The Stars Said Hello [1]

C H A P T E R - 1 2

"He's a mesmer," Marella told her the next day during lunch. "Why?"

"I don't know. It's weird that he won't tell me, isn't it?" Sophie asked.

"It's Grady and Edaline—everything about them is weird. I still can't believe you're living with them. Are they adopting you?"

"I . . . don't know. What exactly is a Mesmer?" she asked, changing the subject to something that didn't make her nauseated.

"Wow, you really don't know anything, do you?"

"Never mind."

"I'm just teasing—sheesh. A Mesmer can put you in a trance and make you do anything they want while you're in it. It's rare. Not as rare as inflicting, but close."

She really didn't want to have to ask another stupid question, but curiosity won out. "And inflicting is . . . ?"

"When someone makes you feel things. Makes you laugh, makes you cry, causes you incredible pain—whatever they want. It's extremely rare. I only know of one, and he's on the Council. But there might be another. Your history Mentor would know."

Sophie cringed at the word "history." She'd had her first session with Lady Dara that morning, and it was . . . strange.

Impossible pictures flashed across the walls during the entire lecture: elves using telekinesis to help the humans build the pyramids, a tidal wave swallowing Atlantis, an army of hairy, brown dwarves hollowing out the Himalayas to build the Sanctuary. But the strangest part was Lady Dara. She kept losing her train of thought every time her eyes met Sophie's. Then she'd mumble something about "history in the making" and return to the lecture. It had totally creeped Sophie out."

"Hey, did you hear?" Marella interrupted. "Sir Tiergan's back."

"Who's he?" she asked, relieved she'd remembered to lie.

"Only like the most famous telepathy Mentor ever. He retired when his friend Prentice ended up in exile—it was like a protest or something."

"Prentice?" She tried not to sound too interested, but she'd been dying to know more about him since Alden had told her the information was classified.

"Yeah. He was this supertalented Telepath, but he got exiled like twelve years ago."

"How do you get exiled?"

"You have to break a fundamental law. The Council holds a tribunal, and if you're found guilty, they lock you away deep underground for the rest of eternity." Marella shrugged. "I don't know what he did, but I think it had to do with him being a Keeper. It had to be pretty bad for the Council to ruin his life. Especially since it ruined his family's life too. His wife died in a fluke leaping accident not long after, and his son, Wylie, was adopted by Tiergan."

Sophie's lunch churned in her stomach as Quinlin's words flashed through her mind.

So this is why Prentice sacrificed everything.

Quinlin had also implied she was a Keeper. So if Prentice was a Keeper, could that mean they were . . . related?

Could he be her father?

The pieces fit. Abandoning a child was illegal for humans—she doubted it was any less of a crime here. And if Prentice was a talented Telepath, maybe he was a Washer. Maybe he could alter the minds of two human parents and make them believe the child was theirs.

But why? He didn't get rid of Wylie—so why dump her? Was there something that wrong with her?

Unless it had something to do with her eye color. Or the way her brain worked . . .