Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)(102)

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.

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes.

“Like the ones behind the plague?”

What do you mean? she asked. Did you see something?

“I’ve seen a lot of things.”

Like what?

Her eyes were finally adjusting—or maybe her mind was—because blurry forms were taking shape around her. The closest silhouette was the Shade.