both questions.
“What are you doing here?” she asked Fitz.
“Providing me with an update on my son,” Lord Cassius told her, “since no one else seems to have considered that to be a priority—unless that’s why you’re here.” He fanned the air. “No, it feels like you were very much hoping I wouldn’t be home.”
“I’m always hoping you won’t be anywhere I’m going,” Sophie snapped back, deciding she was done trying to be polite to Keefe’s father. She should’ve used every word—every conversation—to shame him for the countless ways he’d hurt his son. “If you wanted updates on Keefe, you could’ve shown up at the Healing Center. He was there for three days. So was I. Where were you?”
Lord Cassius narrowed his eyes. “I don’t need to explain myself to anyone—least of all to a teenager with an inflated sense of self-importance. But, since you seem to think you have everything all figured out, it might interest you to know that I’ve been working on an assignment from the Black Swan.”
He paused to let that sink in—let her wonder what the Black Swan might be hiding from her.
Sophie refused to ask any questions.
“Your stubbornness has gotten much stronger since you first arrived in our world,” Lord Cassius noted. “Perhaps this new separation from my son will help you learn better deference and respect.”
“You told him about that?” she asked Fitz—then realized she probably should’ve transmitted the question.
Lord Cassius looked much too pleased with her response.
She couldn’t take the words back, though, so she decided to remind Fitz, “He went along willingly with Lady Gisela’s plans for Keefe’s legacy. So he’s just as much to blame for what’s happening to Keefe as she is.”
“The only thing I’m to blame for,” Lord Cassius argued, “is wanting the best for my son.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “No, you wanted the best for yourself. You wanted to be the father of someone powerful and important and special, so that maybe people would think you were powerful and important and special too—but all they’re going to think is that you’re a creepy jerk who let his wife experiment on his family. And the really sad thing is, Keefe would’ve been all of those things without you messing with his abilities. So you put him through this nightmare for no reason.”
Lord Cassius’s glare felt colder than staring down a Froster. But when he spoke, all he said was “Interesting.”
“What is?” Fitz demanded when Sophie stayed silent.
Lord Cassius kept his focus on Sophie. “Should I tell him what you’re feeling right now?”
“Don’t bother.” She turned to Fitz. “I’m trying to decide if I’d rather inflict on him or zap him a few times with this melder.”
She patted the pocket hiding her weapon.
“Interesting,” Lord Cassius repeated, his lips twitching with something between a smile and a scowl. “Seems you’ve also picked up my son’s habit of using jokes to deflect attention. But they never fully mask what you’re hiding, do they?” He waved his hands through the air again before shaking his head and dropping his arms to his sides. “Actually, it seems like you’re even hiding these feelings from yourself—and I have neither the patience nor the desire to deal with adolescent drama. So I’m just going to say this: Hate me all you want—blame me all you want. It won’t change anything. And it won’t make you feel any better.”
“Probably not. That’s why I’m leaning toward using the melder.” Sophie patted her pocket again. “It’s so much less exhausting than inflicting, but equally painful.”
“Okay, it’s official,” Grizel said, applauding as she stepped out of the shadows near Candleshade’s vortinator. “I’m a big fan of this new Sophie. Don’t get me wrong—you’ve always been a fierce little force of nature,” she added when Sophie frowned. “But this is a whole other level of confidence—and I’m here for it!”
“So am I,” Flori agreed.
“Me too.”
Fitz’s voice was quiet enough that Sophie almost wondered if she’d imagined it. But she dared a quick look at his face and found him focused right on her.
And when their eyes met?
Man, she’d missed having him smile at her.
His smile was more tentative than it used to be—and her heart was too shrapnel-filled to react.
But it was still a nice change.
A tiny shift that helped her believe they could save their friendship.
“Anyway,” Lord Cassius said, reaching up to smooth his hair, “you still haven’t explained why you’re here—with two bodyguards, no less. Clearly it wasn’t to see me, even though this is my home.”
“Before we get