☆

Sophie drifted with the warmth. Time, space, life—they held no meaning in the brightness. But she was peaceful, more peaceful than she'd ever been. If this was death, it wasn't so bad.

But a sound wove through the sparkle and colour and heat, disturbing her serenity. She tried to ignore it, but the noise persisted, and it sounded familiar. The same word over and over.

Sophie.

Awareness tugged her away from the light, and she fought against leaving the freedom. She didn't want to go back to the darkness. But she couldn't tune out the voice.

Sophie. Sophie, can you hear me? Sophie.

The light turned a soft teal and sparkled like jewels all around her. The voice was soft, but still crisp, like it had an accent she couldn't place. . . .

Fitz!

The rainbow world lost its appeal. With a surge of newfound strength, she pooled every remaining ounce of her concentration and wrapped it around the sound of his voice, letting it pull her back to reality. She gasped as pain rocked her head so hard it felt like her mind cracked, and a thousand different aches splintered through her body.

She tried to move but only managed a slight shiver. Something strong and warm wrapped around her.

"Sophie," Fitz said again, clearer now, right next to her. "Sophie, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

She didn't have the strength to squeeze, but her mind was stronger than her body.

I'm here.

He laughed—a beautiful sound—and the warmth enveloped her again, tighter this time. "Everything is going to be okay," he whispered. "You're safe now. Just stay with me, okay?"

I'll try.

There was something she needed to remember. Something bad had happened. Someone was hurt. An image of a strawberry-blond-haired boy crumpled on the ground flashed into her mind.

Dex!

"Dex is fine," Fitz promised, answering her thoughts. "Keefe leaped him to Everglen, and Biana left to get Elwin. We weren't sure if it was safe to move you." His voice hitched at the end.

No, that wasn't it. Yes, she was supposed to think about him, but what came to her mind was the slight tug she'd felt at her chest, where her crest pin lied. She looked down to see it intact and still on her chest. But a soft peach coloured strand of fiber was stuck to the tip. The memory was just at the tip of her tongue, but the pain distracted her already cotton-stuffed head. So many questions raced to her mind, but she was afraid to ask any of them.

Thank you for coming.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I didn't want to believe you could still be . . . get my hopes up if . . ." He choked on the words. "I finally told Keefe and Biana about it, and they convinced me to come. If I'd come sooner, maybe . . ."

You're here now.

"I just hope I'm not too late," he whispered. The memory clicked in Sophie's mind and an image of a different blonde haired girl with sky blue eyes flashed and disappeared.

Wait, Fitz-

"Where is she?" Elwin barked, as running footsteps moved closer. He gasped. "Fitz, open her mouth." Soft fingers parted her lips, and then a cool liquid slid across her tongue. "Try to swallow, Sophie," Elwin ordered. It took every bit of strength she had to push the sweet syrup down. The medicine rushed through her body, numbing as it went.

No! She didn't want to be sedated again. She didn't want to go back to the darkness. She...she had to tell him.

"It's okay, Sophie," Fitz whispered, his voice farther away. "Don't fight the medicine," Elwin added. "Your body isn't ready to be awake. I promise it will be okay."

Fitz...you...you don't...understand...

She was scared to sink into the blackness again. She wasn't sure she'd have the strength to come back. She wasn't sure that he'd find out. Sophie managed to turn her head slightly, to see half of a grey body.

A girl lied on the ground, her blonde hair now a grey, her eyes closed. Her body from the torso had vanished. Even in Sophie's state, she could see the strand of wool absent from the girl's scarf, pulling the entire fabric of the scarf and disturbing it.

Her panic didn't ease even as Fitz's voice filled her mind.

You're going to be okay, he promised. Just sleep. She clung to his words as the darkness dragged her under.

☆

Cool tingles across her forehead pulled her back to reality, and Sophie took deep breaths, luxuriating in the rise and fall of her chest. She'd forgotten how wonderful it was to breathe.

"That's my girl," someone whispered. She knew the voice, but her foggy mind couldn't place it.

Something touched her lips and she parted them, gulping the cool wetness that poured into her mouth. She wanted to drink forever, but the liquid stopped. Her face twisted in protest.

"I know," the voice said, "but you have to give your stomach a chance to adjust. It's been empty for a long time now."

She wanted to argue, but her stomach cramped as the cold liquid hit it. Her body contorted. "Can't you give her anything for the pain?" another voice asked from somewhere nearby.

"I need her to feel right now, so I can check her progress. Then I can numb her again."

"No," she begged, horrified at her strangled voice. She'd had enough sedative to last a lifetime. "No medicine."

"Shhh," he whispered, rubbing balm into her dry lips. "I won't give you any medicine, I promise. Now please, lay still before you wear yourself out."

"Okay." She forced her eyes open, squinting in the light. A round face with dark messy hair hovered over her. The iridescent spectacles gave him away. "Elwin," she whispered. Tears pooled in his eyes.

"I can't tell you how good it is to hear you say that. Bullhorn's been sleeping next to you for two weeks. We were starting to lose hope. But yesterday he moved, and now here you are."

Someone sniffled behind her. "Alden?" she asked, recognizing the other voice she'd heard. "I'm here," he whispered, stepping into her line of sight and taking her hand.

"You up for a few visitors?" Elwin asked. "Sure," she whispered. Alden propped her up with a pillow, and she realized she was at Everglen, in the room she'd stayed in her first night as an elf. Outside she could hear some murmured debate over who should see her first. She couldn't wait to see them again.

☆

Sophie's dreams were a horror show of black figures and fire. She woke up tangled in covers, only to find an enormous gray beast towering over her. She screamed as black fear swirled through her mind and her whole body trembled.

"Stop, Sophie," Alden warned, shaking her shoulders. "Stop, you're hurting him."

His voice washed the darkness away and her vision cleared. The gray beast twisted in pain on the floor.

"Sandor won't hurt you," Alden promised. "The Council assigned you a goblin bodyguard to keep you safe. It's not a good idea to inflict pain on him."

Her jaw dropped. "Inflict?"

Alden nodded. "It seems you're an Inflictor. A melder causes temporary paralysis, so Dex was semiconscious during your escape. He told me you made everyone collapse in pain. I wondered if that meant you could inflict. You just did it to Sandor, so it appears you can."

Her eyes widened and she turned to the barely conscious goblin on the floor. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean—"

"He'll be okay in a minute," Alden promised. "Goblins are tough." And yet she'd incapacitated him—without even trying. "But . . . I'm a Telepath. How can I have two special abilities?"

"It is possible to have more than one. Rare. But considering how special you are, I wouldn't be surprised if you still have more abilities that you haven't discovered."

"What, I'll just wake up and suddenly be able to walk through walls?"

"Not quite. Most abilities stay dormant until they're activated—that's why we have ability detecting. It seems like the trauma of the kidnapping activated some of your latent talents. That's why you can inflict, why your concentration is stronger now—and Dex said you're a Polyglot."

"A what?"

"You speak languages instinctively, just by hearing them. It's a very rare skill. You'll be glad you have it as you advance in multispeciesial studies."

"I guess." She wasn't sure she would ever be excited about having more weird talents.

Sophie flinched at a small movement beside her bed, and she turned her head to see the long, blond haired girl from before, sleeping on the other side of the bed. Colour had returned to her body, and she could notice the girl's legs were back.

"Yes, Keefe found her too after we leaped you to Everglen. Dex stated that she was human, and she accidentally stumbled upon your showdown with the figures you saw. She was terribly faded; she would've died if we were a second too late." Alden said, replying to Sophie's confusion.

"Fitz said he noticed you directing his attention to this girl before you fell asleep. You must have noticed the girl after you leaped."

"Yeah," Sophie said, recalling her memories. "I'd felt a tug on my pin during the leap, and I noticed the girl's scarf's wool got stuck, pulling her into the light with me. She isn't an elf, so she lost most of herself during the leap. At least that's what I'd gathered."

"Actually, you thought she wasn't an elf," Alden corrected. "Elwin checked her, and after many retorts of him stating her terribly exhausted cells and two DNA tests, he confirmed it. She's an elf."

Sophie's jaw dropped. "What?"

Alden shook his head. "I didn't believe it either. But Elwin checked again, and it gave the same result. It would explain why she didn't fade entirely instead of just half of herself. But this also opens up to new suspects. "

"I don't understand," Sophie mumbled. "I thought I was the only project hidden in the forbidden cities. Now there's two elves?"

"Not exactly. You see, I do not recognize this girl at all. That means she wasn't one of the suspects that I thought were you. However, "Alden continued, "She wasn't captured by these black figures. They weren't aware that this girl existed either. It could be another project of the Black Swan, but she wouldn't have ever met you if this girl was."

Sophie's mind flashed back to what the girl had said before. ''

"Anyways, we're having a plan to put her into this world, without causing confusion to the Council. I-"

"What?" Sophie said again. "You're...you're going to let her stay here?"

Alden sighed. "Well, we don't have a choice. The group that captured you guys was seen by this girl in full clarity; they'll be after her once they regroup themselves. It'll be dangerous for her in the human cities. I'll just confirm the plan once I tell the council that you're awake. Then we'll set the plan in motion. And this plan," he looked at Sophie with tired eyes, "Is going to have a part of you in it. So get some rest while you can."

"But- " she tried saying, but the conversation had already sapped her energy out, and she lied on the cot she was on in exhaustion.

She closed her eyes soon, letting the monster called darkness take over her sight.