𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙫𝙖𝙧 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚

"I can't believe I just let him go," Fitz whispered. "But how did he survive?"

"Breathing exercises and temperature regulation," Sophie whispered.

"We had him," Fitz said, seething.

Sophie was glad that Flori had quieted their echoes, because Fitz's echo would be killing him right now if not.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, she promised him mentally.

𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘈𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺! 𝘖𝘩... 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻... 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳... 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘖𝘩... 𝘸𝘰𝘸. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩.

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩... 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦, 𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴, 𝘴𝘰...

𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵... 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯? Sophie's heartbeat increased.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺... 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦.

Sophie pulled out her Imparter, then froze. "Wait, I don't think I should be at Everglen when this happens. I'm going back to Havenfield."

"Do you want me there?" His voice was soft and pleading.

"Okay." She tucked away her Imparter, and he wrapped his hands around her waist. Then she activated her home crystal before deactivating it immediately as a goblin hand poked her.

"Oops, sorry, Sandor."

"You're not forgetting me again," Sandor said sternly. "Or Tarina or Bo or Nubiti." 

Sophie nodded, still blushing. 

"And I think Mr Vacker shouldn't be here," Sandor added sternly.

"Why not?" Fitz asked.

Flori came over. "Mr Vacker, your father specifically asked that you stay at Everglen."

Fitz glanced at Sophie, who looked equally confused. "He didn't say anything of the sort."

Fitz's Imparter buzzed, and Alden's face filled the screen. "Fitz! I asked you to stay home, remember? We need to discuss what we're going to do about Alvar."

Fitz's lip curled. "A little late to be talking about that, don't you think? He already escaped!"

"And we were a little shortsighted when it came to our firstborn," Alden agreed. "Still, there's no reason to worry. We'll track down Alvar, and then we'll have him punished."

"Yeah right. Or you'll just invite him over for the big birthday bash."

"Fitz, we're not celebrating Alvar's birthday."

Fitz rolled his eyes. The elves didn't even care much about birthdays, since they went by their inception date, but they didn't care much about that either. Fitz gave Sophie one last longing look before activating his home crystal and disappearing in a flash of light.

Sophie hailed Oralie and waited.

After a moment, the Councillor's face filled her screen. "Sophie?" Oralie asked warily.

"I'm going to register for a match. I'll ask the matchmaker to keep your identity a secret, but... you never know. You think Terik and Bronte can handle the Council on their own?"

Oralie pursed her lips. "For all we know, the Council may not kick me off. They're already regretting electing Councillor Alina, and another election would put the population in disarray."

"So, you're saying your position is safe," Sophie clarified.

Oralie nodded.

"Well, I'm headed for Atlantis then." Sophie hung up and looked over her shoulder to see Edaline.

"What was that about?" Edaline asked.

"Oralie is my biological mother," Sophie explained. "But she thinks she's safe, so I'm going to register."

"Okay..."

***

The matchmaking lady agreed to keep the secret, and she keyed in Oralie's name and added Sophie's before pressing a couple of buttons.

"You're going to find out who your father is," she warned.

"Yeah... I'm fine with that."

The lady pressed enter.