Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)(153)

He reached up and mussed his hair. “Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, I swear. I meant . . . I’m dealing with something right now.”

“You’re really worrying me now, Keefe. What is it?”

Keefe looked away. “I’m just going to see someone. It’s not a big deal.”

“Can I go with you?”

He shook his head. “Please forget it, okay?”

She watched him shuffle from foot to foot, his fingers twitching, twitching, twitching. “I don’t know what you’re up to, Keefe—but you promised you’d let me help.”

“I know. But this is something I have to do by myself. It’s fine, though, I swear. It’s all going to be fine.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“Remember when we were at the Black Swan’s ocean hideout, and you ate the drugged cookie and left me all alone with Silveny?” he asked. “I trusted you. I’m just asking you to do the same.”

“I seem to remember almost dying that day . . .”

“And I’m saving the near-death experiences for you and Fitz. I like being alive.” He stepped closer then, so close she could count the snowflakes in his eyelashes, which were much longer and darker than she’d realized. “Please just trust me, Sophie.”

She chewed her lip. “You’ll hail me later and let me know you’re okay?”

“I’ll hail you as soon as I can.”

That wasn’t the answer she’d been looking for, and it definitely added to her worries. But she couldn’t think of anything else to say except, “Okay.”

He grinned at her then, a real Keefe grin, and she let herself believe she was making the right decision.

She managed to stay convinced as they said a quick goodbye—even as she pulled out her home crystal and held it up to the light.

But then she noticed the crystal in Keefe’s hand and realized it was pale yellow—the same color as the crystals that went to the Neutral Territories.

Without thinking, she lunged and grabbed Keefe’s shoulders, letting the light carry her with him as he glittered away.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Keefe yelled as they reappeared by a bloodred lake, surrounded by stark, misty mountains.

Sophie recognized it from the memory she’d seen in Mitya’s mind. “I should ask you the same question. Are you serious right now? Were you actually thinking of breaking into an ogre prison by yourself?”

“Go home, Sophie.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

He grabbed her home crystal pendant and tried to hold it up to the light, but she wrestled the pendant away.

“Please,” he begged. “You have to get out of here.”

“So do you!”

“I can’t.”

Round and round the arguing went, and Keefe lunged for her home crystal again. It flew out of her hand, splashing into the red lake.

Keefe was shaking now, tearing through his pockets, searching for another crystal.

“You don’t have your home crystal with you?” she asked. “How were you planning to get back?”

“He wasn’t,” a familiar voice said behind them.

Sophie studied Keefe’s face, noting that he didn’t look the least bit surprised as she turned to find Alvar, Fintan, and Brant.





SEVENTY-EIGHT


THIS IS A trap, Sophie realized. But it didn’t seem to be the Neverseen’s doing.

Somehow, some way, Keefe had set this up.

So what was his plan?

And why hadn’t he told her?!

“I must say”—Fintan raised his hands, ready to call down flames—“you’ve really outdone yourself, Mr. Sencen. Miss Foster is an excellent addition to our bargain.”

Keefe jumped in front of Sophie. “She’s not supposed to be here.”

Brant’s scarred smile crawled straight out of Sophie’s nightmares. “Then we’ll consider her an excellent bonus.”

Sophie hadn’t noticed that Alvar had vanished until she felt his arms wrap around her. She screamed and thrashed and kicked, but he was too strong. He pinned her arms behind her with one hand while he ripped her Black Swan pendant off her neck and tossed it to Brant.

“Let’s leave the fires to the professionals, shall we?” Brant asked as he crushed the monocle under his heavy black boot. “I’ll take yours, too.”

Keefe jerked away as Brant yanked the pendant off his neck.

“Must we really do this again?” Brant asked, snapping his fingers and creating a sphere of Everblaze.

“Not if you let her go,” Keefe said.

“I’m finding it rather hard to believe your commitment,” Fintan told him. “Surely you’ve realized that switching sides means betraying your friends.”

Sophie’s stomach switched to vomit mode. “What is he talking about, Keefe?”

“You can’t guess?” Brant asked.

She was developing some terrifying theories—but none of them made sense. Or they didn’t until Fintan asked Keefe, “Where’s the cache?”

The only way they would know she had the cache was if Keefe had told them. He must be running the same trick she’d had him use on King Dimitar, offering something the Neverseen wanted in order to get information.