Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“Oh, are we to the part where you pretend to walk away?” Fintan
asked.
“No, we’re to the part where we actually walk away,” Sophie told
him, leaning closer to the curve of ice separating them. “You want to
know why we took so long to come here? Because we’ve realized that
You. Don’t. Matter. Vespera would’ve amended all of her plans the
second you were arrested. And Gisela’s running things now anyway.”
“Trust me—Vespera won’t let anyone run her. And certain parts of
her plans can’t change—not unless she wants to wait for the next
Celestial Festival.”
Fitz sat back down.
Fintan smirked. “Looks like I finally have your attention.”
Should we shove into his mind now? Fitz transmitted. Whatever he
wants to tell us has to be close to the surface.
And I’m sure it’ll be mixed with a bunch of lies, so we won’t be able to tell
what’s actually important, Sophie warned. I think it’s better to keep him
talking, at least until—
“Ooh, looks like I’ve even got you conferring telepathically,” Fintan
said, tilting his head to study them. “And since I’m assuming you’re
discussing some foolish plan to infiltrate my memories, let me remind
you: You’ve never learned anything from me that way—and I can
assure you, that’s not going to change today. And thanks to how long
you stalled this meeting, you’re just a week shy of the festival. So how
about you try playing it smart from now on and do things my way?”
“What’s your way?” Fitz demanded.
“A simple barter. You agree to give me what I want. I tell you what
you need. And since I’m sure you’re about to claim that you can’t trust
me—I’ll prove that you can. I’ll give you each one free question. No