Sophie swam in and out of consciousness, trying to decide between swimming into the darkness or waking up. She could do either. She knew her friends were begging her to wake up, but she remembered everything that happened, between the her kidnappers, and her powers and even when she left her family from the Forbidden Cities, the family that raised her.

She was about to swim into the darkness, but something held her back. Biana's lovely smile. Alden, when his mind was broken. Dex's dimples. Fitz's teal eyes. Edaline's and Grady's faces when they tell her they love her. Bronte's stern face and pointy ears. Kenric's smile. Keefe's smug grin. Silveny yelling her name. But most of all she remembered Jolie. Follow the pretty bird across the sky. She remembered Prentice. And she couldn't decide is she should swim into the darkness and never come back, also destroying Grady and Edaline and her friends. Or waking up. And facing her kidnappers and all of her other problems. She took a deep breath and decided.