(THIS HAS SPOILERS FOR THE NEWEST BOOK COMING UP, SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!)

Starting Sneak Peek...

Fitz sank to his knees, shaking, while Keefe and Biana gathered around him. Sophie leaned over the edge, trying to squint through the swirling snow. "I can't see anything," she said quietly, knowing Fitz would need to know for sure. I'll have to teleport down there and look, she transmitted to Fitz. "Not alone, you won't," Fitz told her. "I'm going with you."

His voice was shakier than his legs, but his eyes were determined. "Okay," she relented, offering him her hand. He twined their fingers together as Keefe took her other hand and Biana held on to Fitz. Then she pictured what she'd seen of the spot where Sandor had fallen, waiting until the image felt clear in her mind before she ordered everyone to hold on tight and pulled them of the cliff. They landed in a pile of slushy snow. Red slushy snow. Sophie scrambled back, nearly tripping over the body as she tried to get away. But it wasn't Keefe's mom, nor Keilar.

"Sandor!" Sophie dropped to her knees beside him, begging him to open his eyes. He didn't. But his injuries didn't look nearly as bad as she would've expected. There was a gash on his forehead and another on his chin. But most of the blood seemed to have come from the deep scratches on his chest and neck. His legs and arms looked like they were bent the wrong way, but his spine seemed straight. And when she pressed her ear against his chest, she could feel the rise and fall of shallow breaths. "He's alive! Though only barely. We have to get him to Elwin. Fitz, if you take his feet, I can get his arms, and if we all hold on to him as we fall I should be able to get us all . . ." Her voice trailed off when she met Fitz's eyes.

"I don't see her." he whispered. "Do you?" Sophie turned to the wider part of the ledge, which was completely red. But no body. "I don't see my mom either. We all watched her jump, right?" Keefe asked. He craned his neck, probably checking to see if there was another ledge above them that could've caught her. Sophie did the same, and it was hard to tell with the limited visibility. "But Sandor's here," Fitz said quietly. "So she'd have to be, wouldn't she?"

"Where's the ogre, though?" Sophie asked. She went back to Sandor, using the last of her strength to roll him to his side. All she found underneath him was more red snow. "An ogre knocked Sandor of the ledge and they went over together," she explained. "So where's the ogre?"

"My guess is she force-shifted," Mr. Forkle said, limping toward them from a snowdrift Sophie was sure had been empty a second earlier. "How did you . . . ?" she started to ask, but Mr. Forkle waved the question away. "Your mother jumped of the edge, right?" he asked Keefe. "You didn't push her?" Keefe nodded blankly. "Then I'm sure she tried to force-shift. It's a method of ogre transportation I'd thought was simply a rumor—something about a special device they use that helps them shift the force of gravity to launch themselves to safety." Keefe sounded both hopeful and horrified as he asked, "So....she's alive?"

"It would appear so. Though I'm only assuming she knew about force shifting." Sophie said, "She did," Mr. Forkle nodded. "And as for Ms. Olivia, I'm not sure. The pool of blood shows evidence that her body landed there, so either she vanished out of nowhere or Gisela carried her body." A chill ran up alI their spines. "But...she's also alive...right?" Fitz asked.

"I think it's best if you all go. Get somewhere safe. I'll clean up here." Mr. Forkle said.

"How many did we lose?" Sophie forced herself to ask. "Three dwarves, so far. But there might be a fourth." He wiped his face, and Sophie wondered if he was drying tears or clearing the frost of his cheeks. "But . . . that's better than I'd feared, honestly," he said after a second. "And it wasn't all for naught this time."

"I asked," Fitz continued coldly, "If she's alive or not." Mr. Forkle sighed. "You kids," he muttered under his breath. "I'm not exactly sure. Unless they wanted to hold a funeral for her, the Neverseen must have some use of her. There's a small chance she may possibly be alive. But she wouldn't be safe or well at their hands." Mr. Forkle said.

He stomped his foot and two limping dwarves slowly emerged from the snow, dragging a black-cloaked figure. "You caught one?" Sophie asked. "Actually, I believe you three caught this one. We found him paralyzed from a melder blast up above. I only woke him up a few minutes ago, and, well, he's less than pleased to be our guest. But we have lots of getting to know each other to do, don't we?" The figure responded only with a curse, and Sophie watched him thrash against his silver bonds.

"Can I see his face?" she asked. "Quickly," Mr. Forkle agreed. She held her breath as she stepped closer, giving herself three seconds to steady her nerves before she swept the hood back. Her mouth fell open. "This was the jogger who came to my house and tried to grab me!"

"Yes, I remember," Mr. Forkle murmured. "It took all of my mental energy to hold him back from snatching you of the street that day. And if I hadn't known Fitz would be coming for you momentarily, I would've had to take you into hiding." "Whoa," Fitz whispered. "I forgot about that."

"I didn't." Sophie stalked closer, remembering the way he'd slung Dex over his shoulder on the bridge in Paris, ready to dispose of him like trash. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Whatever we must to find out what he knows."

"It won't work," the rebel snarled. "I've trained for this."

"So have we." "Your name's Gethen, isn't it?" Sophie asked, smiling when he flinched. "I heard Lady Gisela call him that. But wait—Fitz paralyzed two people, not just one. Where's the other one?"

"We followed his tracks to the edge of the cliff, so I'm assuming he woke up and force-shifted like Lady Gisela did." "And you're sure she's alive?" Keefe interrupted. "Worried about your mommy?" Gethen asked, laughing when Keefe spun toward him. "Don't worry, we take good care of her. Way better than you or your dad ever has." Fitz grabbed Keefe before he could lunge for Gethen's throat. "He's not worth it."

"No—you're not worth it." Gethen snarled. "Oh, and your little girlfriend?" He directed his gaze to Fitz. She'll die by the time we're done with her anyways. Do you really think--" The sound of crunching bone cut him off and his head snapped back so hard it left him bleeding and unconscious. "Sorry," Sophie mumbled, staring at her fist in wonder. 

Sneak Peek ended...

Book finished.