нι gυуѕ! ρσρριηg ιη ωιтн α мιηι υρ∂αтє вє¢αυѕє ι нανєη'т ∂σηє αηу σƒ тнαт нєяє. ρℓєαѕє ρσιηт συт αηу ѕρєℓℓιηg σя gяαммαтι¢αℓ єяяσяѕ, ι тяу тσ яєα∂ тняσυgн му ¢нαρтєяѕ αƒтєяωαя∂ тσ мιηιмιzє тнσѕє, вυт ησвσ∂у'ѕ ρєяƒє¢т. ι ѕєє уσυ'νє ησтι¢є∂ нσω тнιѕ ιѕη'т α ¢σмρℓєтєℓу ƒιтzρнιє ƒαηƒι¢тιση, ωнι¢н ιѕ тяυє, ι'νє α∂∂є∂ ηєνєяѕєєη ∂яαмα αη∂ αℓℓ тнαт. кєєρ ιη мιη∂ тнαт ι'м ησт gσιηg тσ єνєя ∂ιѕ¢σηтιηυє тнιѕ вє¢αυѕє σƒ яєαѕσηѕ ѕυ¢н αѕ ι ѕтαятє∂ ѕнιρριηg ѕσкєєƒє. ι нανє ƒιηιѕнє∂ яєα∂ιηg ѕтєℓℓαяℓυηє αℓяєα∂у αη∂ тнєу нα∂ ѕυ¢н α яυѕнє∂ яєℓαтισηѕнιρ ιт ωαѕ αωƒυℓ! ѕυ∂∂єηℓу тнєу ρυℓℓє∂ ιηтσ α кιѕѕ ι мєαη ωнαт? ѕнє нα∂ ∂єνєℓσρмєηт ωιтн ƒιтz αт ℓєαѕт!

αη∂ ωιтнσυт ƒυятнєя α∂σ, тнє ¢нαρтєя!

"You've been deciphering Neverseen codes without me?" Sophie demanded.

Fitz at least looked a little sheepish. "Magnate Leto asked me to keep it a secret, and told Tiergan so he wouldn't tell you during Telepathy."

"Seriously?" Sophie asked.

Fitz nodded.

"Are you keeping anything else from me, then? What happened to no secrets?"

"I wanted to tell you, but Magnate Leto... anyway we shouldn't talk here."

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦?

𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰!

𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥.

𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨!

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶! 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰. 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘩𝘢 𝘩𝘢.

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱!

𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘩𝘶𝘩?

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵!

𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬?

𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘕𝘈.

𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥?

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦.

𝘗𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

Sophie glanced more closely at the parchment. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘢'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.

𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩? 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘎𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯.

𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴?

𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯... 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳?

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Sophie sighed and started off to lunch, not wanting to continue the conversation.

She was still mad at Fitz for leaving her out, but it wasn't worth breaking up over. She still sat next to him at lunch even though they talked remarkably little, and his spirits were evidently low when he tapped her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"I need your help, remember?"

He handed her the papers. Sophie took them and kept them inside her waistband pocket.

"Right," she said.

"Look... I know things are a bit tense between us right now, but you will hail me when you decipher it, right?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Yeah, I guess I will."