Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

Keeper of the Lost Cities 34 (Tiergan POV)

Tiergan leaped to Foxfire early, deep in thought as he made his way toward the classroom where he held Sophie's telepathy session. Alden had hailed him the night before, and while he'd been tempted to ignore it, he'd known he couldn't do that.

For better or for worse, the one adult Sophie trusted and confided in more than any other right now was Alden Vacker. That meant that Tiergan had a necessary link to Alden now--one he couldn't ignore. He had a job to do, a role to play, and keeping an eye on Sophie was a huge part of that.

Plus...he couldn't help his personal concern and interest in her wellbeing.

And he ended up being really glad he'd answered after hearing what Alden had to say. It was technically top secret, but Alden had felt that Tiergan would need to know, since he was Sophie's telepathy mentor and would be able to help her keep up with her memory log.

At least...that was the reason Alden gave. Tiergan had a feeling that Alden suspected Tiergan's connection to the Black Swan.

Hopefully that was the only truth Alden suspected.

Tiergan was shaken from his thoughts by the sight of Sophie entering the room, looking utterly exhausted as she stumbled into the room and slumped into her chair. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked more stressed than a young girl should ever have to look.

And she looked more than a little frightened, too.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked her.

  "No."

  "I expected as much." He cleared his throat. "Alden told me what happened yesterday."

That might have been the first time in thirteen years that he'd spoken Alden's name without spewing it as though it were a bad word.

Sophie didn't say anything, but Tiergan didn't miss the way her hands tightened on her satchel, like she was afraid he was going to snatch it from her.

He would bet anything he owned that her memory log was in that satchel, and that she was beginning to discover some of the secrets Mr. Forkle had planted in her mind.

"Have you started the memory log?" he prodded.

She hesitated, but finally nodded wordlessly.

  "I assume you don't want to show me."

She still didn't answer, she just looked away, the look on her face hard to read. But he could see how tense she was, and knew that she had to be really struggling with all of the changes and challenges she was facing.

And Tiergan was partly responsible for that.

So he pulled out his pathfinder and stood, holding out his hand. "Concentrate," he commanded before pulling her into the light.

The moment the noisy, crowded streets of Los Angeles glittered into view, Sophie dropped his hand and cowered, covering her ears, looking overwhelmed. "Remember to shield," he shouted to her.

She obeyed, and he watched as the tension on her face eased. He led her to a nearby bench and sat beside her. "Welcome to Los Angeles. Actually, I believe they call this place Hollywood."

"Um, aren't we a little conspicuous?" She pulled on her cape, which admittedly wasn't in fashion for humans.

She probably didn't think anything of it, but it was the first thing she'd said in several minutes, and he was immensely relieved to hear her voice again.

Things were only just beginning for her. It was only going to get harder.

And she was already stressing and worrying and struggling with the weight of it.