The Stars Said Hello [1]

C H A P T E R - 2 0

Foxfire was almost unrecognizable. Silver streamers wrapped every tree, every shrub, every tower—like the school had been toilet-papered with tinsel. Confetti and flowers covered the floor, and giant bubbles filled with prizes floated through the halls. Prodigies ignored their parents as they dashed around popping as many as they could.

Grady and Edaline were overwhelmed by the crowd, so they went straight to where they'd meet for their first Mentor appointment and left Sophie to celebrate on her own. She made her way to the Level Four wing, deciding to drop off Fitz's, Meredith's and Keefe's presents before meeting up with her friends.

A tiny part of her had been hoping she'd find Fitz at his locker, but all she found was a long line of Level Four girls, all of whom glared at her as she added her small, teal-wrapped package to his nearly full hat. The glaring turned even uglier when she added a bright green box to Keefe's collection. Then when she tried to drop the gift into Meredith's hat, the girls glared even more while the huge number of boys standing in line glared at her.

Girls.

She kept her head down as she slunk away, hurrying back toward her own wing. Which was how she ended up plowing straight into Sir Tiergan.

"Sorry," she exclaimed as he struggled to regain his balance. He'd been moving fast, and they'd crashed pretty hard. She rubbed her forehead where it had slammed into his elbow.

"Sophie!" He glanced around, thin lines stretched across his brow. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to drop off some gifts. Why? Is everything okay?"

He smiled, but it looked forced. "Of course. I just didn't expect to run into you here. Especially so literally." His smile turned real with his joke.

"Well, well, who do we have here?"

Sophie's heart sank as she turned around, expecting to find Keefe with lots of prying questions and one of his trademark smirks. And he was there. But his grin was gone, and it wasn't he who'd spoken.

A tall, slender man in a sapphire-encrusted navy-blue cape stood next to him, studying Sophie intently. The family resemblance was striking, though Keefe's disheveled hairstyle and untucked shirt sharply contrasted his dad's slicked blond hair and pristine tunic.

"This must be the girl who was raised by humans," he said, much louder than Sophie would've liked. "How curious to find her in the Level Four wing, talking to Foxfire's most infamous Mentor."

"Infamous?" Sophie couldn't help asking. She glanced at Keefe, but he was staring at the ground. It was strange to see him so . . . deflated. Like he'd wilted in his father's presence.

Keefe's father grinned, an oily sort of smile that dripped with insincerity. "Few Mentors have resigned, then returned years later—out of the blue—to train a mystery prodigy." He winked with the last two words, like he knew exactly who the prodigy was."

Sophie felt her cheeks flame and searched for some sort of lie. But Tiergan beat her to it.

"Interesting theory, Cassius—"

"Lord Cassius," he corrected.

Tiergan's jaw tightened. "Lord Cassius. But do you really think I could be tempted back by a little girl? Especially one performing so unremarkably in her sessions?"

She knew he didn't mean it. That Tiergan was only trying to keep her telepathy hidden. But the words still stung. A lot.

"Come on, Dad," Keefe said, looking at Sophie, not his father. His eyes radiated the apologies he couldn't say. "I'm sure Fos—er—Sophie has somewhere she needs to be."