"I...I have an idea," Sophie said hesitantly, speaking for the first time to her parents since the day before, when they'd gotten back from the Seat of Eminence.

She stared at the snow heaped on the grass outside, eyes burning, but kept her focus on it. Her parents cautiously approached her.

Neither of them spoke. She could feel their worry.

"There's this girl who went to Foxfire before all this happened," Sophie said awkwardly, wringing her hands. "She's almost graduated, but I think she wanted to help make the world better or something, and that's why she was studying so hard. Her name is Aurora." Sophie wasn't sure if she was hiding what Aurora could do on purpose or not.

Her parents nodded slowly.

"Well," Sophie said, "I think we could ask her if she wants to apply for the Councilor position, since Oralie's..."

Her voice trailed off as tears threatened to unleash themselves. She couldn't stop feeling guilty about what she had done...the life she'd ruined...

"Okay," Edaline said with the hint of a smile, "Do you know where she lives?"

Sophie almost face-palmed herself. She'd spent an entire lunchtime with Aurora; she should have asked where she lived. Now she might have to track her thoughts, and her mind still wasn't up to anything yet, except thinking and occasionally checking in with her friends.

"Find out where she lives," Grady insisted, "It might help you get into a better state of mind. Is she nice?"

Sophie nodded, recalling the lovely girl with reddish-blonde hair and elegant features. Her voice was the strongest memory. Sweet and melodious, like a song being carried on the wind. "She seemed like a good person. But the weird thing was..."

She dug her fingernails into her palms to punish herself.

"The weird thing was what?" Edaline pressed.

"Never mind," Sophie said quickly. Her heart pulsed. "Anyway...I guess I'll track her thoughts and then notify the Council that I'm going to find her."

It all sounded far too much like an invasion of Aurora's privacy, but Sophie couldn't let that get in the way.

She couldn't let the Neverseen win.

But if she'd just keep the secret of her true mother locked up, she wouldn't have suffered this hard, and neither would Oralie...

"Well, um..." Grady said awkwardly, "Come and tell us when you find this girl, and we'll accompany you to the Council. They'll need to know."

Sophie smiled at her parents and then quickly sprinted to her bedroom, followed by a grumbling Sandor. She sat on her bed, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes, taking some deep breaths. She'd never forced herself to calm down like this before, but maybe the circumstances were different this time.

Her consciousness spread over others' minds like a suffocating blanket as she flew across the wide chasm of thoughts. She listened and waited for the familiar sound of Aurora's voice. She dove farther and farther, wondering if she'd gone too far, but then a faint whisper, almost like a song, reached her mind. Joined by it were three others, two sounding concerned, one overcome with exhaustion and sadness.

Sophie knew for sure that the whisper was Aurora's, but who did the other voices belong to? She found their location to be somewhere deep in a forest, it seemed, a sort of tropical one, hundreds of miles south of the equator, in a Brazilian region. The four of them were elves, as far as Sophie knew, but what were they doing so far from everyone else, deep in a forest no-one else seemed to be inhabiting?

She delved into Aurora's consciousness, searching for a niggling thought in her head that might tell her what the place she lived in was called. It was there, barely louder than a breath, but it said, Evarista.

"That's it!" Sophie celebrated, breaking off their contact and opening her eyes excitedly. "Evarista."

Before she could celebrate the fact that she hadn't passed out from the pain of actually exerting herself after what happened with the Everblaze, a headache sparked. She chugged down a bottle of Youth, but that only made her stomach swirl.

She stood up.

She may as well see her friends now to talk about it. Perhaps one of them could make her feel better.

***

"So...how are you even going to get there?"

It turned out that the meeting Sophie ended up having with her friends raised more questions than answers. By their third hour of planning, Sophie was more exhausted than she'd felt in a week.

"I'll teleport," Sophie answered to Biana, who was holding a thick wooly blanket around herself. They were sitting outside in front of a blazing rainbow fire, eating tiny cakes Edaline had made. Marella and Linh kept apologizing because Wylie had to study.

It was as if Team Valiant had been completely abandoned, because Stina and Maruca hadn't arrived either. Not that it had anything to do with Team Valiant...but as Sophie kept reminding herself, there was the possibility that finding Evarista would become a mission for them.

"And I'm assuming we're going to have to go back into Aurora's mind to see what exactly this place looks like?" Fitz asked her, nudging her arm gently. "You look like you'll pass out if you try alone, so I can help you if you want. Well ... if I get the time."

"Thanks," Sophie said, grabbing another blanket to drape over herself. Even sitting directly in front of the flames, she was freezing.

"You want to wait until tomorrow, Foster?" Keefe asked from the other side of the fire. "I don't see this working right now."

"How many of you are helping me?" Sophie said, rubbing her temples.

"Well, I certainly am, but we should definitely wait until the morning to find this Evarista place," Keefe said firmly. "And we are making sure you sleep, whether you like it or not."

"I've just got a question," Linh croaked from under a pillow and Marella's arm, "What is this girl like? And when did you meet her? Does she have a special ability?"

Sophie closed her eyes for a moment, the sugary scent of the fire filling up her chest. "She seemed pretty nice when we met her before the midterms. And...I don't know what her ability is."

Sophie wasn't sure of Aurora's ability, but she did have some clue. It had to be something like Telepathy or Empathy, but she might be some variation of a Descryer?

After a pause, Biana spoke again. "Why don't you just sleep over here? It's not like the fire will get out of hand or anything, and it's very peaceful..."

Sophie nodded sleepily. She knew it was close to midnight, but she still hadn't managed to sleep. Sleep, as she knew, was going to be an incredible asset to her cognition the next day, and if she didn't get more than five or six hours she might pass out in the middle of the day.

Biana shuffled over slightly to give her some space, and Sophie slumped down, staring at the flames and her friends, who were all so peaceful and warm, and she used that to unhook her consciousness. Her mind finally shut off, after another stressful, exhausting day.

It was many hours later when the first dream floated into her brain.

She was standing in a vibrant clearing, surrounded by a dozen each of goblins, trolls, ogres, gnomes, dwarves, elves and even humans. Every being was gawking at her, like they'd never seen a foreign person in their life, until someone stepped forward, triggering Sophie to gasp in her dream.

It was Oralie, and she did not look pleased.

Oralie's face morphed into Edaline's, whispering, "It's too late", over and over, until the dream changed and Sophie seemed to be somewhere else.

She had never been here before in her life, just like the clearing. Gentle chimes rang across open fields of pansies and poppies set in pale blue grass, with a path in the middle that pointed toward a small hillside home in the distance. Sophie ran along the path, breathing in the fresh scents, until she reached the front doors which were covered with overgrown, bright red vines, and lavender bushes hanging from the rooftop.

She opened the doors, grinning to herself. Inside were hundreds of gnomish plants, more chimes were strung up on the pale gold walls, and a dark tree with a thick trunk stood up, spreading its branches upwards past the ceiling. The home was lit by lanterns and lamps hung in various positions, and though the place was cluttered, Sophie loved it.

The next room seemed to be a library, with shelves lining every huge twenty-foot wall. Each book was a new theme, more exquisite and alluring than the last. A woven basket chair sat next to the fireplace, which blazed with flames of emerald. A steaming mug of tea was sitting next to a bunch of wildflowers on the small glass table.

The house was too good to be true. Sophie wanted to soak it up for thousands of hours more, but just reminding herself that she wanted to do something almost woke her up.

But her brain kept ticking, rushing to the next dream...

She was standing in the darkest space she'd ever seen. It was stifling and cold at the same time, and the only light came from the rotating ball of fire in someone's hand.

In front of her was a gleaming dagger set in a rock, with a wrought-iron handle.

Power coursed through her veins, furious, as she reached for it.

And then her vision sharply cut off, leaving her in a blank space before her senses slowly came rushing back to her.

She sat up in a panic. The morning sun gleamed into her eyes as she struggled to process the environment around her. Only half of her friends had stayed by the fire.

But what did all those dreams mean? Did they signify anything important? Was there a purpose? Was her brain trying to tell her something?

But the memories of the images were slipping through the cracks of her mind like a sieve as she fought to remember anything that happened.

Next to her, Biana stirred, mumbling something to herself, and then turned over, curling up into a ball. Sophie smiled to herself.

She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and stretching her joints. The rainbow fire was still blazing, and some of the cakes they'd been eating last night had melted from close proximity. A bird whistled from a tall oak tree, further off.

Maybe Sophie could just try and forget the dreams...

But there was something about them all that was so strangely familiar, it was impossible to forget what had happened.

"Foster?"

Sophie's head snapped around at lightning speed. She was almost 100% sure Keefe was asleep before. "Um...good morning?"

Keefe yawned and sat up, fixing his hair, which had still managed to retain its style. "You should check what Evarista looks like. I can wake up Fitz if you want?"

"I don't –" Looking around, Sophie didn't spot Fitz. "Maybe I could just try myself."

"How about Tiergan?" Keefe offered. "Or Alden, or...I don't know, Mr Forkle?"

Sophie shook her head, grimacing. "No, I'll just try myself. Anyway, last time I talked to Mr Forkle was when he told me to come to his office to see the fires attacking my family..."

"How about you go to Havenfield, get changed, check on Iggy, eat breakfast, and then come back," Keefe said, throwing his blanket aside. "You probably shouldn't over-exert yourself too soon, after what happened with the Everblaze, and your ability."

"What happened to you?" Sophie asked him, astounded. "You do not sound like the Keefe Sencen I know."

"I'm being extra nice!" Keefe protested. "Just for you though."

Sophie felt her face go warm. "Well...see you soon. Tell the others where I've gone."

She quickly held up her crystal to the light and stepped forward, leaving Keefe with a tiny smile on his face.

Sophie rushed through the pastures of Havenfield to her house, where her parents were sipping mugs of tea and were discussing something in hushed voices. When she opened the glass door to greet them, they cut of their conversation abruptly.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was staying at Everglen..." Sophie said guiltily, hoping they weren't talking about her. "Today I was going to try and find what Aurora's home looks like so that I can visit her."

"Alden called us," Edaline said, sipping her tea. "It's alright."

"But...but...I broke your trust!" Sophie blurted. "You should ground me or something!"

Her parents smirked at her.

"Why would we do that?" Grady chuckled. "Ground you for sleeping over at Everglen."

"Well, I guess that was stupid of me..." Sophie half-laughed.

"Give yourself a break, Sophie," Edalina said kindly.

Ten seconds later, Sophie had ascended the stairs and reached her bedroom door. Out of the corner of her eye, Sandor was slumped against the wall, half-asleep.

She decided not to wake him up.

With the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Sophie sped through daily maintenance in under two minutes. But when she arrived outside, a surprise awaited her.

Sir Tiergan was standing on the green grass with a blank expression on his face, tucking his leaping crystal into his pocket. He had small braids in the front of his hair. "Hello, Miss Foster."

Sophie waved shyly. "Thanks for passing me at midterms, by the way."

"There's no need to thank me for that," Tiergan said kindly, "You are one of the most skilled Telepaths in the world."

Sophie stared at her feet awkwardly. "So...what are you doing here?"

Tiergan took a deep breath. "Mr Forkle sent me. He knows what you're doing."

"And does he have a problem with that?" Sophie said sharply. "Because he should know by know that I'm not his little robot."

Tiergan nodded. "Yes, he is aware. But he asked for me to help you with something, actually."

"With...what?"

"Getting to the place where Aurora Emberstone resides."

"How do you-"

"We have our sources," Tiergan said calmly. "We also have word that Fitz is helping Lord Cassius to recover lost memories, so he will not have any spare time to help you. When Mr Forkle found this out, he asked me to help instead."

Sophie's widened, darting around at the landscape. "Are there cameras on my house or something?"

"No, no," Tiergan laughed. "Don't worry. Anyway, "I'm guessing that you want to try and find Miss Emberstone's location, so I'll help you to get an image."

"Right now?" Sophie asked, fidgeting slightly. "Because I told my friends I'd come back to Everglen."

"It will be quick," Tiergan assured her. He held out his hand.

Sophie glanced around quickly before she took it.

She led them past the rushing thoughts of faraway humans to a place even further, where she'd heard Aurora's thoughts last time. This time, instead of staying in the limits of the front of the girl's mind, she decided to enter it silently. Tiergan gave her a quick mind boost.

Aurora's mind was cluttered, like she was trying to multitask by doing a million things at once. Just taking a glance at everything within view, which seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction, would show you every thought, feeling, memory, and piece of knowledge you could ever think of.

Further beyond was a section of things that kept shifting in color. Currently Aurora's thoughts in this section were tinted lime green. Spiraling images of people, textures, places, buildings, and plants were in the pale space.

But out of them all, one image stood out from the others.

Like a grand three-dimensional projection, a small forest clearing had been floating above them. It was filled with tall, thin, viridian-leafed trees with maroon bark. Insects and small animals scampered across the mossy floor, bugs and birds soared through the leaves, and a warmth was radiating off each of the trees, like they had huge beating hearts.

And with that, they had their image.

***

Sophie let go of her Mentor's hand, gasping for breath.

It seemed that the minutes spent in Aurora's mind had drained her...too much.

Knowing that Tiergan had helped her too made her feel even worse...because it meant she'd been too weak to handle it.

"We should contact the Council," Sophie said, still drawing in deep breaths.

"Would you like me to contact Elwin first?" Tiergan asked her, brows furrowed.

"No, I'll be fine." She took out her Imparter from her pocket.

"Are you sure?"

Sophie smiled at him, and then dropped her gaze back to the Imparter. "Show me Councilor Terik."