Reversed

l. fifty

"Do you want to keep going through your significant memories to see how much things were affected by the Neverseen?" Keefe asked.

Sophie nodded. "How about we look at the Peace Summit? If they wanted to plant a spot where I would've started to 'switch over', it might be there. Fintan had a lot to say about the Lodestar Initiative there."

"Sounds good." They clasped hands, and Sophie closed her eyes.

She reached out to Keefe with her mind, searching for his thoughts to latch on to. Where were they? There—

A headache erupted against the inside of her skull, and Keefe jumped, sucking in a breath. He could feel her pain. She ripped her hands away and gripped her skull, bending over at the middle and trying to take in deep breaths.

This headache was one of the worst ones yet.

"Hey, hey," Keefe said, slowly peeling here hands away from her face. Black spots danced across her vision, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Make it stop—

Tiny, blue breezes brushed over her consciousness, and finally, Sophie was able to breathe normally again. Her senses flooded back to her, and she was able to register her feet on the floor and the smell of the room and Keefe's hand in hers, rubbing small circles over her palms.

She took a shuddering breath. She was fine. It was okay.

"Do you know what that was?" She finally rasped.

Keefe shook his head. "No, I don't."

Sophie dropped her head into her hands again. "Why is this happening to me?" She whispered. "In what way did the Neverseen break me this time? Or was it the Black Swan? I'm losing track."

"They're not breaking you, Foster. You're here. You're breathing. Okay? Focus." She closed her eyes and lifted her head. "And as long as that's true, we'll get through this. Alright? No one is infallible—which means that we can beat whatever the Neverseen did to your system."

"Everyone keeps saying that. I'm still waiting for it to be true."

Keefe gave her a knowing smirk. "It will be."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Would you really settle for anything less?"

Sophie considered. "No."

"Exactly. And I know from experience that Foster Determination can outlast anything."

She took a deep breath, a renewed surge of energy coursing through her veins. "So . . . what are we going to do?"

"I could monitor things with my ability. If you focus hard enough on a memory, I can still feel what you're feeling without watching it."

"Okay." Sophie held out a hand, and Keefe twined their fingers together.

"Still down for the Peace Summit?"

"Great. Can't wait to relive this one."

Sophie thought back to the time when she'd sat down with the rulers of the world in a fancy dress to try and work out a deal between the ogres and elves. Thinking back, it was a little bit hazy, but when she concentrated . . .

"You actually listened to him," Keefe breathed.

Sophie nodded, eyes still closed. "We were right. They definitely used this as a turning point."

"This is so—so intricate," Keefe said. "It feels real."

Sophie gulped, but didn't respond. "What next?"