Sophie attempted to peel her eyes open, but to no avail. She was surrounded by darkness.

No... she blinked the grogginess from her sight and looked again.

She was lying on her back in a dark room with walls covered in something that gave off a faint glow, making the whole room look like a starry night sky.

Sophie shook her head, trying to clear away the lingering brain fog. Even though she was conscious again, she couldn't remember exactly where she was, or how she had gotten there.

Her back ached. She rolled her shoulders and arched her back and stretched her arms out. Only her hands wouldn't go any farther.

What?

She wiggled her feet. Same thing—she couldn't move them more than a few inches. Was this some funny joke the Neverseen was playing on her?

It all came back to her like a sucker punch to the gut. She wasn't in one of the Neverseen's hideouts anymore.

She had been taken by the Black Swan.

Sophie took deep breaths, forcing herself to do what she had been trained to do. Assess the situation. Find what could be used to her advantage.

She sat up as much as the restraints would allow her, which wasn't saying much. All she could do was struggle to her elbows. 

The room was empty all for a door across the room and the weird metal table she was lying on. She was getting major evil scientist vibes.

Since the room was barren, Sophie inspected her binds. They were an orangey-gold color, and had a blue stone set into each center where they connected.

Sophie recognized them. When she was still with the Black Swan, they had just been a prototype Dex had been working on. They were supposedly really hard to shatter and dulled the senses and abilities of the person they held. Sophie glared at them, wishing she had heat vision or something so she could melt them. How annoying. No wonder she couldn't remember things at first.

"Well, nice little attempt, but I transmitted halfway across the world while drugged and fighting off sedatives, so bite me," she muttered, blowing out a breath and closed her eyes.

She expanded her mind until she reached the set of thoughts she was looking for, but... they felt different then usual. Dulled, but not by her weak telepathy. By something else.

Ruy? What's wrong?

It took a second for her voice to register, but eventually it clicked. Sophie.

Are you okay? Something was definitely off. 

Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine, don't worry. A desire to move his legs into a more comfortable position flashed across the front of Ruy's mind, but he cringed and she felt him push his thoughts back behind the veil.

Ruy, tell me what happened, she transmitted, her worry increasing. 

Ugh, I forgot that you could read my mind, he thought. I keep thinking you can only transmit from this far, because that's what Gethen can do.

Stop avoiding the question. Tell. Me. Now.

Don't worry, he insisted. I'm fine.

Sophie leaked warning into her transmission. Ruy—

But, he cut her off, Gisela just... punished me for losing a valuable team member.

Sophie was overwhelmed by guilt. This is my fault. I'm so sorry, Ruy. I—

Don't, he interrupted. See, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I don't want you feeling bad. This isn't your fault; we all fought as hard as we could. The Black Swan just... got us this time.

Sophie shook her head. They shouldn't have. I feel like this is my fault.

No, it's not. I'll survive. What doesn't kill you just allows Gisela to come up with new ways to torture you in the future, after all. He chuckled darkly.

Sophie heard a distinct bang come from down the hall of the Black Swan's lair. They're coming, she told Ruy. I'll get in touch as soon as I can.

Make them sorry they ever tried to capture you, he thought. 

I will, she promised. And what I said before was true, too. I will come back.

I'm holding you to that. In person, Ruy's eyes had a way of boring into Sophie, like they could see through her very being and lock it in place. She felt that same effect telepathically as strongly as if they had been standing together in person. She shivered.

If Gisella tries to hurt you again, tell her I'll kill her, was all she transmitted before she severed their connection and focused on the footsteps getting closer.

Sophie was caught in that odd moment in which she had to decide whether to act like she was sleeping or face whoever opened the door awake. She chose the former.

The only indication that the door had opened was the sound of air whooshing through the open frame. It had slid open without so much as a creak. Sophie lay as still as she could and slowed her breathing.

"She's still not awake." Sophie recognized Livvy's voice.

"Should we wake her?" That was Mr. Forkle. Sophie's hands clenched into fists.

"Not yet." Livvy shuffled across the room and set something down on the floor, the sound of clinking bottles echoing through the room. "Elwin and I can only see the physical damage that has been done to her. You or Mr. Vacker will have to search her mind to see what the Neverseen has done. Otherwise, I have no idea what is going on with her."

"When I tried to read her mind before, it seemed as if it were trying to keep me out and plead for help at the same time," Mr. Forkle said. "I was only able to spend a few minutes inside. There were no holes, blank spots, or fractured memories. It was the most peculiar thing I've ever seen."

"What about her emotional center?" Fitz's voice carried from the door. Sophie hadn't heard him walk in. 

Apparently, neither did Mr. Forkle or Livvy. "Mr. Vacker," Mr. Forkle said.

"Her emotional center," Fitz repeated. "Did you check it? You said all her memories are still intact, right? But she hates us." His voice cracked. Sophie scoffed. Well, in her head. She didn't want to blow her cover.

Fitz cleared his throat. "What if the Neverseen found a way to change her emotions? If they screwed with that, maybe all of the feelings of safety and love she had around us would be flipped."

"That's an interesting theory." Mr. Forkle paused. "But it doesn't quite explain why she was talking about the Neverseen 'telling her the truth'. That would suggest that she still remembers the positive feelings, only that the Neverseen changed how she viewed them." Another pause. "No, it is more likely that the Neverseen planted false memories."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, because mental shenanigans isn't my specialty." Livvy tapped a vial to prove her point. "But how could something as simple as fake memories change Sophie's emotions so drastically that she would willingly join the Neverseen?"

"Because they also messed with her emotional center," Fitz insisted. 

"It is most likely that the Neverseen did a mix of planting, altering, and changing," Mr. Forkle said. "For the memories they planted to seem authentic, they probably had to alter existing ones and add emotions. It would take much effort, but I could only imagine that the Neverseen would go to extreme lengths to use the Moonlark against us."

"Well, you can reverse it, right?" Livvy asked.

"Mr. Vacker and I will have to look into it more, but... it... should be possible."

"Well, that sure sounds reassuring." Livvy didn't sound reassured at all.

Sophie was outraged. If he put his grubby fingers anywhere near her head—

Fitz sounded a little bit desperate. "We have to figure something out. I just want her back. We all do."

"Yes," Mr. Forkle agreed. "We're trying out best, Mr. Vacker, but we don't want to take action before we really know what's going on."

Sophie didn't believe a word they were saying. The Neverseen didn't plant memories or mess with her emotions. The only people who did that were the Black Swan. They probably knew that she was awake, and had staged this whole conversation so she would question her commitments and let them mess with her head even more. 

What, did they think she was gullible?

"What of her physical condition?" Mr. Forkle addressed Livvy.

"She has a few new scars, but other than that, she actually seems... healthy. Well, a better diet wouldn't do her any harm. There are signs of weak nutrition in her cells, and from what Keefe told me the Neverseen ate, I wouldn't expect much less. Oh, and she definitely has more muscle."

The door opened again. Sophie recognized the footsteps of Tiergan-as-Granite. "The Neverseen planted memories," he said.

"How do you know?" asked Mr. Forkle. "We were just discussing that as a theory."

"I'm assuming you saw that there were no broken or missing memories when you went in." He paused. "But I located other memories that felt... too pristine. Like they hadn't actually been lived through. And the more I tried to look into them them, the more they seemed out of place, and seemed to shatter under scrutiny."

Fabric rustled as he dug through his pockets. He pulled out a vial and tapped it. "Mr. Dizznee helped me come up with this."

Livvy took it from him. "It has limbium in it."

Sophie's eyes shot open.

"Yes," Granite agreed. "The concoction will wipe away all false memories. All we have to do is give it to her."