Flashback ( PDFDrive )

turned out to be her protector and creator.
A voice she’d once feared had fallen silent forever.
“Aren’t you worried someone will see you?” she had to ask, since
his Forkle identity was meant to be much more mysterious. Plus, the
Neverseen were supposed to think he was dead.
“He transformed in here,” Elwin said behind her, and Sophie turned
to find him studying Mr. Forkle through his iridescent spectacles. “I
swear, my eyes still don’t want to believe what I saw. I think I need to
study ruckleberries more. I’ve clearly been underestimating how
potent those little things are.”
“But what if people notice the principal is missing?” Sophie asked.
“I’m hoping it will be an uneventful day,” Mr. Forkle admitted. “But
if anything comes up, Lady Cadence is prepared to cover for me—as is
Elwin. It appears having others in on the secret is going to be key, now
that it’s harder for me to sneak away.”
“Why is that, by the way?” Elwin asked as he handed Sophie her
morning tray of medicine.
“It’s a very long story,” Mr. Forkle told him, staring blankly into the
distance. “And one I don’t have time to share today.”
“I take it you’re not going to tell me where you’re going on these
mysterious errands?” Sophie asked.
His lips pulled into a half smile. “And here I thought you’d be
happy to have things back to normal.”
She closed her eyes, needing a few seconds to let the words sink in.
Back to normal.
That’s what this was—even if it would be a new normal for a while.
And she was determined to make the best of it.