“Why wait?” Stina interrupted. “Sounds like pretty crucial information. And I’m part of the team now, so…”

“Technically not yet,” Sophie reminded her. “I haven’t agreed to be the leader.”

Stina rolled her eyes. “But we all know you’re going to. That’s what you do. You pout and stall for a while—but eventually you give in because you can’t help being the good little moonlark! So I should be there for the big explanation.”

“We all should,” Councillor Emery added. “Team Prodigious is meant to be a collaboration between the five of you and the twelve of us.”

“Dude, you have to stop calling it that,” Dex told him. “How about Team T. Rex?”

“Or Team Alicorn?” Biana added.

“If we go that route, why don’t we just call ourselves the Order of the Phoenix?” Sophie couldn’t resist suggesting—but of course no one appreciated her reference. “Never mind.”

“Human thing?” Dex guessed.

“A super-famous one,” she agreed, kinda wishing she had a few more shared life experiences with her friends.

At least Stina wasn’t still pushing for information.

They’d managed to sidestep that for the moment.

“What about Linh?” Wylie asked, and it took Sophie a second to realize he wasn’t suggesting that as a team name. “She should be a part of this. She’s way more powerful than I am. Probably more powerful than all of us—except Sophie.”

“She is,” Emery agreed. “But the Neverseen have control of her brother, which makes her vulnerable at best and completely unreliable at worst. Not to mention the fact that we also selected each of you for your unique abilities, and hydrokinesis will serve us little use in the desert.”

“Desert?” Dex, Biana, and Wylie repeated.

Councillor Emery glanced at Sophie. “I assume you also have yet to tell them about Mr. Forkle’s suspicions regarding Loamnore?”

Sophie sighed when she saw the scowls on her friends’ faces. “I was going to cover everything at once.”

“Well then,” Emery said, “no time like the present.”

All eyes focused on Sophie, and she could tell that no one was going to let her drop this. So she gave them the bullet points of Mr. Forkle’s theory, even though it felt wrong discussing Black Swan stuff with so many extra people. And when Biana started to argue that Tam would never play a role in something like what Sophie was fearing, she went ahead and told them about the warning Tam had given her and the basic details of the deal she’d made with Ro to keep Keefe safe. The only stuff she left out was the matchmaking nightmare, because there was no way she was admitting that to Stina Heks—or letting Della and Biana hear it before Fitz.

Wylie turned away when she’d finished, his spotlight fading to a dull gray. “I should be the one to explain this to Linh.”

Sophie wasn’t about to argue. She didn’t know how to define Linh and Wylie’s friendship, but the two of them were very close. And since Linh lived with Wylie’s adoptive father, they spent a lot of time together.

“Do you want us to be there when you talk to her?” Biana offered.

Wylie shook his head. “It might be better one-on-one, so she won’t feel like she has to be brave. But I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“Thank you,” Sophie told him.

His smile looked grim.

“Well,” Councillor Emery said, clapping his hands to call everyone’s attention back to him. “This is all the more reason for you five to get to work. The first assignment we’d planned to give you was to meet with King Enki in Loamnore, so he can show you his security concerns and catch you up on the projects we’ve already been assisting him with in recent months—a meeting the Black Swan would never be able to properly arrange, regardless of what they might claim. In case you still need proof that it’s both necessary and beneficial for you to begin your own investigation into the threat on the dwarves through our more official channel. And yes, Grady, you would be there for that meeting. But before we can move forward with scheduling that, we need Miss Foster to accept her role as leader. And if she does, we need all five of you to swear your oath as Regents.”

“And if I don’t accept?” Sophie had to know.

Emery rubbed his temples. “We would ask you to reconsider.”

“We realize you struggle with authority,” Councillor Terik added, before Sophie could push the issue. “Particularly our authority. And I, at least, won’t deny that you’re justified to feel that way. But… the dwarves need to be handled with care in order to avoid any interspeciesial incidents—ask your father to share his stories about some of his more interesting encounters with King Enki if you don’t believe me.”

“Okay, but… you guys remember this is Sophie, right?” Stina jumped in. “The girl who almost started a war with the ogres—twice. Or was it three times? And she formed an alliance with the trolls without getting anyone’s permission. I also doubt the goblins are thrilled that one of their best soldiers keeps almost dying while trying to protect her—especially since she’s supposed to be this all-powerful thing who can protect herself.”

“Protecting Miss Foster is my honor,” Sandor assured her.

“If you say so,” Stina told him. “All I’m saying is, if you want her on the team because she’s the moonlark—fine. I sorta get that. I still think she’s overrated, but… whatever. But what I don’t understand is why you’d make her our leader—especially since it sounds like King Enki’s going to be tough to deal with. Shouldn’t you go with someone who isn’t a walking interspeciesial disaster?”

“Sophie is far from a disaster,” Grady argued, placing a reassuring hand on Sophie’s shoulder.

“Yeah, the only disaster I see here is you,” Dex told Stina. “And let me guess. You think you’d be a better leader?”

Stina laughed. “You think I want that kind of responsibility? Uh, yeah, hard pass. Wylie’s the obvious choice. He’s older, with more training and experience, and—”

“Not necessarily,” Wylie interrupted. “Sophie may be younger, but she’s lived through more than all of us combined.”

“Since when is ‘not dying’ a qualification for leadership?” Stina countered.

“That’s not what I meant,” Wylie argued. “Though you should try braving a few attempts on your life before you discount the wisdom and strength gained from that kind of experience—”

“Ugh, if you’re going to be all grumpy, never mind,” Stina interrupted. “Forget I suggested it.”

“We will,” Councillor Emery told her. “And let me make this clear: Sophie must be the leader of Team Prodigious in order for it to exist. That is nonnegotiable—and why we tried to gauge her commitment before we started this conversation. The public will likely consider the formation of this team to be a rather odd decision on our part, given your ages and levels of experience. And Sophie is the key to winning them over. She’s gained a level of notoriety in our world—and lately, a bit of respect. It’s time we send the message that the Council sees her value and is utilizing her to the fullest extent possible.”