Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 1 8

Sophie rolled him to face her, calling his name and shaking his shoulders. The gray cement over his wound had cracked, releasing fresh streams of blood. "Alden, please, you're scaring me."

He didn't respond.

Sophie looked around for Krikor, wishing he'd pop out of the sand. But it was just her and Alden in an empty room in the center of the earth. And she had no idea what to do.

She fumbled for the magsidian pendant, holding it to the blue balefire—but the light was too dim to cast a beam. There had to be a trick she didn't know—and there was no way she could carry him up all those stairs.

"Please, Alden—wake up," she begged as she dug out her Imparter and shouted Elwin's name.

The silver square stayed blank—and it wouldn't respond to Grady's or Edaline's name either.

She shook Alden harder. "How do I get us home?"

Still no answer.

Fitz, Mer, she transmitted, forcing herself to concentrate through her panic. She pictured Everglen in her mind, trying to remember what she'd done when she'd been hostage and called for Fitz from halfway across the world. Fitz, Mer, please, tell me you can hear me.

Silence.

Tears pricked her eyes, and she struggled to think of anything else she could try.

Fitz, Mer, please. I don't know what to do.

Sophie? Can you hear me?

Fitz! Now she was crying. Fitz—you have to help me, he's hurt and he won't respond and I can't leap us out of here—

Whoa, whoa—slow down. Who's hurt? Where are you?

I . . . I'm not allowed to tell you. . . .Mer might know....

Sophie, come on—if you need help, you have to tell me where you are.

She glanced at Alden. His wound had opened wider, soaking the sand with red.

I'm in Exile.

EXILE???

Yes—with your dad—and he hurt his head. He's bleeding. A lot.

Leap him here. I'll have Elwin meet you at the gate.

I can't. We have to use this magsidian pendant thing and I don't know how to make it work. Do you know anything about it?

I've never heard of magsidian. Can't you ask someone? Mer?

There's no one else here—and I can't get your dad to wake up.

But . . . maybe she didn't need to.

Sophie? Can you hear me?

Mer. Help. Alden said that you could help with us.

You're in Exile, right? Kenric told me about that. Now, I need you to calm down first and listen to my voice.

Alden's in bad condition....What can I do?

Sophie. Meredith said forcefully. I need you to be calm. It's not gonna help if you're panicking. Now, listen. Enter Alden's mind and call him.

Sophie pushed her consciousness into Alden's mind.

It felt different than she expected. Cramped and dim.

And sharp.

His thoughts had edges—rough bits that scraped and scuffed as she waded through, transmitting Alden's name over and over. At least his mind wasn't empty. There were memories to cling to, but they were tangled and twisted into an icy jumble and she didn't know how to make sense of them.