Sokeefe - After Neverseen

Chapter 1

Sophie woke up from a vivid nightmare, drenched with sweat as she hurried to her bathroom.

I'm safe. Looking at herself, she repeated it over and over in her head until it rang, making her believe it more. She was just about to return to her canopied bed when a muscular body burst in, followed by a blond elf. After them was a rosy-cheeked elf with turquoise eyes and amber, wavy hair.

"Sophie! You scared the Exile out of me!" Grady, her adoptive father, cried. He had a melder in his hand, raised at an imaginary enemy. Edaline hurried to Sophie, wrapping her arms around her as Sandor did a full sweep of her room.

"All clear. There are no threats or scents of anyone except us in Miss Foster's room." He told Grady. "She must've had a nightmare."

"Is that why you screamed?" Grady said softly, turning his head toward her. Sophie nodded shakily with her chin resting on Edaline's shoulder. Her father wiped a tear that Sophie hadn't noticed was there from her cheek. Her mom pulled away quietly and led them to her bed, and Sophie thought about her nightmare as she curled into a ball.

Threats from the Neverseen members before they were drugged and sent to Exile echoed in her head, making her mind paint realistic scenes, from letting out everyone in Exile to escaping everything and freeing Fintan, who would surely burn down every building in the Lost Cities. 

That was why the Council felt the need to keep Sandor as Sophie's bodyguard and to protect and keep control of the most powerful elf the world has ever seen. She triggered and manifested two more abilities through the years at ages 16 and 17 considering elves' way of inception dates. The trouble the Neverseen had caused made Sophie manifest as a Charger, which is an ability to control magnetic fields, and Mr. Forkle had Sophie make a choice of triggering as a Beguiler.

So now, as a prodigy in the Elite Levels at Foxfire, Sophie was assigned plenty of work as the Leader of Team Valiant. And with everyone still scrambling to take in Sophie as the elf with eight abilities, she didn't have time for boyfriend drama. Keefe understood the pressure and she'd also grown to believe that he didn't love her anymore, so they broke up.

Drama, drama, drama. Is that all her life will be?

What if the Neverseen will break out of Exile and overthrow the entire Council?

Will they find weakness in how they now have canceled the Matchmaking program, and only made it base on genetics and not Talents?

Sophie's mother smothered that thought by asking: "Do you want a sedative?"

"No, no sedatives, please," Sophie begged, she still wasn't a fan of it, even though she knew they got rid of her kidnappers.

"Okay, okay. How can we help, though?" Grady asked, sitting down beside them. Sophie clapped her hands to raise the shades. She checked the time by looking towards the gates of the cliff, and it's only sunrise, but she doesn't want to go back to the madness of the nightmare, so she asked:

"Can you teach me how to make Mallowmelt?"

"Sure, but why?" Edaline said, standing up and snapping her fingers for the crystals to light up.

"Um, I want to invite my friends here for a midterm sleepover. If that's okay with you." Sophie added quickly.

"Of course! I couldn't sleep anyways, and I can also show you the formula for custard bursts."

Grady went back to bed as Sophie and Edaline did their morning routines and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"I already made breakfast," Edaline said, conjuring two bowls of deep purple salad.

As they ate, Sophie observed that they taste like scrambled eggs and bacon, which she did not mention to her mother.

"Alright, who's ready to make some sweets?" Edaline said excitedly after she finished.

Just like Sophie is in alchemy, she was horribly unsuccessful in baking, though it helped a little that Edaline isn't as terrifying as Lady Galvin. By the time they are done with their best batch of Mallowmelt and Custard Burst, it was already noon. 

They came out of the kitchen with their hands full to find Grady waiting at the enormous dining table, a huge grin plastered on his face when he spotted the treats they are carrying. They then feasted on it, talking about classified things they do as an Emissary and Regent until someone knocked on the front door.

When Sophie went to open it, she saw none other than a tear stained face with teal eyes.