Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“It’s possible,” Marella agreed. “Just because he’s gone doesn’t
mean he’s helping the enemy. He seemed pretty against that.”
He had. But . . . that was before something happened that no one
else seemed to have noticed. And Sophie was tempted to leave it that
way—tempted to keep everyone in the dark until she knew for sure,
since it was only going to make Fitz hate her more than he already did.
But if she was right, her friends needed to know what they were
dealing with. So she forced herself to blurt out, “I think Alvar might’ve
gotten his memories back.”
Biana wrapped her arms around herself. “You mean when he
collapsed and groaned like that?”
Sophie nodded.
“What was the trigger?” Fitz asked, and it was the calm in his voice
that got her, like he’d moved beyond rage to a scary sort of numb.
“I can only guess,” she told him quietly. “But . . . it might’ve been
the sound of Vespera’s voice. That’d explain why she stayed silent up
until then—which seemed super weird—and why Alvar reacted as
soon as he heard it.”
“That makes sense,” Wylie agreed. “And it’s pretty smart, actually,
since it’s something they knew Alvar wouldn’t hear until they wanted
his memories to come back.”
Fitz’s laugh was dark and cold—followed by a sharp intake of
breath. And he rubbed his chest as his eyes focused on Sophie. “If he
hurts someone, it’s on—”
“He won’t,” Keefe jumped in, saving Sophie from finding out if Fitz
had been planning to end that sentence with “you” or “us.” “You’re
tracking him, right, Foster?”