Some of them are scared. Okay, a lot of them are scared. The Legacies were one thing but now this—a sudden, uninvited telepathic experience? I get that it’s a little much. I talk to them. Comfort them. I find that my mind is strong enough that I can hold multiple conversations at once while still zipping across the telepathic plane.

I assure them that they’re going to be okay. That it’s like a dream. I don’t tell them that I have no idea what I’m doing.

Then I get to New York. I snap up Sam first, mostly because I’m so excited he’s been awarded a Legacy, I just want to hug him. That creep Five, handsome Nine who I would also very much like to hug, some new girl—they all get pulled into my telepathic embrace. And then I get to John. I’ve had more practice using my telepathy on him than anyone; it should be easy. But like Six, he struggles against me. That’s when I notice the biggest and ugliest monster I’ve ever seen is looming over him and the others. John wants to fight. Or, well, he doesn’t want to get stepped on. I can’t say I blame him.

“Will this knock him out?” I ask Legacy. “Will he, like, get eaten?”

No. All will pass in the blink of an eye.

“Don’t worry, John,” I say triumphantly. “It’ll only take a second.”

I pull in John’s consciousness, too. That’s everyone. Every Garde on Earth. All their pulsing Loric heartbeats, pulled into my vast consciousness.

“So, what now?” I ask Legacy.

Watch.

CHAPTER

TWENTY

I’M SOMEWHERE ELSE. A PLACE THAT’S BOTH strange to me and familiar. I float through the air, able to see the entire scene around me, but not able to take any action. I can sense the hundreds of other minds along for the ride with me.

This is what Legacy wants to show us.

It is a warm summer night. Two vivid white moons hang in the cloudless dark purple sky, one in the north and one in the south. That means it’s a special time for my people. Two weeks out of the year the moons are like that and for those two weeks the Loric would celebrate. That’s where we are. Lorien.

I know this because Legacy knows this. What I don’t know is how far back in time we’ve gone.