"I think so." Biana tore off her soggy Neverseen cloak and flung it away. Her clothes underneath weren't as muddy, and Fitz and Calla quickly copied her. Sophie did the same. Dex dropkicked his cloak across the soggy plain.

And then Biana asked the question Sophie hadn't thought to ask: "Where's Alvar?"

A moment of silence passed-followed by frantic shouting as they fanned out to search.

Sophie explained to a hysterical Biana that she was going to track Alvar's thoughts, when a deep laugh behind them sent them spinning around.

"Didn't mean to freak you guys out," Alvar said as Biana tackled him with a move that seemed more strangle than hug. "I just wanted to see if I'd figured out how to fool Calla's eyes. Looks like I have."

"Dude, now was not the time," Fitz said, and even Keefe nodded in agreement.

"Oh, relax. I also grabbed this!" He kicked at a pile of mud, revealing the silver chest.

He seemed so proud of himself, Sophie didn't have the heart to tell him the chest was useless. Plus, she knew what was in the chest, and it wasn't something she wanted the ogres having their hands on.

"Uh-are you guys forgetting that my sister is holding back a tidal wave over here," Tam yelled, pointing to Linh's trembling form. "She's not going to last much longer, so you'd better figure out how to get us out of this place before it crashes."

Sophie checked the other side of the canyon, where hundreds of ogres paced impatiently. "We'll never make it back to the tunnel," she said.

"Gee, you think?" Alvar asked. "But you're the girl with all the plans. I'm sure you'll figure out something."

"What if we let the tidal wave go?" she said. "Would it wash the ogres away?"

"The canyon is too wide," Linh said, her voice strained. "All it will wash away is the bridge."

"Then we'd really be trapped," Alvar said.

"Would we?" Sophie asked, turning to Dex. "I know it's not a gadget, but what do your Technopath senses say. Could we survive it?"

"Survive what?" Biana asked.

Dex knew. His eyes widened as his brain seemed to work the problem through. He nodded slowly. "Yeah . . . I'm pretty sure we would. Depending on where this river ends up."

"It's the same river we used to live by in Wildwood," Tam said.

"And the flood would be strong enough to break down the gates?" Sophie asked Linh.

Sweat poured down her face as she nodded.

Sophie turned to her friends. "What do you guys think? Linh can't hold on much longer."

"Just so I'm clear," Keefe said. "You're suggesting we unleash the tidal wave and destroy the bridge while we're on it, and hope the broken pieces smash through the gates without squishing us and carry us out of Ravagog like a raft?"

"Unfortunately . . . yes," Sophie said. "I don't see another option, do you?"

Everyone stared at the bloodthirsty ogres.

"I guess it's time for you to flood another city," Sophie told Linh. "And this time, let's destroy everything while you're at it."

SEVENTY-ONE.

NEED ME TO help?" Sophie asked Tam as he carried Linh toward the bridge.

"I've got her." But every time he lost his balance, Linh's concentration would falter and the wave would swell higher.

"Hang on, Linh," Sophie told her. "You can do this."

"I can," Linh said, gritting her teeth so hard they looked ready to crack. "There will be no flood until we're ready."

The ogres roared to a frenzy when Sophie's group reached the bridge. A few even crept to the first fiery arch, hovering near the crater Dex had made, eager to spill the first blood.

"Let's try to stay in groups through this," Fitz said. "No one should be alone."

Keefe hooked his arm through Sophie's, and Biana took his arm. Fitz stayed with Tam and Linh, helping hold Linh steady as she clung to the edge of the bridge and kept her eyes fixed on the wave. Dex, Calla, and Alvar made a small circle, the two boys each holding Calla with one hand and the silver chest with their other.

"Don't take any risks to save that thing," Sophie told them, pointing to the chest. "It's not worth it."

"Why not?" Alvar asked.

"Brace yourselves!" Tam shouted before Sophie could answer. "Linh needs to let the water go."

"Do it!" Sophie said, clinging to the stone railing.

With an anguished cry Linh lowered her hands and called the wave toward them. The ogres who'd crawled out onto the bridge scrambled back, but Sophie and her friends stayed locked in place, staring down the oncoming flood.

"It needs to hit us from behind," Dex shouted. "Otherwise we'll be crushed against the canyon.

"Working on it!" Linh said, screaming as she twisted her arms and curved the massive swell as much as she could.

For one surreal moment, Sophie and her friends stood, slack-jawed, clinging to anything they could grab hold of. Then the tidal wave crashed over them.

The bridge cracked on impact, splitting into two parts, showering them with green sparks as the flaming arches toppled. Dex's group was forced to split, and he dragged Calla with him to share the piece of bridge holding Tam, Linh, and Fitz. Alvar jumped with the silver chest onto the piece of rubble that Sophie, Keefe, and Biana clung to, right as it broke free and took off down the river.

Their debris dipped and ducked and thrashed through the white-capped water, rushing so fast the world smeared to a blur.

"So, um, not to freak you out more than you already are," Keefe shouted, catching Sophie's arm and dragging her back before a smaller wave could wash her overboard. "But . . . what happens when we go KABOOM?"

He pointed ahead, where the gigantic iron gates were growing larger by the second. Linh had seemed sure the force of the water and debris would break the gates open-but that didn't explain how they would survive the crash.

"Time for the famous Sophie Foster to come up with another brilliant plan and save us, right?" Alvar asked.

But Sophie was out of ideas. Even with all four of their minds combined, their telekinesis strength would never be enough to shove the gate open before they got there. And with the rushing wind and the panic pumping through their veins, Sophie didn't see how they'd ever be able to levitate safely away.

Linh says to jump into the river, Fitz transmitted from his raft. She can cushion you in the water.

Sophie could think of many things wrong with that plan, but she wasn't in a position to argue. "Linh says we have to jump!" she shouted, pulling the others to the edge of their rubble and leaping into the flood.

The water was freezing, but it had a strange burn too, like lemon juice in a cut, and the stinging pain made Sophie forget any of the tricks she'd learned in Exillium to hold her breath. The currents knocked the last of the air from her chest, and as the bubbles slipped toward the surface, Sophie followed, kicking her legs frantically, her lungs screaming, her vision dimming until her head broke through the water and she sucked in a grateful breath.

Keefe surfaced beside her and she clung to him. He held on tight and reminded her they had to get underwater for Linh's protection. Sophie had just enough time to fill her lungs with air before Keefe dove, pulling her under with him.

She forced herself to swim, ignoring the pain as bits of rubble pummeled them from all sides. She tried to remember that she owned the new record at Exillium for holding her breath-she just needed to slow her body down, slow her lungs down, slow her heart down.

An explosion blasted through the water, but as the storm of shrapnel hurtled toward them, it split down the center, half of it drifting over their heads, the other half below their feet. Sophie had no idea how Linh could control so many things at once, but she sent silent thanks for protecting them as they washed through the blast zone to safety.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" Keefe shouted when they surfaced again in the middle of the raging flood. "And so are Alvar and Biana! I can see them a few feet behind us."

"What about the others?" Sophie asked, kicking away debris before it smashed them.

"I can't see that far, but the gate's open now, so they should have a smooth ride. Plus, they've got Linh. She'll keep their raft steady."

"True," Sophie said. "You probably should've grouped up with them."

"Nah, I like my group better." He pulled her closer, just in time to miss a jagged rock.

The river rushed at a breakneck speed, waves tossing them back and forth, knocking them into flotsam. They clung to each other until the currents washed them into a bed of broken reeds.

Sophie waded out of the shallows, collapsing on the grassy ground and gulping as much air as she could.

"I think we made it," Keefe said, crumpling beside her.

Sophie stared at the sky-a red sunset so bold it felt almost violent. Still, she preferred it to the sour green light of Ravagog.

"Any sign of the others?" she whispered.

"I saw their chunk of bridge wash ashore a while back," Keefe said. "So I'm betting they're on foot now."

Sophie knew they should get up and search, but her body felt like it had been molded from mashed potatoes. The best she could do was lean her head on Keefe's shoulder, trying to stay warm in the chilly evening wind.

"Awwww, you guys look so cute!" Alvar said, stumbling toward them a few minutes later. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt cuddle time," he added as Sophie scrambled away.

Sophie was sure her cheeks were redder than the sky, especially when she realized Biana was there too. She pulled her soggy hair forward to cover her face. "It's cold here."

"It is," Biana agreed.

Sophie couldn't tell if the strain in Biana's voice was exhaustion or something else. She decided to change the subject. "Where are we?"

"Near Wildwood," Alvar said. "Which is good. I was hoping that's where we'd end up."

"Really?" Sophie asked. "Why?"

Alvar lifted the silver chest, which he'd managed to carry through all that chaos. "Seemed like a good place to bring this!"

His smile was so bright, Sophie couldn't look at him as she told him the truth. "That's not the cure. That's how the ogres were planning to get the plague into the Lost Cities. They wanted us to steal it and bring it there. Then when we opened it-poof! The plague would be our fault."

Alvar tested the lock on the chest. "Are you sure?"

"I saw the whole plan in King Dimitar's mind. He's also plotting to get rid of the Neverseen once he's done using them."

"He thinks he's using them?" Alvar asked.

"He's using everyone," Sophie said. "Letting us tear our world apart so he can crush the pieces to bits." Sophie shook her head. "We'll have to destroy that chest. And I don't know how I'm supposed to tell Calla there's no cure."

"I already know," Calla said behind them. Sophie scrambled to her feet to find Calla, Tam, Linh, Dex, and Fitz, shuffling closer. It should've been a moment of celebration-they'd invaded Ravagog and lived to fight another day! But the devastating realities cast a shadow far gloomier than any Tam could create.

"You know the cure is fake?" Sophie whispered.

Calla nodded, her eyes focused on what remained of the Wildwood Colony in the distance. "The Panakes told me. I finally understand their song. The cure lies in their blossoms, not their bark. But hope is not lost. I'll explain how later. Right now we should get somewhere safer. I'm sure the ogres will come after us."

"Yeah," Keefe said. "You guys realize we just destroyed Ravagog, right? What do you think that means? Like . . . did we just start a war?"

"We didn't start anything," Fitz said. "This whole thing was a trap the ogres set."

"Somehow I don't think King Dimitar is going to care about that," Keefe mumbled. He glanced at Sophie. "And I'm guessing you didn't learn anything about my mom?"

"I tried," she whispered. "But his mind was too fixated on the drakostomes."

"That has always been the ogres' problem," a frighteningly familiar voice said. "They always fail to see the bigger picture."

Sophie and her friends scrambled together as they turned to find Brant and Fintan walking toward them, each holding spheres of Everblaze.

SEVENTY-TWO.

I'M GUESSING THIS is the part where you demand to know how we found you," Fintan said as Brant moved to block their path from behind. The Everblaze flamed brighter with their slightest movement, making it clear that pain would follow any attempt at escape.

"You keep forgetting that this was our plan from the beginning," Fintan added. "Well-not the flood. You managed to surprise us with that one. And you stopped us from infecting Brackendale and Merrowmarsh. But the rest has gone like clockwork."

Biana stepped in front of Calla, shielding her from the fire. "How could you do this to the gnomes? After everything they've done for the Lost Cities?"

"To expose the Council's lies," Brant said. "Now everyone knows how much they hide, and how little protection they truly give their people."

"Which accomplishes what?" Sophie asked. "All you've done is make people afraid."