complicated it is to reach any of the Lodestar hideouts. It didn’t sound like she’d actually been to one.”
“And if that’s true,” Sophie jumped in, “then that’ll mean we don’t end up going anywhere with Glimmer.”
They’d just go to each Lodestar hideout one by one instead—which they’d need to do eventually anyway, since it sounded like there were others that weren’t destroyed.
Though…
The Neverseen would probably figure out what they were doing pretty quickly and destroy the rest of the hideouts—or set up an ambush.
So they’d be way better off if Glimmer was able to make good on her promise.
“The truth is,” Sophie said, standing taller and squaring her shoulders, “this is our best option right now. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But I’m ready to stop talking about it and go find out.”
“You still won’t have the little black disks you need,” Fitz reminded her—though he looked like he felt a little bad about it. “So the Neverseen are going to know there are intruders.”
“That’s why we’ll have bodyguards,” Sophie argued. “And weapons. Plus, Tam can hide us with shadows, like he did when we snuck into Ravagog. And if it gets too intense, I can teleport us to safety.”
“You say all of that like it counts as an actual plan,” Grady told her. “It doesn’t.”
“Maybe. But we’ll figure out the rest as we go along. Trust our brains and our powers—and our bodyguards—and… hope for the best.”
She wished she could’ve come up with a stronger way to wrap up her response, but… hope was really all they ever had. And Sophie refused to treat it like it wasn’t enough.
If she let her mind go down that path, she’d want to give up.
She had to hope that they’d track down Kenric’s cache, and figure out what stellarlune and Elysian were, and find a way to help Keefe, and finally stop the Neverseen.
And all of that was only going to happen if she kept taking risks.
“We’re going now,” Sophie said, making her way over to Tam.
She was done asking permission.
“Hang on there,” Grady told her. “Relax, I’m not going to stop you. But I am going with you to Solreef, and you’re going to tell me exactly where Glimmer’s taking you before you guys leave. Then you’ll have fifteen minutes to look for the cache and get back—and if you’re gone a second longer, I’m coming after you.”
“Me too,” Fitz added.
“And me!” Biana agreed.
“Fifteen minutes isn’t much time,” Tam argued.
“Then I suggest you work fast,” Tiergan told him, “because at fifteen minutes and one second, I’m going after you too.”
Sophie and Tam exchanged a look, neither needing to check the other’s thoughts to know it was the best offer they were going to get.
“Deal,” Sophie said, glancing at Sandor, who was obviously not thrilled with the arrangement, even though he was invited to go. “Just let me run upstairs and change. I’m going to need a tunic with more pockets.”
If things went well, she’d be filling one of them with Kenric’s cache.
And if things went badly, hopefully they could deal with it.
Assuming Glimmer even knew how to get them there…
The doubt whispered around Sophie’s head as she dressed for the mission and grabbed as many weapons as she could carry—and it was still in the back of her mind when their group made it back to Solreef.
Tam must’ve been just as concerned, because the first thing he said after Bo let them in to see Glimmer was “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”
Glimmer sat up taller. “Does that mean you’re taking me up on my bargain?”
“Only if you actually know what you’re talking about,” Sophie told her. “We know what the Lodestar security is like—the question is, do you?”
“Ugh, I almost want to take my hood down so you can see me roll my eyes.” Instead she stood and bent over, grabbing the bottom corner of her cloak. “I never planned to leave the order. But I knew if I did, I’d have to abandon everything, and that they’d likely move my belongings to their storehouse. So I made sure I had one of these.”
She ripped open the seam at her hem, and Sophie expected her to hold up one of those black disks Fitz had been talking about.
Instead she held up a small, silver hairpin.
And set among the metal filigree at the end was a smooth starstone.
- TWELVE - KEEFE
So… the point of this is for you to talk, remember?” Dex said, glancing over