Keeper of the Lost Cities

TWENTY-FOUR

GOOD MORNING, PRODIGIES,” DAME ALINA cooed during orientation the next morning. “Everyone ready for another exciting day?”

“Hey, check it out,” Dex whispered to Sophie. He pointed to the meter on his plain blue nexus. “I finally passed the halfway point.”

“Really?” She tried to be excited for him, but she hadn’t even reached the one-third point.

“Yep. Not much further till I can have my own Pathfinder. Maybe I’ll even get my nexus off younger than Fitz—man, that’d be awesome! I’d love to see Wonderboy’s face if a Dizznee broke his precious record.”

She was about to defend Fitz when Dame Alina caught her attention.

“We are now four weeks away from midterms. For those of you worried you won’t be able to score the required seventy-five percent to pass, I recommend seeing Lady Nissa in the Tutoring Center.”

“Maybe you should sign up for alchemy tutoring,” Marella whispered. “Not sure you’ll pass without it.”

Marella’s tone was teasing, but her words hit a nerve. Sophie was barely scraping by in alchemy, and that was with Lady Galvin shouting instructions across the room. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be on her own. And she had Bronte to consider. He was probably waiting for her to fail her midterms.

Everything in her shrank at the idea of needing a tutor. She wasn’t used to struggling with her grades. It felt so humiliating.

Not as humiliating as getting expelled. . . .

“That’s it for today. Everyone work hard,” Dame Alina finished, tossing her hair before her projection disappeared.

“UGH, WHAT IS THAT?” SOPHIE gagged and glared at the silver strip on her locker.

Dex looked a little green. “I think it’s reekrod. Elwin must’ve picked the flavor today.”

“Remind me to yell at him the next time I see him.”

“Planning another visit to the Healing Center?” Marella asked. “Going to make it a daily habit?”

“Very funny.”

Marella gave her locker the tiniest lick and shrugged. “He’s done worse.”

“Yeah, well, I’m taking all my books with me now,” Sophie said.

“Oooh—smart thinking,” Dex agreed, reaching for the rest of his books. He grabbed a small silver box and tore it open. “Here. Take a Prattle to get rid of the taste.”

For once Dex had good taste in candy. It was sweet and chewy—like caramel mixed with peanut butter and filled with cream.

“Which pin did you get?” Marella asked as he pulled out a small velvet pouch, like a Cracker Jack prize.

Dex removed a tiny silver horse with a glittering black mane.

Marella gasped. “A Prattles’ unicorn? Please tell me you want to trade.”

“Maybe.” His eyes darted to Sophie. “Unless you want it?”

“I don’t have any to trade.”

Marella’s eyes stretched as wide as they would go. “You don’t have any Prattles’ pins?”

Sophie stared at her feet, hating how out of touch she still was.

“I think Sophie should have it.” Dex placed the pin in her hand before she could argue.

Marella snorted. “Of course you do.”

“What? She needs to start her collection.”

“Whatever you say.”

Dex blushed and Sophie pretended not to notice. She examined the little horse, amazed by the detail. The back had a tiny digital screen that read: #122 of 185. “What’s the number mean?”

“There’s one pin for every creature alive on the planet—that we know of. Right now there are only one hundred and eighty-five unicorns—so that pin is super-rare.” Obvious bitterness leaked into Marella’s voice.

“Hey, Sophie?” a vaguely familiar voice asked behind her. “Can I talk to you?”

Sophie spun around and froze when she saw Biana. “Uh, sure,” she said as her brain struggled to compute this unexpected development.

Biana glanced at Dex and Marella. “Can we go somewhere more private?”

Sophie hesitated half a second, then shrugged to her friends and followed Biana toward a deserted corner of the atrium. “Um, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school today.”

Sophie waited for the punch line, but Biana seemed serious. “Why?”

Biana looked at her hands, twisting her fingers together. “I don’t know. I thought it might be nice if we could . . . try to be friends.” The last words came out barely louder than a whisper.

“Friends?” The word sounded like a foreign language coming from Biana. Her eyes narrowed. “Did Fitz put you up to this?”

“No! Why would Fitz care if—” She took a deep breath. “He didn’t put me up to this.”

“But . . . I thought you didn’t like me.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to. It was pretty obvious.”

“Well, I’m sorry you felt that way. I guess I’m not good at meeting new people.”

Talk about the understatement of the century. Sophie had half a mind to tell her that she didn’t need her too-little-too-late olive branch. But . . . she was Fitz’s sister. It would be easier if they could get along. “Fine.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I guess it’s worth a try.”

They both stood there, not quite meeting each other’s eyes.

“So . . . what time should I come over?” Sophie eventually asked.

“Um, why don’t you go home and change and come over after that? You know how to get there, right?”

“Yeah. I have been there before.”

A bit of the old glare flared in Biana’s face, but it was quickly replaced with an uncomfortable smile. “Well, good. I guess I’ll see you then.”

Sophie watched Biana walk away, replaying the conversation in her mind, trying to make sense of it.

“Are you going to tell us what that was all about?” Dex asked, already at her side. He and Marella must’ve made a beeline the second Biana’s back was turned.

“She invited me to come over after school today.”

“What?” they asked simultaneously.

“She said she wanted to be friends.”

“Why?” they both asked.

Sophie shrugged. “She didn’t say.”

“Please tell me you told her to go sniff a gulon,” Dex begged.

Sophie looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

“Aw, come on!”

“I didn’t know what else to say.”

“You could have told her she’s a stuck-up snob and you don’t want to be her friend,” Marella offered.

“Look, I know you guys aren’t going to like this, but my life would be a lot easier if Biana and I got along. If it doesn’t work out, then I wasted one afternoon of my life. So what?”

“How do you know this isn’t a trap?” Marella asked. “Invite you over, then humiliate you. You could be walking into an ambush.”

“That’s not what this is.”

“What? You think she isn’t capable?” Dex sneered.

“No, but she would never do it at her house. Not with Fitz there.”

“Right. I forgot. You and Wonderboy are friends.”

Sophie blew out a breath. “Aren’t you guys the teeniest bit curious what she’s up to?”

She had them there.

“I want details later,” Marella agreed.

“And you’d better not leave anything out,” Dex added.