Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)(30)

“Thank you.” Della rumpled Dex’s hair as he gave the vial to Fitz.

Fitz downed it in one gulp, gagging at the taste.

“No more pranks,” Della said, wagging a finger at all three boys.

“Or—what if Fitz looks normal, but doesn’t smell very good?” Keefe asked.

Biana giggled.

Della sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Keefe?”

“I hear the Lord of the Universe title is up for grabs. Unless Foster’s trying to snatch it.”

“All yours.” Sophie had enough responsibility already.

“So you guys didn’t have any problems with the oath?” Biana asked.

“Nope! Got it on my third try,” Dex said proudly.

“Me too!” Biana said.

“Ha—beat you both,” Fitz told them. “Only took me two.”

“Don’t get so smug. I’m sure Foster nailed it the first try.” Keefe laughed when she blushed. “I knew it.”

“How many tries did it take you?” Biana asked him.

Keefe looked away.

“So what did everyone’s notes say?” Sophie asked, saving him from having to answer.

“Mine said ‘Because seeing is believing,’?” Dex said.

“Huh, I didn’t realize they were different.” Fitz smoothed his back-to-normal hair. “Mine said ‘The smallest things can be the most dangerous.’?”

Everyone looked at Keefe.

“Do not lose your way.”

Biana repeated the other notes and studied her pendant. “I still don’t get what they do.”

“Typical Black Swan,” Fitz said.

“Seriously,” Dex agreed. “Don’t they realize riddles are a huge waste of time?”

“Are they?” Granite asked, crossing the bridge to reach the gazebo. His face looked like clay soil that had cracked in the sun. “And here I thought we were training your minds to think critically and solve problems.”

“There are no easy answers in this world,” Wraith added, his silver cloak appearing beside Granite.

Biana moved closer to study him. “How do you partially vanish like that?”

“Work hard enough and I’ll teach you,” he said. “But today we’ll be perfecting the basics. Rescuing Prentice will require a level of precision you currently do not have, so prepare yourself for a long, exhausting day.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll be initiating your Cognate Training,” Granite told Sophie and Fitz. “Today will be the test to see if Cognatedom is truly a possibility.”

Sophie’s stomach dropped into her toes, and she was very glad she hadn’t eaten any of the pastries yet.

“What about us?” Keefe asked, pointing to himself and Dex.

“You both have study materials in your rooms,” Granite said.

“You’re seriously telling us to go read?” Keefe asked.

Sophie leaned close to whisper, “It’s only one day.”

“A lot can happen in a day, Foster. You know that better than anyone.”

“It’s cool,” Dex jumped in. “I have a project we can both work on.”

The way he said “project” made Sophie wonder what prank he was planning. She hoped it’d be worth it, since she was sure Della would make good on her threat of high heels. But she was glad to see Dex once again keeping Keefe from getting too frustrated.

Part of her wished she could go with them as they crossed the bridge and headed up the stairs. Instead, she followed Fitz and Granite down to the river, trying to convince herself Cognate training wouldn’t be as scary as it sounded.


“Mr. Forkle and I spent last night preparing these,” Granite said, handing Sophie and Fitz each a black notebook labeled Cognate Lessons. “But as we developed the exercises, we realized we were skipping a crucial step.”

The three of them sat in the shade of a tree with purple leaves, watching the glassy river rush past. Across the water, Della and Biana were practicing with Wraith, pacing back and forth while vanishing. Biana could only walk half the distance of the others before she’d reappear.

“The Cognate relationship requires both trust and balance,” Granite said, reminding Sophie she should be paying attention, “and it’s impossible to work on the former without the latter. In your case, Fitz—while you’re an incredibly talented Telepath—your skills simply do not match Sophie’s.”

Sophie cringed, wondering if the criticism would bother Fitz. But he grinned at her and said, “Yeah, she makes us all look bad.”

“She does indeed,” Granite agreed, his face cracking further as he smiled. “So if you’re going to be her Cognate, we need to get you up to her speed.”

“But aren’t her abilities strong because of all the tweaks you did to her genes?” Fitz asked.

“Actually, much of Sophie’s strength comes from practice. Her ability was triggered eight years ago, and Mr. Forkle trained her mind every night until last year.”

“He did?” Sophie asked, shuddering at the mental image. “I thought I had to be conscious to learn telepathic skills. Wasn’t that why he couldn’t teach me to shield?”

“Certain skills, yes,” Granite agreed. “But others can be absorbed. I’ll show you how.”