how insignificant it looked—and how useless it would all probably turn out to be.
And how glad she was that she’d sparked that fire.
Glimmer was right—they’d planned that mission completely wrong from the beginning.
How many other times had they made that mistake—thought too small and set themselves up to fail?
Tiergan cleared his throat. “So… I believe you have a story to share with us?”
He motioned for everyone to take a seat on the colorful ottomans arranged around the tree.
Sophie stayed standing, needing to move as she explained what happened.
The smoke scent clinging to her clothes seemed to get stronger as she talked, and by the end her throat had turned thick and her eyes were burning—though maybe that also had something to do with the way everyone’s smiles had faded into the same unreadable expression she’d seen on Sandor. Even Tam—who’d been there with her.
He’d heard what Glimmer had said.
And he trusted Glimmer.
“It was the right move,” she told him before shifting her focus to everyone and adding, “This is how we’re going to have to fight if we want to win.”
Tiergan cleared his throat again, drawing out the sound. “Well… that explains Sandor’s emphasis on security.”
“You think the Neverseen will come here?” Tam asked.
“It’s possible. My estate’s hardly a secret. Neither is the fact that Glimmer’s being kept here. And surely the Neverseen will assume she’s the one who led us to their storehouse. So they may decide she poses too great of a threat and try to retrieve her—or end her.”
Grady stood. “Or they’ll go to Havenfield. I should warn the rest of the goblin patrols—and Edaline.”
“I guess I should warn my parents too,” Fitz said quietly. “The Neverseen will probably assume Biana and I were a part of it.”
“We’ll need to warn everyone,” Biana corrected. “Keefe, Dex, Linh, Wylie, Marella, Maruca, Stina.”
“Also the Council,” Tiergan added. “And the Collective. And—”
“Okay, whoa!” Sophie interrupted, holding out her hands like stop signs as everyone reached for their home crystals or pathfinders. “You guys didn’t act like this after we went to Nightfall or Loamnore—or after the newborn troll fight at Everglen. Or after any of the Neverseen’s other attacks.”
“Yes, but those were their attacks,” Tiergan reminded her. “This was ours. Well… yours. And it was unprovoked.”
“Unprovoked?” Sophie repeated. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, Sophie—none of us think this is a joke,” Grady said quietly. “And I’m really hoping you don’t either. Because you just turned this into a war.”
Sophie blinked. “I did? Me?”
She glanced at her friends, expecting them to look just as affronted.
But they mostly looked nervous and fidgety.
“This was already a war,” she said, turning back to Grady. “It has been since the moment I was kidnapped. Actually, no, it started much earlier. Lady Gisela was already working on her stellarlune thing before Keefe was born. And they killed Jolie way before that.”
Grady flinched.
“Sorry,” Sophie mumbled, realizing how harsh that sounded. “Just… look at how much they’ve hurt us. How many scars we all have—how many times we’ve almost died! Tam was their prisoner! Keefe’s afraid to talk because he has all these scary new abilities. Kenric is dead—and so is Mr. Forkle. And you’re accusing me of escalating this?”
“Yes,” Tiergan said simply. “Though ‘accusing’ is the wrong word. ‘Informing’ is better. Making sure you understand that you haven’t just changed the game for the Neverseen—you’ve changed it for everyone. Up until now, we haven’t attacked. We’ve defended ourselves. But raiding their hideout—and then destroying it—is an attack, Sophie. And that means we’re now officially at war.”
The word echoed around the room.
War. War. War.
And for some reason, Sophie found herself staring at the tree, wishing she could hear its song whisper through its leaves.
Maybe it would tell her what to think or feel or say or do.
But the tree stayed silent.
So did her friends.
“If I’d stuck to our plan,” Sophie said quietly, “the Neverseen would’ve just moved all their stuff to a new storehouse and carried on like nothing happened. Now they have to change their strategy. Now they’re the ones scrambling. So, even if I did start… whatever… I also brought us a victory. A real one—not just a Yay-we-didn’t-die! kind of thing.”
She didn’t understand why they couldn’t see that.
It made her wish Keefe were there—he would’ve backed her up.
In fact, he probably would’ve helped her spark the flames at the storehouse.
“No one’s denying any of that,” Tiergan told her gently. “But… you should be careful of that word.”
“Victory?” Sophie asked.
Tiergan shook his head. “I.”
Sophie stood up taller. “You