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"Oralie?" Sophie said in disbelief.

"That's my name, correct." Oralie said cheerfully. "Are you talking to me again?"

Sophie gaped at her.

Her biological mother was standing in front of Candleshade, dressed like a Neverseen member, and wanted to know if she was talking to her again?!

She bit back a hysterical laugh.

"How—" Sophie said, cutting herself off. "Why?" Her voice broke.

Oralie's face was scrunched in a perplexed expression. "What?" She said airily, waving her hand.

"W— What about Kenric?" Her voice broke, voice wobbling.

Oralie face twisted into an amused sneer. "What about him?"

Sophie hiccuped. "I thought you loved him, that you loved each other."

Oralie snickered. Snickered.

Flippantly, she said, "No, we didn't love each other."

"I—" Sophie started, confusion writhing. She shut her mouth. "I came here for answers. Now explain—everything."

"In due time." Oralie said simply, eyes twinkling in the light.

Swiftly, the black-cloaked figure on Oralie's right threw down an object, emitting a lavender-colored smoke. The fumes clawed their way up Sophie's senses, sickly-sweet. "Stop—" Sophie croaked, going still. She thrashed on the grass, clawing at her neck. Black descended upon her, enveloping her senses.

Black shadows swirled around her. She shuddered. Black-bodied mist, with dripping white eyes—or she assumed they were eyes. Their eyes, striking as they were, seemed blank. Nightmarish.

"Why are you here?" She called into the darkness, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come.

"What are you?" She called again, frustrated.

Fear.

Their voices twined their way up her neck, so tangible.

All of her thoughts eddied from her head. Eternal dark, with these creatures? She resisted the urge to tug at her lashes, failing. She yanked at them, two dark brown lashes fluttering from her fingers.

Worthless, stupid girl. Weak. Idiotic. You failed your friends. Failure. You failed everyone. Amy. Keefe. Biana. Dex. Grady. Edaline. Mom. Dad. Mr. Forkle...

The words wrapped around her, wrapping her in a cocoon of black.

Sophie bit her lip, distracting herself from the pain. Ow.

She had to get out. Now.

Oralie watched Sophie thrash on the ground, limbs askew.

She supposed she had caused this... but it was for her own good.

Kenric had been so good. Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought of his earnest, eager smile. His willingness to agree to their deal. Their deal had taken more out of her than he knew. Sniffling slightly, she swiped the back of the itchy black cloak sleeve against her nose, irritating it more.

"Hey, you good?" A soft voice murmured, worried. Oralie let a small smile slip. "Yeah, Trix. All good!"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You sure? I know Gethen's worried 'bout you."

A grin bloomed on her face at the thought of Gethen, of his bright blue eyes, and silky blond hair.

He cared about her. He always had.

Sophie was rolling in red-hot needles. Or at least, she thought she was. She was on fire. She was burning. Just like Kenric.

Kenric...

KenricKenricKenricKenricKenricKenric. She had caused his death. It was all her fault. She sobbed so hard she couldn't see, breathe, or hear. Everything was her fault. Everything.

The words rang in her head, truer and truer every time. She wrapped her arms around her head, needing to keep the needle-sharp thoughts out.

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, I'M SORRY!" Sophie wailed into the void, the unflinching darkness. More and more sobs spilled from her, milking her dry. Her emotions swirled, a tornado of hate, self-loathing—and self-pity.

Suddenly, she was thrust into memories.

Fitz screaming at her.

Edaline and Grady, a shell of what they used to be.

Keefe, wrapped in those inky black shadows.

Tam's stormy face as he went with Lady Gisela.

Linh's devastation when she learned of her brother's betrayal.

Biana's ashen face when she saw Alvar in Nightfall.

The heartbroken look on Mr. Forkle's face when he learned of his brother.

Marella's terrified face when she told them about her Pyrokinesis.

Stina's disdain, then her desperation.

Dex, kidnapped and drugged—because of her.

Sandor,  falling off the mountain.

Everything was all her fault. Allherallherallher.

It was all her.

She succumbed to the darkness, letting it flood her senses.

Oh no.

Everything was crumbling around her, her family, life, friends, Keefe.

The Neverseen.

They occupied her nightmares—and her mind.

They were always 2 steps ahead, and it seemed like nothing could help them catch up.

Help.

She was falling, down a dark hole.

Help me!

She was defective. Not good enough. She never would be.

It was too late.

Waves of disappointment, of disgust, crashed over her as she visualized the Collective's disappointed faces and her friends disgusted ones.

She was gone.

She couldn't breathe. Terror was pressing against her, crushing her windpipe. Heaving for breath, she thrashed.

Panicking even more, she thrashed frantically, curling into a ball. Hands around her head, she kicked out at the darkness.

"Leave," she sobbed, "me," crying harder. "alone!"

"Please, just go!—" Sophie near-shrieked, overwhelmed.

Her anxiety swallowed her, tossing her through a laundry machine of emotions—and thoughts.

Hatred. Fear. Love. Judgement. Sadness. Anxiety.

The list went on and on.

Curling in on herself until she was as tightly squeezed as possible, she screamed.

Raw, unbridled emotion flowed from her.

Tears kept falling, plop, plop, plop.

Pain.

Her head was exploding.

So many thoughts.

A stab of pain in her ribs, a pain in her head.

"Trix!" Oralie cried, horrified. "Don't kick my— Sophie!"

Trix rolled his eyes—or she thought he did. "Alright, I won't kick your Sophie, even though she clearly needs to be woken up."

Oralie worked her jaw, a muscle feathering in her cheek. "Really, Trix?" She whined, running a hand through her blond hair.

Hair that looked like Sophie's.

She blinked hard. She needed to stop.

"Really, Alie."

She gaped at him. "Alie?"

He shrugged. "Yep. Deal with it."

Oralie huffed an exasperated sigh and realized—Sophie.

She dropped to her knees in the grass, dirtying her pastel-pink dress. "Sophie!" She shook her. Trix crouched beside her. "Maybe I could call wind and force it into her lungs?" The Guster suggested.

Tears welled in Oralie's eyes as she stared down at Sophie's limp form, coated in sweat.

It was for the best. She'd understand—one day.




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