(Warning. Warning. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT FOR EVERYONE WHO HASN'T READ PAST NIGHTFALL.)
Sophie squinted into the cover of her illegal, unregistered Spyball, the one that had been given to her by the Black Swan. Her toothy, horselike reflection stared back at her, and she would've looked away if she hadn't realized that the surface distorted her features ever so slightly.
But it was still her — her blonde hair and brown eyes, complete with golden specks that seemed to keep the sun alive and were rooted deep beneath the surface.
She hadn't checked in on her family for so long. Even though they didn't know it, she wanted them to know that she was trying to watch over them — but even if she could, what was the point of telling them if she wasn't trying hard enough?
She clenched her jaw and tugged at her eyelashes, hard, refusing to wince. No way was she going to let her thoughts further stall her. She needed to check in on them — now.
Now that she'd thought about it, she should probably set a day of the week when she did all of her check-ups; with Silveny, her human family, her Team Valiant teammates, and her friends.
"Show me Natalie Freeman," she whispered into the speaker, her voice so light and anxious it felt like it was being carried by the wind.
The Spyball's eye rolled back for a second, looking like a toy from an arcade before it showed its deadly power, flashing to the worried face of her sister... standing next to a dark, olive-haired boy.
"Darius, please," Amy pleaded, looking more desperate than Sophie had ever seen her, "I didn't mean it! I didn't, please, please..."
The boy named Darius frowned, watching Amy tug out an eyelash that clearly revealed her lie before scoffing. "I know what I heard!"
"Then why doesn't anyone else?" Amy asked, looking even more like Sophie as she straightened and squeezed her shoulder, "I don't remember anyone else coming to my house and scaring the crap out of me!" To be fair, she did look pretty shaken.
Darius held his breath and eyed Amy closely as if to see if she was lying. Some part of Sophie irrationally thought, he would make a good Empath. But she was frozen and didn't know what to do — what had Amy said?
Darius now mirrored Amy and stepped sideways so he could stare intently into his eyes. "They don't notice things like I do," he whispered, reaching out and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Sophie watched, horrified, as she imagined Amy jerking back and screaming for help — but all her sister did was frown. "This is another one of your games, isn't it?"
"No games," he shot back, "I've been lied to my whole life. Do you know how much this means to me?"
"Not as much as you might think," Amy suddenly looked like she was on the verge of collapsing into tears, "I... I can't. I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Darius squinted at something behind her shoulder, making Amy's eyes narrow and her eyebrows raise.
"I can't. I just can't. I can't! I can't, Darius!" She screamed, a tear trailing another down her cheeks. Sophie's heart immediately ached — she wished that she could reach out for her sister, right now, pat her on the shoulder, hold her hand, look into her eyes, and tell her that it was going to be okay.
But she couldn't. She was watching a fairy tale unravel, and all she could do was spectate along.
Amy shook her head furiously and wiped her face with a handkerchief from her pocket, dabbing at the corner of her eyes and making Sophie's eyelashes itch. "Tell me why I should."
"Why shouldn't you, Natalie?" Darius patted her on the shoulder in an awkward rhythm, and Sophie almost smiled for a second when she realized how much he resembled Keefe. Aside from the dark hair, he had a warm kind of clumsiness she could suddenly see in Keefe — if he was feeling particularly considerate one day, he'd probably react to the situation the same way Darius did. Also, Darius seemed incredibly convincing. "I'm not trying to manipulate you, I promise."
Sophie suddenly felt the room spin when the thought came across his mind that Keefe might actually be Darius. It wasn't exactly reassuring and probably nowhere near true, but... still, it made adrenaline course through her body as she shuddered.
"Yeah, most of the promises been made to me were broken," Amy said, pressing her cool palms to her temples. Darius stiffened, and Amy squirmed. "Also, isn't that what all manipulators say?"
Great. Her sister also thought that Darius was convincing — convincing enough to not shoot him down immediately, anyway.
"Natalie, I can help you," The dark-haired boy said, smiling crookedly. It was the first time Sophie noticed his eyes — they were a nice, light ocean green with hints of the blue sky. Anyone would've thought that the color of his eyes didn't match his hair, but it was impossible to see them together. You either saw his eyes or any of his other facial features; they were never together.
Amy — no, Natalie — glowered, then decided it seemed too mean and snorted instead. "I don't need help."
"You don't think you need help," Darius corrected, sounding gentler than Sophie had ever heard him, "But you do. I can see it in your eyes — and I'm extremely perceptive." He flashed a beaming grin that seemed to almost knock Amy out, like an ocean wave. "Also, have you ever considered how evil that is? You live in a secret world! You get to go on adventures! You get to be daring and risk your life and be brave," he lowered his gaze, "That's what I feel when..."
"When what, Darius?" She pressed, grabbing onto his wrist. For a moment, it looked like she was going to narrow her eyes and ask him why he thought all that was true.
"It's... stupid," he agreed, smirking when Amy bore a look into his skull, "You didn't think I wouldn't tell you, did you?"
Before her sister had an opportunity to interrupt, he thankfully continued. "That's what I feel when I read a book. I want to enter the world so, so badly. And you know what? I can never forgive the authors for creating a realm I can never be part of. It cuts at me every day! I keep hoping and hoping, and the only thing that's keeping me from staying away all night is the thought that I might be able to dream of living in that world, and then I wake up in the morning and it never happens and..."
"That's why you sulk so much," Amy interjected. "Uh, you know how much that sounds like the beginning of a story, right?" She added, waiting for his answer.
Darius smiled, almost sadly. "Uh, duh. And I'll do whatever it takes. To earn your trust. To do this. I promise."
"You swear on your life."
This was so, so not happening. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, holding on to the hope that her sister might not expose their entire world...
She'd been told.
By so many people.
By Bronte.
By her.
By everyone she knew.
And this was such a big risk.
Why was her sister even considering it?
But she knew it was a lost cause when she heard the sound of feet moving as Amy leaned toward Darius and whispered, "I'm an elf."