Flashback ( PDFDrive )

The name pinched her heart, jolting her awake.
Keefe had said everyone was still fighting, but when she checked
the clearing again, she realized Fitz and Biana were missing—and she
kind of hated herself for not realizing that sooner.
“They’re safe,” Keefe promised. “It’s just . . . kind of complicated.”
“Complicated,” Sophie repeated, hating how ominous that sounded.
Injuries could be complicated. Especially serious ones.
“They’re safe,” Keefe assured her again. “They’re just . . . in the hive
—which isn’t as scary as it sounds.”
“Uh—there are still five unhatched newborns in there, ready to
hatch any second!” Sophie argued.
“Actually, there aren’t. It’s still the middle of the night. They won’t
hatch until the morning.”
“Maybe that’s what Tarina says, but since seven of them have
already hatched, I’m thinking—”
“Only three,” Keefe corrected. “Three hatched early. The other four
were freed.”
“Freed.” She knew she needed to stop repeating what he said—but
it’d been a long day and her brain was having trouble computing.
Keefe blew out a breath. “Okay, I’ll give you the short version and
let Fitz fill in the details. It turns out . . . Alvar snuck into the hive
while we were fighting and slashed four more membranes.”
“Alvar’s still here?” She’d assumed he’d been the first to flee when
everything turned scary and deadly—though maybe that was foolish,
since the Warden wouldn’t let him leave the property.
“Sorta. Like I said . . . it’s complicated. I’ll take you to Fitz as soon as
we get the all clear, and then it’ll make a lot more sense—I swear.”