"We're safe," Sophie promised. "Elwin quarantined us before we left."

"I can tell," Calla said. "I just . . . don't know how to thank you. The risk you both took . . ."

She looked away, trailing her green thumb along the straightened edge, where the tree had morphed into a survivor.

"I wish we could've done more," Sophie said, swallowing back the knot of all her frustrations. "How bad was it at Exillium after we left?" she asked her friends.

"Well, let's see," Keefe said. "The purple Coach fainted when you guys teleported, and I'm pretty sure the other two peed their pants. Then everyone started screaming and freaking out about the plague, and it took a couple of hours for the Coaches to calm them down. That's when a group of Waywards started demanding to know if you guys were going to be ejected or expelled or whatever they call it-"

"Are we?" Fitz interrupted.

Dex, Keefe, and Biana shared a look.

"They wouldn't give me any extra beads when I asked for them," Dex said, "which turned into another whole-school shouting match. But the Coaches said their decision was final."

"So I guess that's that," Sophie mumbled.

"Not necessarily," Biana said. "Before we left, the Shade came up to me and did this freaky whisper-in-my-head thing." She shuddered. "And he said to tell you 'If you really want to prove the Coaches wrong, you should return with your friends and make a stand.' So I'm guessing he wants you to leap with us in the morning-but I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Me either," Dex said. "Who knows what the Coaches will do?"

"I don't think the Shade would've suggested it if he thought we'd be punished," Sophie said. "He told me when they punish someone, they punish everyone."

"Maybe he thinks we're all going to be punished anyway, so he wants you to suffer with us," Dex said.

Sophie shook her head. "That doesn't sound like him."

"But you barely know him," Fitz reminded her.

"Yeah, and isn't this the guy I heard the boobrie dude warn you about?" Keefe asked.

"It is," Sophie agreed. "But I think the real reason the Coaches don't like him is because he disagrees with their rules and finds ways around them-sound familiar?"

"Right," Keefe said. "But I'm not a Shade."

"You're seriously going to judge him because of his ability?" Sophie asked.

"We do it with Pyrokinetics," Dex jumped in.

"And I don't know if that's right either," Sophie admitted. "Think of how much the ban on pyrokinesis has made them what they are. That's why Fintan rebelled. And why Brant joined the Neverseen. If being Talentless hadn't made him a bad match for Jolie, their story might have had a very different ending."

"Maybe," Keefe agreed. "But Shades will always be shady. It's in the name! And they control shadowvaper, and call it 'the darkness within us all.'"

"Does that mean they can control us, like Mesmers?" Sophie asked.

"It's more about being able to read people," Fitz said. "It's kind of like what Councillor Terik does when he descrys someone-only Shades are looking at your potential for darkness."

"Tell me that's not creepy!" Keefe said.

"Uh, I can inflict pain on people," Sophie reminded him. "Besides, how is judging him for his ability any better than judging people for being Talentless?"

"So you're saying you want to trust him?" Fitz asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should see what the Collective thinks. They may not want any of us going to Exillium anymore, so we can focus on what's happening with the plague."

She was honestly hoping for the latter, so they could go back to Bosk Gorge and figure out why the plague seemed to be spreading faster there, and make sure no other gnomes were stranded in the area.

But when they returned to Alluveterre, Mr. Forkle was waiting for them in the bridge's gazebo-and he'd brought Sophie and Fitz new Exillium uniforms.

"I take it this means we'll be going to school tomorrow," Fitz said.

"You did the right thing, helping that gnome," Mr. Forkle told them. "The Coaches should see that."

"And if they don't?" Dex asked.

"Then it's your job to convince them. We need to get them on our side-they know more about what's happening in the Neutral Territories than anyone."

"But they don't seem to care," Sophie mumbled.

"Then make them care. That's one of your greatest gifts, Miss Foster-one we had nothing to do with. You're a natural force for change. And here's a chance to make a true difference."

Her friends looked as nervous as Sophie felt, but they didn't argue as they headed for their rooms.

Actually, Mr. Forkle transmitted to Sophie. If you could stay behind, there's something I need to discuss with you . . . privately.

Sophie figured it had to do with the sick gnome or her visit to Foxfire. So she definitely wasn't prepared when he told her, "I have news for Mr. Sencen."

"Is it about his mom?" she asked, sinking into one of the chairs. She had a feeling this was the kind of conversation she wanted to be sitting down for.

"It is-but not in the manner you're thinking. The news is about her past, not her present, and that's why I'm sharing it with you. You seem to have a better sense of how Mr. Sencen is handling things, so I trust you to decide how we proceed from here. As you know, Councillor Oralie has been working with Lord Cassius, searching for clues to his wife's Neverseen activities. And word has reached me that a few days ago they discovered a trunk hidden in Candleshade. I'm sure you can imagine how easy it would've been for the family to overlook it all these years."

Sophie nodded. Keefe's house had at least two hundred stories-but Sophie didn't care about that. "What was in the trunk?"

"Lots of maps. The Council's still working to determine their purpose. And a kit for making temporary leaping crystals, like the ones you use at Exillium. We're assuming that's one of the ways she slipped away to the Neverseen's hideouts without anyone noticing."

"And?" Sophie pressed, since none of that merited a private conversation.

"And . . . there was also a note. Lord Cassius wanted it returned to his son, so it found its way to me."

He reached into his cape pocket and handed her a plain piece of paper that seemed too large for the tiny message scrawled at the top in loopy writing.

Dear Keefe, I'm doing this for you.

Love, Mom "So what are we going to do?" Mr. Forkle asked. "Tell Mr. Sencen? Or spare him?"

Sophie stared at the page, trying to decide what bothered her more: the word "love," or all the blank space.

And she kept picturing the Keefe she'd seen in the physician's tent, the angry scared Keefe lurking just under the surface.

But she'd promised Keefe she wouldn't hide things from him, and this was a Very. Big. Thing.

"It's not easy, is it?" Mr. Forkle asked. "Deciding how to protect someone you care about? I'm sorry to add this burden to you-especially after the day you've had. But I know you're the one who will choose what's best for him."

Sophie sighed. "Can I think about it?"

"Take all the time you need. All I ask is that you warn me before you share it with him-if you decide to share it with him. Otherwise I'll assume you've kept this to yourself."

Sophie nodded and stumbled back to her room. She was up most of the night going back and forth, making up her mind and changing it the next instant.

Eventually, she tucked the note into her purple backpack in the cache's old hiding place.

FORTY-NINE.

ARRIVING AT EXILLIUM the next morning felt like a scene in a movie where the soundtrack scratched to silence and everyone turned to stare.

Fitz's hand turned clammy in Sophie's as the two of them stood together, with Keefe, Dex, and Biana flanking them on all sides.

They'd leaped to the middle of a sweltering desert, with the school's tents scattered across the rolling dunes. Sophie saw no sign of the plague, but there was no life for it to contaminate. Not even a cactus or a scrubby bit of brush. Just endless dry sand, rippled by the wind and bleached white by the sun.

From the corner of her eye Sophie could see the Shade nod his approval, but she was too focused on the three Coaches stalking toward them, kicking up clouds of dust.

"So you've chosen the path of defiance," the blue Coach said, his tone as heated as the air.

"We mean no disrespect," Sophie told him. "Just like we meant none yesterday."

"We were just trying to do the right thing," Fitz added.

"And yet your 'right thing' disregarded our authority," the red Coach said. "You understand the position this puts us in, don't you?"

Sophie had a whole speech prepared, ready to shame the Coaches for their selfish lack of consideration. But as she studied the three figures in front of her-and the hoard of anxious Waywards gathered behind them-she realized the Coaches weren't trying to be cruel. They were fighting an impossible battle, placed in charge of a group that even the highest authorities in the Lost Cities couldn't control-without proper resources or backup to support their efforts.

They were simply struggling to keep their fragile hold.

"Sometimes the greatest power comes from showing mercy," she told them quietly. "Especially to those who may not deserve it."

The Coaches looked at each other, something silent passing between them.

"Aren't we all hoping for a second chance?" Sophie added.

Several agonizingly long seconds crawled by before the red Coach nodded-only once, but the small movement was enough.

"Don't make us regret this," the blue Coach said.

"We won't," Fitz promised as the red Coach ordered everyone to disperse to their tents.

Sophie plodded through the sand, nearly losing her balance when her purple Coach came up beside her.

"The gnome we saw yesterday," her Coach whispered. "Is he . . . ?"

"He's in quarantine with the others," Sophie told her. "Still waiting for someone to discover the cure. So if you've seen anything in the Neutral Territories that might be helpful . . ."

"I haven't," the Coach said. She started to walk away, then slowed her pace long enough to add, "But I will keep my eyes open."

"Thank you," Sophie said.

They'd reached the tent by then, and her Coach ordered everyone to grab their mats and drag them into the sweltering sun. The rest of the day was very long and hot and sweaty as they practiced body temperature regulation. Around the third blistering hour, Sophie learned to shift her concentration to her cells and turned her skin hyperaware to any traces of coolness. Then the tiniest breeze felt like a blast of arctic wind and the slightest trickle of sweat felt like a bucket of ice water.

When the sun sank low enough to stretch the shadows into angled smudges, the Shade's whispered voice filled her mind.

"How were you not arrested yesterday?" he asked.

I still have a few friends in the Lost Cities. She debated a second before adding, I hope I have a couple here, too.

"You already have the four you came with," he reminded her. "Do you really have room for more?"

Can you have too many friends? she asked.

He was silent for a long time. Then he whispered, "I wouldn't know."

The next day Exillium brought them to the side of a rocky mountain, where a gaping hole granted entrance into a dark cavern. The Coaches led them inside, and they walked farther and farther until the damp, black air blotted out the light.

"Today you'll be improving your night vision," the Coaches said in unison, their voices echoing off the cavern walls. "Let your eyes adjust and your mind will do the rest."

It sounded far simpler than it turned out to be.

Sophie tried everything she could think of, but all she ever saw was inky darkness. And the longer it surrounded her, the heavier it felt, until she had to remind herself that she could still breathe and the air wasn't running out.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" the Shade whispered in her head.

I'm afraid of things that use darkness to hide, she told him.

"Creepy crawly things?" he asked.

Those aren't my favorite, she admitted.

"But clearly not what's making you shiver," he said. "Monsters, then?"

His whispered voice was teasing, but Sophie couldn't smile.

She'd been kidnapped from a cave-which probably wasn't the best memory to relive at the moment.