Project Phoenix

Chapter 7-After

Keefe was glaring at Ruy, his normally kind eyes icy with hatred.

Sophie really couldn't blame him. The last time anyone had seen the Psioniopath, he'd been on the rampage with the Neverseen.

"Can we get this little tête-à-tête started?"

Now it was Sophie's turn to glare at Ruy. His impatience made her want to kill him.

Again.

Not that she'd meant to kill him the first time.

"Not yet," Sophie replied, pacing the dark alleyway in Atlantis they had chosen for their secret meeting. "We're waiting on one last person."

"And she's arrived," Biana said, appearing next to Sophie suddenly. "Let's get this party started."

Sophie flinched as Biana fully materialized, earning a chuckle from Keefe.

"Really, Soph?" Biana muttered. "It's been five years. Get used to me appearing out of nowhere."

"I know, I know," Sophie groaned.

"Can we please get this over with so I don't actually die today?" Ruy complained. "There are probably eyes on us right now as we speak."

Keefe silenced Ruy with another icy stare. "If you keep talking, I'm going to kill you. Foster decides what to do next."

Sophie sent a grateful glance in Keefe's direction. Avoiding Biana's raised eyebrows, she stepped closer to where Ruy sat on the ground.

"What information do you have to share with me that's so important?"

"Do you really want these two to know our dirty little secret?" Ruy fired back. "We need to talk privately, or I won't talk at all."

Biana placed a hand on Sophie's shoulder. "Keefe and I aren't going anywhere unless you say so, Soph. It's your call."

The look in Biana's eyes said otherwise. Sophie could see thousands of questions, and when she turned to glance at Keefe, his stare was a mirror image of Biana's.

"Keefe, why don't you tell Biana what happened today?" Sophie said. "Let me talk with Ruy for a few minutes. Alone."

Biana nodded and moved out of the alleyway. Keefe, shooting another cursory stare at Ruy, pulled Sophie to the side.

"Are you sure, Soph?" He asked. The concern in Keefe's voice almost made Sophie melt.

Instead, she smiled slightly. "I'll be fine. I killed him once, I can do it again."

Keefe didn't laugh like Sophie had hoped he would. "I won't be far. You need me, just yell. I'll come running."

"I know." Sophie embraced him quickly. "See you soon."

She pulled away, much to Keefe's—and her own—dismay. He turned and began to walk toward Biana, looking over his shoulder to meet her eyes once more.

Sophie waved, then turned back to Ruy. "What is going on, Ruy? I thought we had a deal."

"Deals can be broken, dear. They're like rules. And bones." Ruy stretched his arms and stood up.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "I helped you fake your death so you could get out of the Neverseen, and in return all I asked was that you never show your face in the Lost Cities again. You agreed to that—so what changed?"

Ruy's shoulders sagged. "Things change, Sophie. You of all people should know that."

Sophie felt her face heat. "Stop making this about me! Why risk coming back at all? Keefe and Biana almost found out about what really happened."

"Maybe I don't care about the risk anymore," Ruy muttered quietly. "Maybe there's too much at stake: things more important than what happened between us."

Sophie's stomach sank to her toes at the heartbreak in Ruy's eyes. "What happened? Where are they?"

"She took them." Ruy shook his head, trying to clear the tears forming in the corners of his vision. "She took both of them."

Sophie sucked in a breath.

The whole reason she helped Ruy in the first place...

"Are they with my mom?" she asked. "Are they where Edaline is?"

Ruy nodded. "That's why I'm here. I got a note from Gisela, telling me to find you. Somehow, she knew I wasn't dead."

"Did your note say anything about the Wanderling Woods?"

"Yes," Ruy croaked. "It said if I ever wanted to see them alive again, I had to come to the Woods."

Shakily, Sophie leaned against the alley wall, trying to find the support she needed.

She thought back to the day Ruy first contacted her, begging for help.

Begging for a second chance.

Begging for a way out.

Begging for Sophie to kill him.

It took months of planning, but finally the perfect opportunity arose.

And Ruy and Sophie put on quite a show: it began with a simple fistfight.

It ended with Sophie pushing Ruy off a cliff.

But no one knew it was all a performance; not even Sophie's closest friends.

No one knew that Sophie levitated Ruy down the cliffside, setting him gently on the ground—very much not dead.

No one knew that Ruy had a leaping crystal and was gone before anyone could ask questions.

No one knew the reason why.

Except Sophie.

She shook her head, clearing the memories of the past.

"We have to go, Sophie." Ruy said hoarsely. "We have to save them."

"I know," Sophie whispered in response, not trusting her own voice to speak. "I have to save my mom."

Ruy wiped his face with his hands. "I won't let Gisela kill them." The pain in his face was evident, and Sophie could barely look at him for fear of crying. "I just got my wife and daughter back. I will not lose them again."