffed toy.

Sophie grinned, then let her smile fall. "Are you my father?"

Elwin paused, then grinned. "Well, the secret's out of the bag. Did you get yourself injured again?"

"No, I was just clarifying," Sophie responded, wondering how Elwin could possibly stay so casual.

"Yeah, well... it's only a matter of time. And send Fitz in, by the way. I heard that he aggravated his leg. Dancing at Winnowing Galas. With you, I suppose," Elwin said with raised eyebrows.

Sophie laughed. "And a whole bunch of other people! But sure. No more goo, though?"

Elwin shrugged. "Can't be sure. If he needs goo, I'm giving him goo." He winked before his face disappeared.

𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻! 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, Sophie sent.

𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬? Fitz asked, confused.

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘌𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬-𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘯𝘰!

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨, 𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘶𝘱. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺.

Sophie laughed as she heard his mental kind of-cursing on the other end.

𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯, Sophie warned.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘋𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘉𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘋𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, Sophie pointed out.

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦?

He was so sweet. How could she refuse? She sent him a quick okay before telling Sandor. He raised his eyebrows.

"You might even be spending more time at Everglen than you do at Havenfield," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well... my boyfriend lives there. And if anything, we'll end up moving into Havenfield once it's all over. My room is huge. I mean, if that's okay with you?" She turned to Edaline.

Edaline laughed. "You still have lots more time before that, Sophie. By the way, school resumes tomorrow. You won't be seeing much of Fitz."

"There's always lunch," Sophie replied.

Edaline snorted. "You guys will be ditching a ton, I can tell you."

"Nah," said Sophie. "I'm not planning on seeing Elwin that much."

"You may not have a choice. Don't get into too much trouble. And good luck at Everglen. There's a lot of tension between Alden and Della."

"I'll make it," Sophie promised, before keying Everglen into her leaping crystal and light leaping her and her bodyguards away.