Sandor’s sigh-growl made her ears ring.

But he let her turn back to Edaline and ask, “Is Grady still with the Council?”

Edaline nodded. “But only because he went back to warn them after I shared what Flori told me about Gethen probing Tam’s memories. And she was able to get ahold of the Black Swan as well, in case you’re wondering. Mr. Forkle said he’ll let you know how they’re going to manage the situation once he’s gotten a few things in motion. I’m sure the Council will have lots of questions about what Tam knows when you meet with them tomorrow too.”

Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m meeting with the Council tomorrow?”

“You are. They’ve asked you to come to Eternalia at midday.”

Sophie waited for her to add more, but Edaline had busied herself with brushing the shaggy purple fur off the front of her tunic in slow, methodical strokes. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course! I just feel like I should wait for Grady to be home before I say anything else.” She stole a quick glance at Sophie. “But you’re not going to let it go now that I’ve said something, are you?”

“You know me well,” Sophie agreed.

“Fine,” Edaline decided. “But I’ll only tell you after you’ve showered, gotten into bed, and let me bring you something to eat—and I’ve had a chance to get some updates from Sandor. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

It was Sophie’s turn to sigh-growl.

But she knew a losing battle when she saw one. So she hurried inside and took what might’ve been the fastest shower she’d ever taken in her entire life. Her pajamas were bunched all weird as she stumbled into bed, because she’d tugged them on over her still-damp skin, and her hair was probably sticking out in a hundred directions. But she didn’t care, because meeting with the Council was rarely a good thing.

And meeting with them in Eternalia had her brain screaming, DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!

“So what does the Council want?” she asked as Edaline snapped her fingers, making a tray appear in her lap filled with colorful, mushy foods that would taste way better than they looked.

“Take a few bites first,” Edaline told her, which wasn’t technically part of their deal. But it was easier to snarf down a few spoonfuls of pinkish-greenish goo than to argue—and bonus, it tasted like the most amazing macaroni and cheese.

Edaline sighed and sat beside her, tucking a soggy strand of Sophie’s hair behind her ear.

“The Council has agreed to share the classified details of Grady’s dwarven assignments with you. But only if you agree to work with them in a more official capacity, so that they can demand you take proper responsibility.”

Sophie paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth. “Do I want to know what a ‘more official capacity’ means?”

“You do. It’s good news—though it’s definitely also a little strange and might take some adjusting.” Edaline’s smile was somehow equal parts proud and wary as she added, “It means they want to appoint you as a Regent in the nobility.”

SIX

REGENT,” SOPHIE REPEATED.

“You have no idea what that means, do you?” Edaline guessed, smoothing another strand of Sophie’s wild post-shower hair.

“Not really,” Sophie admitted.

She knew Vika Heks was a Regent, and that Regents were technically less “important” than Emissaries. But she honestly didn’t know what being an Emissary meant either—despite Grady having the title.

All nobility-related stuff fell into the category of Weird Elf-y Things She Didn’t Understand. She’d been forced to accept the fact that she was probably always going to be playing catch-up when it came to knowledge about the Lost Cities.

But she did remember one important detail. “I thought someone had to complete the elite levels at Foxfire before they could be part of the nobility.”

“Normally that’s true,” Edaline agreed. “To be offered the title at your age is unprecedented.”

“Oh good.” So she’d get to have everyone grumbling about how she wasn’t qualified for that kind of fancy status—and she couldn’t even blame them for being upset.

The Talentless weren’t allowed to join the nobility, in part because they couldn’t take part in the elite levels without manifesting a special ability. So why should the weird girl raised by humans get to skip ahead?

Yes, she did have a special ability—five of them, actually. But once people found out that she was unmatchable…

“I promise, this is good news,” Edaline said as Sophie scooted her tray to the foot of the bed so she could curl her knees into her chest and become a Sophie-ball. “I know it sounds intimidating. But it really might be the best way to protect the dwarves—and Tam—from whatever the Neverseen are planning.”

Maybe it was.

But Sophie doubted that would matter once she was caught up in some huge gossipy scandal.

“Will you please tell me what’s wrong?” Edaline asked, leaning down to make Sophie look at her. “I know this isn’t just about becoming a Regent.”

Lying was tempting.

As was ignoring.

But Sandor was right. Now that Keefe and Ro knew her secret, it was only a matter of time before the truth was “out there”—and her parents needed to know, in case she was right about all the ways being unmatchable would ruin her life.

So she reached for Ella, needing something to hide her face behind as she forced herself to explain what had really happened in Atlantis.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Edaline whispered, pulling Sophie into her lap and hugging her as tight as she could. “Please don’t cry—it’s going to be okay.”

“Sorry,” Sophie mumbled, hating herself for getting all sniffly. She’d held it together pretty well with Keefe and Mr. Forkle. But for some reason, saying it to her mom made her a puddle of snot and tears.

“Don’t be sorry,” Edaline told her, wiping Sophie’s cheeks. “I’m sorry that life always has to be so complicated for you. I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”

Sophie pulled back to study her. “Wait. You knew I’d be unmatchable too?”

She was officially starting to hate everybody. And herself. And the world. And—

“I didn’t,” Edaline assured her, reaching out to brush away more of Sophie’s tears. “But… I guess Grady’s been worried for a while. He never mentioned it to me until you started avoiding your friends after we got back from Atlantis.”

“I’d been holding out hope that the Black Swan had provided your genetic information to the matchmakers,” Grady said from the doorway, making both Sophie and Edaline jump, “since their records are far more secure than the registry.”

“They are?” Sophie asked, swiping at her runny nose and wishing she had a tissue.

Edaline snapped her fingers, conjuring up a silky handkerchief for her. “Controlling who people marry is fraught with challenges—as you well know. And the Council needs people to trust the system without question. So only the matchmakers themselves are allowed to know anything about their process, or the reasons behind their specific decisions. No one can access their own file, or the file of anyone else.”