Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities) (26 page)

Alden
had
to be okay.

“Oh, Sophie,” Della said, appearing out of thin air in the hallway. “Thank you for coming.”

Della wore a pale pink strapless gown with a full skirt of wispy tulle that swished as she moved, and her lips were painted with sparkly pink gloss. It seemed strange that she would be so dressy, but Sophie wondered if Della was trying to prove that nothing was wrong. Her human mom used to do that sometimes when she didn’t want her or her sister to worry.

It only made her worry more.

“Can I see him?” Sophie whispered as Della wrapped her in a hug, squeezing a bit too tight.

“Of course.” Her hands shook as she let Sophie go, and she took a deep breath and smoothed the feathery layers of her skirt before she turned and motioned for Sophie to follow.

A few steps in, Sophie realized Biana wasn’t with her. She turned back and Biana shook her head, sinking into the nearest chair and wrapping her arms around herself.

“She’s having a hard time,” Della whispered. “Best to just give her some space.”

“Is Alden—”

“He’s going to be fine.”

Della led her up the twisting silver stairway to the third floor, and every step they took seemed to thunder off the crystal walls. Della blinked in and out of sight in the prismlike hallway, finally stopping at two arched doors that led to one of the mansion’s many crystal towers. A jeweled mosaic had been carefully assembled across the gleaming metal—yellow birds with scarlet beaks soaring through a cloudless sky. Della knocked quietly, waiting for Elwin to call “Come in” before pulling open the door.

Sophie’s mouth went dry as she entered the wide round room. Thin columns of white silk cascaded from the peaked crystal roof and draped around a silver-posted bed. A vine with bell-shaped flowers trailed down each swath, anchoring the fragile fabric to the ground—which was blanketed in white petals. The room should’ve been bright and breathtaking, but a strange sort of gloom hung over everything. Even the yetis on Elwin’s tunic seemed dull and sedate.

Glittering hallways branched off the sides of the room, leading to other private spaces, but Sophie forced herself to finally look at the pale figure in the bed with his eyes closed.

“How is he?” she asked, relieved when she noticed his chest moving. Breathing was a good sign.

Elwin flashed a purple orb around Alden’s head and adjusted his iridescent spectacles. “I have no idea. His wound healed perfectly. His cells are clean, no signs of any toxins.
I’ve checked his nerves, his veins, his muscles, not to mention I searched him head to toe for some other injury I missed. There’s nothing
wrong
with him—and Bullhorn agrees.” He pointed to the slinky gray creature curled up in the corner, watching them with his beady purple eyes.

“But clearly I’m missing something,” Elwin said, pointing to Alden’s unconscious form.

“He’s sleeping, though—that’s good, right?”

“That’s just the sedative. And they’re wearing off unnaturally fast. He’ll need more in a few minutes.”

Della turned toward the curved windows that were draped in silky white curtains, and her figure slowly faded until she was completely invisible. Sophie had seen her vanish many times, but this time it looked more like the sunlight swallowed her—like Della was too weak to fight against it—and she could hear whispers of sobs coming from where Della hid.

“Here we go again,” Elwin said as Alden’s eyes ripped open and he screamed and clutched his head.

Della rushed to Alden’s side as his whole body started shaking.

“Same thing happens every time the sedatives wear off,” Elwin mumbled, rummaging through the brown satchel strung across his chest and pulling out vials in every shape and color.

“What are you giving him?” Sophie asked.

“Not sure yet. We’re at the trial-and-error stage here.”

Alden wheezed and Della wiped the beads of sweat off his brow. Watching them made the lump in Sophie’s throat so thick she thought it might choke her. Elwin finally settled on a small vial filled with a thick silver sludge, and Della pulled Alden’s lips open so Elwin could pour the elixir down Alden’s throat.

“Until I find the problem, all I can do is guess and keep him sedated so he’s not in pain. But I
will
figure this out,” Elwin promised, squeezing Della’s hand.

Alden’s thrashing calmed to a weak tremble as the drug settled into his system. Della stroked his cheek and buried her face in his neck, whispering something only he could hear—though Sophie wasn’t sure if he was listening.

“Why don’t you give us a few minutes?” Elwin suggested when he saw the tears streaming down Sophie’s cheeks. “We’ll come get you when he’s calm again.”

Sophie stumbled out of the room, sinking to the floor as soon as the doors were closed. She leaned her forehead against her knees.

“It’s hard to watch, isn’t it?”

Sophie jumped. She hadn’t noticed Fitz standing across from her—and she almost didn’t recognize him with his messy hair and red puffy eyes.

He sat beside her, so close their arms touched. Her heart pounded so loud she almost didn’t hear him as he whispered, “It seems much worse this time.”

“I know.”

“What happened on that assignment, Sophie? And don’t tell me it’s classified.”

“But it
is
classified.”

“Who cares? My dad is
sick
.”

“Fitz is right.”

Sophie sucked in a breath as Alvar stepped out of thin air. He blinked in and out of sight as he approached, crouching in front of them and smoothing his slicked, dark hair. “We need to know what happened in Exile.”

Fitz glared at his older brother. “Mom said you weren’t coming.”

“No, Mom told me I didn’t
need
to come, because she’s trying to pretend this isn’t a big deal. But we all know it is. So if there’s something you know that might help,” he added, turning back to Sophie, “please. Tell us what it is.”

Sophie chewed her lip.

“
Just tell us what you know!” Fitz shouted. “Don’t you want to help him?”

“Of course I do! How can you even . . .”

She took a deep breath to calm down. She knew Fitz was just scared and angry—she felt the same way, and Alden wasn’t her father.

And maybe what she knew
would
help.

What do you want to know?
she transmitted, making Fitz flinch as her voice filled his mind.

Everything. Anything.
His transmissions were louder than ever.
What were you guys doing down there?

Sophie sighed, hoping she wasn’t breaking a major law.
We went there to perform the memory break on Fintan.

WHAT?
He ran his hands down his face as he processed that.
Please tell me you weren’t his guide.

I tried to talk him out of it. But Alden said it had to be me.

Fitz shook his head.
It always has to be you.

What does that mean?

Nothing.

She considered telling him about the charm and the clue—but had a feeling that would only make things worse.

Something happened during the break, didn’t it?
he asked.

She rubbed her hand, remembering the blisters.

Fintan burned us when we got near the memory he was protecting. It broke our concentration and I was barely able to pull free. But Alden got lost—

“He
what
?” Fitz shouted, jumping to his feet.

“Oh good, so you
are
going to include me in your secret conversation,” Alvar said as Sophie stood too. “Care to catch me up?”

“Sophie lost Dad’s consciousness during a memory break,” Fitz said, his voice as cold as his glare. “How could you not tell us that?”

“Because I brought him back!”

“You can’t bring someone back if you lost them!”

“Then why was he fine yesterday?”

“I don’t know, but he’s not fine anymore!”

“That’s not my fault!”

She said the words with as much conviction as she could. But part of her was secretly wondering if they were true.

“Okay—whoa, slow down,” Alvar said, stepping between them. “I’m not a Telepath so I don’t know as much about this stuff as you guys do. But I thought lost meant
lost.
”

“It does,” Fitz snapped.

“Then how could Dad have come home afterward? I talked to him yesterday and he was totally normal.”

“I don’t know,” Fitz admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But you can’t tell me you don’t think it has something to do with why Dad is unconscious in there right now.”

“No, I can’t.” Alvar glanced at Sophie. “We should tell Elwin, see if it changes his treatment.”

“Way ahead of you,” Fitz said as he rushed into the bedroom without knocking.

Sophie and Alvar were right behind him, and all three of them froze when they saw Alden thrashing on the bed in a seizure.

“Clearly the last elixir I gave him wasn’t the right one,” Elwin explained, pinning Alden’s shoulders and holding him steady as Della held his legs down.

Alden started to moan and Sophie covered her ears—but it couldn’t stop the sound from crawling under her skin.

He sounded just like the prisoners in . . .

She smothered the thought as Fitz pushed past Elwin, reaching for Alden’s face.

“What are you doing?” Della and Elwin asked at the same time.

“Searching his mind.”

“What for?” Elwin asked.

“Something went wrong during the memory break Sophie did with him a couple of days ago, so I’m checking to see if the problem’s in his head.”

“I think Sophie should do it,” Alvar said as Fitz placed his hands over Alden’s temples.

“She’s done enough.”

The fury in Fitz’s voice knocked Sophie back a step, but Alvar pulled her forward with him.

“Seriously.” Alvar grabbed Fitz’s shoulder and yanked him back. “I know you want to help—but Sophie’s mind is stronger than yours.”

Fitz shoved him away. “Please, she’s just a kid.”

Sophie stared at the ground, hoping no one could see the tears that had slipped out before she could fight them back.

“Fitz,” Elwin said after a second of painful silence. “I know you’re upset about your father—”

“Then let me help him!”

“Maybe I should go,” Sophie whispered.

Alvar blocked her as she turned to leave. “We may need you.”

“No, we won’t!” Fitz snapped back.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Elwin started to say, but Fitz was already pressing two fingers against Alden’s temples and closing his eyes.

Alden’s head twitched and a tiny moan rattled from his chest.

Then Fitz started to scream.

Elwin yanked him away and Fitz collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Alden didn’t move.

“Idiot,” Alvar muttered as Elwin dropped to Fitz’s side, shaking his shoulders and smacking his face.

No response.

“I think we’re going to need that help now, Sophie,” Alvar said, dragging her out of her stupor and nudging her forward.

Sophie tried to force away her panic as she sank to her knees. She placed her shaky hands on Fitz’s forehead, transmitting his name over and over. When he didn’t respond, she pushed into his mind.

His head felt cold.

And
empty
.

She refused to think about what that meant as she transmitted Fitz’s name, screaming for him to come back. Icy cold trickled into her consciousness as she searched, but she ignored the shivers, shoving deeper into his mind until she finally found a thread of warmth. She followed it to the nook, calling for Fitz over and over and filling the space with images
of his friends and family until the warmth surged all around her, and Fitz’s mental voice whispered,
Sophie.

She pulled her mind free and Fitz’s eyes popped open, wild and wide and darting all over the room. He shook so hard his teeth chattered.

Elwin fumbled through his vials of medicine as Della dropped to the floor next to Fitz, her huge skirt fanning out with a swoosh of air. She cradled him in her arms and brushed his sweaty hair back from his forehead with gentle fingers. “What happened?” she asked Sophie. “I don’t understand.”

Sophie didn’t answer as she stumbled away, needing space to breathe.

She could only think of one possible explanation—but it couldn’t be that.

Please, don’t let it be that.

Fitz wrapped his arms around his mom, still shivering. “Dad’s mind was cold and dark and everything felt . . . wrong. I couldn’t get back out.”

“No,” Sophie whispered, grabbing the nearest thing to steady herself. It turned out to be Alvar’s arm.

“What does that mean?” Alvar asked as she leaned her full weight on him.

Sophie closed her eyes, unable to look at anyone as she forced the words out of her mouth—the words that would change everything.

“I think it means Alden’s mind is broken.”

N
O!” DELLA SHOUTED AS SHE
ran to Alden’s side and shook him. “He’s still here. He’s not some mindless, broken . . .”

Alden started twitching and groaning, silencing her argument.

“Maybe I should try prob—”

“No,” Elwin snapped, blocking Sophie as she tried to get to Alden.

“But what if I can help him? I helped Fitz.”

“You didn’t help me,” Fitz said, trying to sit up and only managing to flail.

“You’d be lost if it weren’t for her, Fitz,” Alvar said quietly. “But
lost
is different than
broken,
Sophie. You’re sure my dad is . . .”

“That’s the only reason why Fitz would get pulled under. And why everything in Alden’s mind would look
wrong.
But maybe I should check.”

“No! No one is going to try
anything
else,” Elwin yelled. He shook his head as he gave Alden another dose of sedative. “I don’t need any more bodies piling up.”

“Bodies?” Della whispered. She glanced from her moaning husband to her trembling son and . . .

Collapsed.