Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 3) (31 page)

“Why would you do that?”

“I don’t
want
to. I want you to give me the password so I can trust you. Haven’t you found it yet?”

No. All she’d found was a stupid human mirror. Unless . . .

“Is it ‘follow the pretty bird across the sky’?”

Vertina shook her head sadly. “No. But a bird
is
connected to it.”

Sophie knew Vertina probably meant the clue to be helpful. But it wasn’t exactly a revelation. The Black Swan used birds for
everything
.

“A bird is connected to what?” Grady asked from the doorway.

“Oh, um, just a game Vertina and I are playing,” Sophie told him, throwing her green velvet cape over her shoulders and pinning it with her Ruewen crest.

She could tell Grady was less than impressed with her lie. But all he said was, “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

She took another glance at her reflection, hating that she looked more like she was heading off to prom. But Grady was dressed just as formally: velvet pants, an intricately embroidered jerkin, and a gold-trimmed silk cape—though his clothes were a deep hunter green.

The hint of dark matched the shadows under his eyes as he offered Sophie his hand and told her, “Today is probably going to be pretty miserable.”

“I know. I keep wishing it could be like last time, when I still had a little hope to hold on to.”

“There’s always hope, Sophie. Just because Kenric is gone doesn’t mean that his work, and the things he stood for, will vanish. It’s just going to take everyone a little time to heal.”

Sophie cringed.

“Sorry. Bad choice of word.” Grady sighed, mussing his hair. “You ready?”

She wasn’t. But she took his hand and they made their way up the stairs, with Sandor close behind.

Edaline was waiting for them in the fourth floor cupola, standing under the glittering crystals of the Leapmaster. Her wispy, silky dress floated around her like a summer breeze, and Sophie was relieved to see how calm Edaline looked. No tears. No shadows. Just a sad smile as she strangled Sophie with a hug.

“Remember, we’re here for you,” she whispered into Sophie’s ear.

“I’m fine,” Sophie promised.

But she didn’t feel fine as Grady called the Leapmaster to bring them the crystal for the Wanderling Woods. Especially when Sandor joined them under the crystals.

The Council would only allow a goblin into the Wanderling Woods if they were expecting some sort of danger.

Sophie had thought the crowd for Alden’s planting had been huge—but it was nothing compared to the turnout for Kenric. A never-ending line of green-clad figures stretched down the silvery path, waiting silently for their turn to pass through the archway that proclaimed
Those who wander are not lost.

And they weren’t just elves. Gnomes, goblins, dwarves, and some sort of wet-looking, grayish-green creatures—trolls, maybe?—were all in the mix.

But no ogres.

Sophie wondered if any of the Neverseen were lurking among the crowd.

She wouldn’t put it past them.

She reached for Grady’s hand, expecting him to head to the back of the line. But Grady led them to a side entrance, hidden among a thick vine of white star-shaped flowers.

The goblin guarding the gate was so large he made Sandor look scrawny, and his voice was even squeakier as he told them, “There’s a space reserved for you in the clearing. Just look for the silver ropes.”

“Thank you,” Grady said, pausing in the middle of the gateway. “Is there a path I’m not seeing?”

“The crowd keeps closing it off,” the goblin told them. “And I suggest you move quickly.”

Sandor saluted the guard and took the lead, ordering Sophie to stay right behind him as he pushed into the mass of bodies, creating a narrow wake for them to follow.

Despite the suffocating crowd, the Wanderling Woods maintained its eerie, unnatural silence, swallowing the sound of their footsteps as they wove through the carefully arranged trees. Each Wanderling’s seed was wrapped with a hair from the person who’d been lost, making the tree reflect their appearance as it grew and absorbed their DNA. There were tall trees, thin trees, leaves in every color of the rainbow, trees with dark bark, or light bark, or flowers, or berries.

Plus three small saplings that never should’ve been planted.

They passed Alden’s Wanderling first, and Sophie was stunned at how tall the dark-leafed tree had grown in such a short time. If it weren’t for the vivid teal flowers peppered among the branches, she never would’ve guessed it was his.

Hers and Dex’s trees looked taller too, though it was hard to tell from a distance. Their Wanderlings had been planted side by side, high on a hill, and Sophie was tempted to climb up and check on them. But Sandor moved like a bull who’d seen red, rushing past tree after tree after tree—each more ancient looking than the last—until they reached the clearing for the ceremony.

A silver stage had been set up in the center for the Councillors, and the crowd around it was packed so tightly, Sophie could barely breathe.

“That must be the area the guard meant,” Grady said, pointing to a pale yellow tree where a small spot of shade had been blocked off with thick silver ropes.

Three goblins were guarding the area, and once they’d let Sandor pass, they positioned themselves to the left, right, and front of Sophie. Sandor stood behind, and his grip stayed locked around his sword, ready to unsheathe it any second.

Sophie was tempted to tell him he was being overly paranoid. But then she noticed the crowd’s faces.

They weren’t staring at her.

They were
glaring
.

Whispers followed—and this time they weren’t calling her
the girl who was taken
.

They used the same two words over and over—the same words Sophie was fighting so hard not to think:

Her fault.

Sophie searched the faces, desperate to find a friend. But the closest she came was Marella—and when their eyes met, Marella looked away.

A muffled gasp finally silenced the crowd, and Sophie craned her neck to see that the remaining eleven members of the Council had arrived in the clearing. Four goblins guarded each Councillor, cramming the small silver stage with their muscular bodies. But it still looked empty without Kenric’s bright, smiling face.

The Councillors all wore the same pale shade of green—but instead of the simple gowns and tunics they’d worn for Alden’s planting, their clothes were covered in emeralds and peridots, and their circlets were crusted with diamonds. Their hair was perfectly styled and their clothes were perfectly pressed. But the finery didn’t make them look any less weary and miserable. Especially Oralie.

Her eyes were nothing more than puffy red slits, and she leaned on her goblin bodyguards like they were the only things keeping her standing.

“We appreciate your support on this challenging day,” Councillor Emery said, his voice hoarse as he stepped forward to address the crowd, “and I know many of you have questions about what will happen next. But now is not the time to focus on such matters. We will have a brief announcement after these proceedings. Before that, we must celebrate the life and loss of our dear friend—and inspiring Councillor—Kenric Fathdon.

Soft sniffles hissed through the air as Councillor Terik stepped off the stage and dug a small hole in the ground with a silver shovel. When the seed was completely buried, Councillor Liora poured a shimmering syrup from a green bottle on top, then cracked the glass against her palm, letting it shatter into a million shimmering specks that blanketed the freshly turned ground.

The sniffles turned to quiet sobs as a tiny sapling sprang from the earth and sprouted vivid red leaves. But Sophie battled back her tears, knowing if she let herself fall down the rabbit hole of grief, she might never find her way back.

“She doesn’t even look sorry,”
someone near Sophie whispered.

“Of course she isn’t. This was probably what she was created for all along.”

“She should be exiled.”

“Or banished.”

“To the goblins!”

“Or the ogres!”

The crowd pressed closer and closer, until Sandor ordered the other goblins to evacuate. Before Sophie knew what was happening, the bodyguards lifted her over their heads and rushed her outside the woods to the normal forest that surrounded the Wanderlings.

“We should be safer here,” Sandor told her, setting Sophie down in the shade of a tall pine tree. “I’ll bring you back in after the receiving line has finished, so you can hear the Council’s announcement.”

“Can’t I go through the line?” Sophie asked.

“The Councillors asked that you don’t,” Grady said quietly, as he and Edaline caught up with them. “The less interaction you have with the crowd, the better.”

“Great—maybe they should just lock me away in Exile.”

Edaline hugged her. “It’s going to be okay. We just need to give the public some time to reset.”

“Or to gather the torches and pitchforks and come after me,” Sophie mumbled.

“They’d come after me, too—if it makes you feel any better,” Fitz said behind her.

Sophie turned to find him leaning against a nearby tree. His smile was too sad to make her heart do anything except break.

“We’ll let you two talk,” Edaline said, taking Grady’s hand and leading him back toward the woods. “Sandor will keep an eye on things while we pay our respects.”

“Tell them I’m sorry,” Sophie called after them.

Edaline turned back. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Sophie. But we
will
give them your condolences.”

Sophie watched them go, not sure if she should be grateful for not having to face the heartbreaking scene, or mad that the angry crowds were keeping her away.

“My parents are in there too,” Fitz said after a second, waving her over to join him in the shade. “I stayed with them as long as I could, but we were standing near the Hekses and they got everyone all riled up pretty quickly.”

“What were they saying?”

“The usual. That my family needs to get away from you to save our reputation, that we’re ruining the world, blah, blah.” He tore a piece of dead bark from the tree and flung it away.

Sophie’s stomach wrenched as she sat beside him. “If you want to stop hanging out with me—”

“I told you, I’m
in
. In fact, there’s something I have to tell you—”

“
There
you are,” Keefe interrupted, stomping over from the exit to the Wanderling Woods. “You could’ve told me about your little private party out here. I’ve been stuck watching my parents play
who can pretend to be the saddest?
in the middle of a mob that smelled like a goblin’s armpit.”

“I’d be careful what you say,” Sandor warned, pointing to the three scowling goblins behind him.

Keefe shrugged, unfazed. “So . . . ,” he said, his smile fading as he turned to Fitz and Sophie. “Rough weekend?”

“You could say that,” Fitz mumbled, tearing off another piece of dead bark.

“And you,” Keefe said, turning to Sophie, “didn’t I tell you I wanted to be there the next time you—nope, actually, I can’t joke about this.” He shook his head—hard—and sat down facing them. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Fitz answered when Sophie didn’t say anything. “I think I’m still . . . processing it.”

“I think we all are.” Keefe turned to stare at the Wanderlings. “And I’m guessing there’s no chance this could all be a mistake again?”

Fitz shook his head, twisting the piece of bark in his hands until it crumbled. “My dad saw it happen.”

Sophie shuddered, trying not to imagine it.

“So what’s the plan now?” Keefe asked after a painful silence. “And don’t pretend you don’t have one, Foster.”

“But I
don’t
have one. That’s the problem.”

She’d found no other record of the Neverseen. Jolie’s mirrored compact had been a bust. Vertina wasn’t cooperating. The Black Swan was compromised. And everyone was so distracted by the fire that there’d been no more news about the missing dwarves or the ogre footprints.

All she had were questions and problems.

Fitz glanced over his shoulder and leaned closer. “I might have a plan.”

“Hmm,” Keefe jumped in before Sophie could say anything. “Team Keefe-Foster-Fitz doesn’t have quite the same ring, but I’m still in. Oh—maybe we could be the Keefitzter!”

“Not unless it’s the Keefianaitzter,” Biana informed them as she appeared next to Keefe. “Or the Keefitzeriana.”

“That doesn’t really have the same ring,” Keefe told her. “And have you been there the whole time?”

“Yep. I followed Fitz after he left, figuring I could sneak up on anyone if they tried to hassle him. And then Sophie came out, and I stayed hidden so I could make sure they couldn’t leave me out of their plans.”

Fitz rolled his eyes. “This vanishing thing is going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

“Not if you include me.”

“You guys shouldn’t be doing this,” Sophie said, wondering if Dex was about show up to complete the Let’s Ruin Our Lives Club. “Don’t you see? Everyone blames me for what happened, and they’ll hold that against anyone who’s friends with me.”