for that—you know how strong Umber was. She would’ve taken out Sandor and Grizel if you hadn’t, and probably hurt them a whole lot worse in the process.
Maybe, Sophie conceded. But… I still have to do this. The Neverseen won’t ever expect the ability to change like this—and we can’t pass up a chance to catch them off guard.
His chest heaved with a sigh. I know. That’s why I’m here. Whatever you need—whatever it takes, I’m getting you through this, okay?
She nodded against him, and he shifted slightly so he could pull her even closer, one hand tangling in her hair, the other reaching up to stroke her cheek.
“Okay, has everyone reached their Fitzphie overload point?” Ro asked. “Because I sure have. Besides, the doctor-lady’s here, so aren’t we supposed to get to the vomiting part now?”
“Livvy’s here?” Sophie asked, pulling back from Fitz to check.
And sure enough, there was the Black Swan’s physician, no longer bothering to wear her mask or use her code name.
“Hmm,” Livvy said, tossing her braided hair and grinning at Sophie and Fitz. “Looks like a few things have changed since the last time I saw you two, and I gotta say, you sure make a good-looking couple.”
“We do,” Fitz agreed, and Sophie was so relieved that he still thought of them as a couple that it took her brain a second to register that he’d also called her pretty—and she probably would’ve melted into a puddle of mush right then if Fitz hadn’t put his arms around her again.
The gesture felt protective this time, and his voice was all sharp edges as he told Livvy, “If you let anything happen to her—”
“Got it,” Livvy interrupted, tossing her braids again, and Sophie noticed that they glinted with tiny yellow jewels, which matched the sunny glitter Livvy had brushed across her dark skin. “And you can ease up on the worry there, Pretty Boy. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to your sweet girl.”
“Uh, you’re still going to give her something she’s deathly allergic to, right?” Fitz asked.
Livvy’s smile faded. “Okay, I guess what I should say is that I’m only going to let some temporary bad stuff happen to your sweet girl—and then I’m going to fix it all and make her a thousand times better. So you don’t have to worry, even though I get that you’re all going to. And while we’re being honest here, I’ll tell you what I just told the worrying-adult brigade inside: Moments of this definitely aren’t going to be pretty. So if you don’t want to see that, you might want to skedaddle.”
“I’m staying,” Fitz and Keefe said, pretty much simultaneously, followed by Biana a half second later.
“What about you?” Livvy asked Stina. “You’re new.”
“I am,” Stina agreed. And there wasn’t a drop of snottiness in her voice when she said, “And I’m staying right here.”
Things seemed to speed up after that as the rest of Sophie’s audience made their way over and Livvy moved everyone into position. Sophie climbed onto her pillow-and-blanket mountain and tried to focus on the whispering melodies coming from Calla’s tree as Livvy put Fitz on Sophie’s left and Keefe on her right, so each boy would be able to hold one of her hands during the reset—Keefe to monitor her emotions, and Fitz to keep track of her consciousness. Then Grady, Edaline, and Mr. Forkle were lined up right behind them, along with Sandor and Flori, and Flori added her own soft humming to the Panakes’ melodies as everyone else formed a half-moon curve around the tree—except for Elwin.
Elwin set Bullhorn on the pillow next to Sophie and moved to Livvy’s side—and Sophie tried to concentrate on all of the serious medical stuff they then went over with her. But she didn’t want to see the needle.
She knew it was there.
She’d caught a quick glance of the glass syringe filled with a thick blue liquid when Livvy handed it to Elwin.
And she knew it was the treatment that would save her life in the end.
But that didn’t stop her mind from thinking, Needle needle needle.
She tried to distract herself by staring into Bullhorn’s beady purple eyes, silently begging him not to freak everyone out as much as he had the last time.
“I’m going to be fine,” she whispered to him.
Bullhorn snorted.
And her brain thought, Needle. Needle. Needle.
“You will be fine,” Livvy assured her. “Regardless of what you choose, okay?”
Sophie nodded—and then her brain caught up to what Livvy had just