Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) - Shannon Messenger Page 0,184

Fitz?” Keefe asked, and Sophie could’ve smacked herself.

Had she seriously forgotten about her boyfriend again?

“I’m here,” Fitz’s accented voice whispered from somewhere over by the sand, and Sophie was glad the darkness hid her embarrassment from him. “Sorry to be a little late.”

“Problems getting past Grizel?” Keefe asked.

“Nah, she was easy. I made it sound like I was sneaking off to talk to Sophie about something, and she agreed that we could use a little snuggle time.”

No one seemed to know what to say to that.

Fitz cleared his throat. “Biana’s the one who slowed me down. She cornered me with a billion questions, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she’s about to appear with a ‘TA-DA! I followed you!’ ”

She didn’t.

“Well, that’s good,” Fitz said. “Does that mean we’re ready?”

“I think so.” Sophie took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Will you do the levitating, Fitz?”

She wasn’t sure how long her energy was going to hold, so she needed to conserve it. Plus, after the weirdness with her channeling, there was a chance she’d blast them all the way up to the Point of Purity or something.

“Of course,” he told her. “Happy to be needed.”

There was no chiding subtext to his tone—but Sophie still felt her cheeks burn when she thought about how little she’d relied on Fitz lately.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she took his hand, holding her breath for the first few seconds, wondering if Dex’s gadgets—and the three pairs of gloves she was wearing—would do their job.

They did for Fitz.

Not so much for Keefe—though he assured her the effect wasn’t a problem.

“Do you think Mr. Forkle’s right?” she asked as Fitz floated the three of them off the ground, fast enough to make her stomach lurch. “Did that green breeze you sent me during the reset change our connection, and that’s why you’re so sensitive to my enhancing now?”

“I guess it’s possible,” Keefe admitted.

“What green breeze?” Fitz asked.

“Just an Empath trick,” Keefe told him. “Nothing special.”

Sophie was pretty sure it had been special—but she stopped herself from saying that. Because Fitz had helped her that day too. And even though she couldn’t remember anything specific about it, she knew he’d done everything he could to guide her through.

“I do think Forkle’s right about you being able to control the ability, though,” Keefe added quietly. “I mean, I’m sure all of his ‘journeys of self-discovery’ stuff made you want to throw things at his head—”

“Yep,” Sophie agreed.

“But, I don’t think you have to be all deep and fancy-pants about it. I bet if you just treat it like solving one more Foster Mystery, you’ll figure it out.”

“Okay, but how?” Sophie countered.

“I think it’s mostly about finding the source,” Fitz told her. “Following the power in your fingertips to the reserves it’s coming from and building some sort of… inner barrier that you can raise and lower whenever you want. Setting boundaries for yourself, if that makes sense.”

“It does and it doesn’t,” Sophie hedged.

Several long seconds passed before Keefe told her, “See, I think it’s simpler than that. I think the boundaries are already there and you just need to start bossing your abilities around. Think of it like… leading Team Awesome!”

“Team Valiant,” Sophie corrected.

“Nope, I’m now officially naming your abilities Team Awesome,” Keefe decided. “And it’s time for you to show them you’re their Lady Fos-Boss.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “You can’t boss an ability around.”

“Oh, I think you can, I think you can.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Sophie told him.

“Neither do I,” Fitz agreed. “But more important, I’m pretty sure we’re high enough now, and it’s not exactly easy keeping us steady with all of this wind, so… think we can get to the teleporting part of this journey?”

Sophie stared at the glints of moonlight reflecting off the ocean far below, realizing this was one of those turning-point moments—the kind that could all too easily end up being something they’d look back on and think, That’s where it all went wrong.

“Before we do this,” she said, clearing the catch out of her throat, “I need you to promise me, Keefe, that you’ll remember why we’re there. I’m bringing you to London to see if it triggers your memories—not to go Neverseen hunting. So if we find a crystal to a hidden path, we’re not using it.”

“But—”

“We’re not using it,” Sophie repeated. “We’re being spontaneous—not insane. Promise me you understand that.”

It got really, really quiet.

“In case it matters,” Fitz murmured, “I understand. And I promise.”

More silence.

“I