Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)(25)

“I merely hid the memory at first. I was trying to avoid interfering any more than I had to. But the memory kept resurfacing. Sophie’s mind had latched on to the moment to try to understand it. When I caught her writing in her journal, I knew I had to be more drastic. That night I washed the moment completely and tore the page out of her journal.”

“So you did sneak into my room while I slept?” Sophie asked, feeling especially squirmy when he nodded.

“My job was far from easy, Miss Foster. I had to ready your abilities, keep you safe, and still have you believe you were a regular human girl.”

“You failed pretty epically at the last one,” Sophie mumbled. “If you’d wanted me to feel normal, maybe you shouldn’t have made me read minds—or at least taught me how to block the thoughts I didn’t want to hear.”

“Believe me, I tried. Certain skills need conscious training, and I couldn’t reveal the truth to you yet. So every night I searched your memories and helped your mind set aside anything too upsetting. I also tried to help with your headaches—don’t you remember how I was always asking about them? I even gave your mother remedies to try, but I doubt she gave them to you. She wasn’t a fan of medicine. She made it clear at her first fertility appointment that she was only there as a last resort. It was one of the reasons I selected her. So many human remedies do more harm than good, and I had to ensure you wouldn’t be subjected to them constantly. The few times you went to the doctor, I had to monitor what they gave you and then find ways to undo the damage. I also had to change your records to ensure you looked human on paper—and your hospital stays were even worse. So many files to erase and treatments to adjust. You have no idea what a nightmare it was.”

“I might, if you gave me back my other missing memory,” Sophie reminded him.

“Nice try.”

“But it’s not like this memory even taught me anything,” Sophie argued. “I still don’t know who the boy is.”

“Perhaps that will convince you we are not withholding crucial secrets,” Granite said.

Or that they picked that memory to return because they knew it was a bust . . .

“And you really have no theories for who the boy could be?” Sophie pressed.

Mr. Forkle heaved a heavy sigh. “In the interests of avoiding further questioning, I will tell you that we’ve spent many years investigating the children at Foxfire. And we’ve ruled out every single boy.”

“Could you have missed someone?” Biana asked.

“Our methods were very thorough. I’m convinced he was not there—and if I’m right, then there’s only one other place he could have been.”

Fitz figured it out before Sophie did. “Exillium.”

“And before you start plotting ways to find the campus,” Mr. Forkle told her, “keep in mind that you saw the boy eight years ago. He has long since aged out of their curriculum.”

“So where do the Exillium kids go when they graduate?” Fitz asked.

“There is no single place,” Granite said. “Some earn jobs in the Lost Cities. Others remain banished. Either way, the boy is just as untraceable as the rest of the Neverseen.”

“There has to be a way to find him,” Sophie said. “Maybe the teachers saw something suspicious, or the Exillium administration kept records, or—”

“I can assure you, Miss Foster, you will find no record saying ‘Boy X is a member of the Neverseen,’?” Mr. Forkle interrupted. “And the Coaches would be of no help. Exillium is designed for anonymity. Those who attend do not use their names. They also wear masks.”

“Sounds like the perfect place for the Neverseen to hide,” Sophie pointed out. “They could have members there right now.”

“I doubt it,” Blur said.

“Why not?” Dex asked.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way,” Blur said, “but . . . Exillium is for kids.”

“What he means,” Mr. Forkle jumped in as they all groaned, “is that the Neverseen haven’t demonstrated a pattern of relying on children.”

“They did once,” Fitz argued. “Shouldn’t we at least look into it?”

“It’s not worth the risk,” Mr. Forkle insisted. “Finding Exillium would require breaking into an incredibly secure database.”

“I can do that, easy,” Dex said.

“Don’t get overconfident, Mr. Dizznee,” Mr. Forkle told him. “And do not attempt it. Whatever modicum of information could be gleaned by searching Exillium’s records does not match the havoc that would occur if you were caught.”

“Plus, we have far more important assignments for all of you to work on,” Granite added. He glanced at the rest of the Collective, waiting for them to nod before saying, “It’s time to rescue Prentice.”





ELEVEN


PRENTICE,” SOPHIE WHISPERED, not sure what to feel.

Relief?

Hope?

Fear?

Yeah . . . it was mostly fear.

And then of course there was the shame—mostly because of all the fear.

Prentice had allowed his mind to be broken in order to protect her. And healing him was the only way to be sure Alden’s sanity would never shatter again.