Шеннон Мессенджер - Keeper of the Lost Cities

“Washers?”

“Telepaths trained to erase memories. I’m sure the Council has sent them by now.”

She forced her arms to let go of him and wiped her tearstained face on her shirt. “Just give me a second.”

“I’ll go get your bags. Are they upstairs?”

She pointed to her worn purple backpack. “This is all I’m taking.”

“That’s all?”

“What am I supposed to take? What am I going to need it for?”

“It’s now or never, Sophie. Don’t leave anything behind that you might regret later.”

“No, there’s nothing—” She stopped as she realized there was. Something she’d decided to leave because she was too embarrassed to take it with her. Something she suddenly couldn’t bear to leave without.

“Ella,” she whispered. Saying the name made her feel a tiny bit better. “I haven’t slept without her since I was five. I thought I should leave her behind, but—” She couldn’t finish.

“Where is she?”

“Upstairs, on my bed. She’s the bright blue elephant wearing a Hawaiian shirt.” She blushed, but he didn’t laugh. Somehow he seemed to understand.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see her family’s limp bodies, and counted the seconds until Fitz returned. When he handed her the worn blue elephant, she was surprised at how much better she felt. Now she had something to hold on to. One thing she loved was coming with her.

“I’m ready to go,” she said with sudden determination.

Fitz helped her to her feet and led her to the door. A big part of her wanted to look back one last time, but she kept her eyes forward. Then, clutching Ella with one arm and Fitz with the other, she took the two hardest steps she’d ever taken—out of the past, and into the future.

A LDEN AND DELLA WAITED OUTSIDE,pacing in the glow from Everglen’s enormous gates. As soon as the doors swung open, Della wrapped Sophie in a tight hug, stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be okay. Sophie waited for the tears to come, but she’d cried herself out.

“No one saw us,” Fitz assured Alden, handing over the black pathfinder.

“Thank you, Fitz. My dear, you might want to let her breathe,” he told Della.

Della released her from the stranglehold, and Sophie took a shaky breath.

“Are you okay?” Alden asked, deep shadows haunting his face.

“No,” she admitted.

He nodded. “It gets easier from here.”

“I hope so.” She hugged Ella. “What happens now?”

“Della and I are going to personally oversee your family’s relocation. Fitz can help you get settled in here while we’re gone.”

“Here? I’ll be living here?” Hope flared. Living with Alden and Della would be amazing.

Della wrung her hands. “Oh, Sophie, we would love that—we even offered. But the Council wanted you placed with other guardians.”

Guardians? The title sounded cold and formal.

“I selected them personally,” Alden assured her. “They’re good friends of ours. You’re going to like them.”

“Okay,” she agreed without much enthusiasm. It was hard to be excited about living with strangers, but she was too worn out to think about it.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Alden said. “Right now we have to get going. Fitz, Elwin’s waiting to see Sophie.”

Fitz nodded.

Della gave Sophie one more hug before she moved to Alden’s side. He held the blue-crystaled pathfinder to the light.

“Where are you moving my family to?” Sophie had to ask.

Alden sighed. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I can’t tell you that.”

It took her a second to understand why. “You’re afraid I’ll try to see them.”

“The temptation might be hard to resist.”

A shiver raked through her as the reality settled into her bones. She would never see her family again. She was an orphan.

“Why don’t you take Sophie inside, Fitz?” Alden suggested quietly. “Elwin’s waiting for her in the conservatory.”

Fitz tried to lead her away, but Sophie turned back to face Alden. “My family always wanted a house with a big backyard, so they could get a dog.”

“That can be arranged,” Alden promised.

“We’ll take good care of them,” Della added. “They’ll have money, security, everything they could ever want, well, except . . .”

She didn’t finish the thought.

Any doubt Sophie might have had about choosing to be erased disappeared in that moment. Knowing she’d saved her family from feeling the throbbing ache she was suffering made it worth it. Her last gift to them, to thank them for everything they’d done for her. They didn’t ask to raise an elf as their daughter—and it certainly hadn’t been easy.

Which made her wonder . . . why them?

How had two average humans ended up raising an elf—without knowing it?

More important, why?

She met Alden’s eyes, her lips already forming the question, but stopped at the last second. She wasn’t ready to hear about the family who’d abandoned her. Whatever their story was, she doubted it was a good one, and she’d had pretty much all the bad news she could take for one night. So she let Fitz lead her, deciding not to watch as Alden and Della disappeared to wipe away all trace of her existence.

“WHO’S ELWIN?” SOPHIE ASKED ASFitz led her down another long, glittering hallway.

“He’s a physician. He’s going to do a quick physical on you.”

She froze as needles and other medical horrors flashed through her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hate doctors.” She knew she should put on a brave face in front of Fitz, but she couldn’t. She still had regular nightmares about her brief hospital stays.

“You’ll be fine, I promise.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, laughing as she struggled to resist. He didn’t seem to notice the way her whole body trembled.

“What are you doing?” Biana asked from behind them.

“Nothing,” Fitz told her, dragging Sophie a few steps in the right direction.

“Where were you? I asked Dad, but he wouldn’t tell me.”

“That’s because it’s none of your business,” Fitz said.

“Will you tell me later?”

“Drop it, okay? I’m a little busy right now.”

“I can see that,” Biana grumbled, glaring at their hands.

Sophie tried to jerk free, not sure if she liked what Biana was implying.

Fitz tightened his grip. “Don’t even think about it. I’m taking you to Elwin, and you’re going to see it’s no big deal.”

She lost the will to resist under Biana’s glare, so she let him pull her to an arched, golden door at the end of the hall.

Fitz stood behind her, blocking any possible escape. “I’ll take your stuff to your room. Why don’t you hang on to Ella?” he whispered. “Maybe she’ll help.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

She handed over her backpack but made no move to open the door.

Fitz leaned toward her. “I tell you what. If anything bad happens in there, I’ll let you punch me in the stomach as hard as you can. Sound fair?”

She nodded.

She caught Biana glaring at them again as Fitz pulled the door open and nudged her inside, but she was far too terrified to care.

THE GLASS WALLS OF THEconservatory bathed everything in soft moonlight, and enormous plants grew in glowing pots around the room. Some of the gigantic flowers looked like they could eat her, but Sophie barely noticed them. She kept her eyes glued to the man—the elf—leaning over her low, cushioned cot, ready to bolt the second he pulled out a syringe.

“This goes a lot faster if you hold still,” Elwin said as he adjusted her pillow.