Шеннон Мессенджер - Keeper of the Lost Cities

She willed the words to be true, chanting them like a mantra as she shut herself in her room and changed into her pajamas.

Still, alone in the dark, with no one to tuck her in and no Marty on her pillow, she couldn’t keep up the brave face any longer. She curled into a ball and cried for everything she’d lost. But when she fell asleep, she dreamed of a life filled with friends and fun and finally belonging.

S HE’S ALIVE!” FITZ TEASED WHEN SOPHIEwandered into the living room the next day. He sat in an overstuffed armchair reading a book called Twenty-Five Ways to Catch the Wind . “You do realize you slept through breakfast and lunch, right?”

“I did?” Sophie looked around, trying to find a clock, but everything was covered in weird clothes—like a costume shop threw up on the furniture. “Sorry. I guess I was tired.”

“You had a rough day yesterday. Plus, your body needs rest while it detoxes,” Della said, materializing in the center of the room.

Sophie clutched her chest. She couldn’t understand how anyone could get used to the ghostly way Vanishers appeared.

Della frowned as she met Sophie’s eyes. “How are you doing?”

Sophie shrugged. She didn’t know how to answer.

“Well, you look great. Not that you weren’t pretty before, but I think that detox made a difference. You should see how shiny your hair is, and your eyes are so . . . exotic. You’re going to be quite the heartbreaker when you grow up.”

“Who is?” Biana strode into the room in a fitted dress with intricate gold embroidery that shimmered with every step. She looked way more glamorous than any twelve-year-old had the right to look.

“Sophie,” Della said, smiling at Sophie. “Doesn’t she look pretty today?”

There might’ve been things that were less embarrassing than that moment, but Sophie couldn’t think of any. Especially when Biana shrugged, and asked, “Isn’t that the same dress you wore yesterday?”

“All my other clothes were—” she started to explain, but Della held up her hand.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve sent something up for you. I’ve been shopping all morning.” She waved her arms at the explosion of clothes. “Behold. Your new wardrobe.”

“That’s all for me?” Was she going to be wearing five outfits a day?

Della winked “I got you everything you’ll need, plus a few extras. The only thing I didn’t get was a new nexus. I figured you’d want to pick your own. Unless you want to keep Fitz’s old, beat-up one.”

Sophie stared at the cuff on her wrist. “This was yours?” she asked Fitz.

He nodded.

She liked that—more than she wanted to admit. She fingered the sparkly stone, which was exactly the same color as his eyes. “Do you want it back?”

“I don’t need it anymore. It’s yours if you want it.”

She was very aware of everyone watching her, so she tried hard to sound casual as she said, “Might as well keep this one then, so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“If that’s what you want,” Della agreed with a smile. “I should be done packing all of this in a few minutes, and then I’ll get you some lunch.”

“Packing?” Her heart sank as Alden entered the room holding her backpack and Ella. “Are you kicking me out?”

She tried to make it a joke, but a touch of hurt leaked into her words.

Della rushed to take her hands. “Of course not. We thought you’d want to get settled into your new home. If you want to wait a few days, we’ll unpack your stuff right now.”

Sophie swallowed to steady her voice. “No, it’s fine. In fact, I don’t really want lunch. I’m not hungry.” Her stomach was so knotted with nerves there wasn’t room for food.

Della smiled sadly. “You’re going to like Grady and Edaline.”

Her palms dampened at the strange names. “What are they like?”

“They’re great,” Alden promised. “They run an animal preserve at Havenfield, so they always have all kinds of exciting things going on.”

“Do they have any kids?”

Della glanced at Alden.

He looked away. “Grady and Edaline lost their only daughter about fifteen years ago. Her name was Jolie. She was twenty when she died. It was . . . . terrible accident.”

Della covered her mouth with her hand.

Alden shook his head. “I’m not sure if they’ll mention it, so you might want to wait to see if they bring it up. That way you’ll know they’re ready to talk about it. And please don’t let that make you more nervous to meet them. I won’t deny that their loss has affected them, but they’re still two of the most wonderful people I know. You’re going to like them.” He offered her his hand. “Come on. Let’s go meet your new guardians.”

“WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL PRESERVE is this?” Sophie asked as a booming roar shook the ground. Fenced-in pastures spread as far as she could see, filled with creatures that looked like mutant, scrambled versions of animals. Ella—in her bright blue glory—suddenly looked normal.

“Havenfield is one of the rehabilitation centers for our Sanctuary,” Alden explained. “The animals are brought here first for training, before we release them into their protected home—and they’re not easy to catch. We’re still trying to trap Nessie. She’s quite the escape artist.”

“These things live around humans?”

“Where do you think the legends come from? Which is why it’s not safe for them. We’ve even had to collect endangered species—gorillas, lions, mammoths—”

“Mammoths are extinct,” she interrupted.

“Tell that to the thriving herd we have at the Sanctuary.”

“You have a herd of woolly mammoths?” Somehow that was harder to believe than goblins or ogres.

“We have colonies of everything. Mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, dinosaurs.” He laughed when her jaw fell slack. “Every species exists for a reason, and to allow one to die off would rob the planet of the unique beauty and qualities it provides. So we make sure they all continue to thrive. Grady and Edaline train the animals to be vegetarians by feeding them gnomish produce; that way they won’t hunt one another once they’re moved to the Sanctuary.”

Another roar interrupted their conversation. Whatever it was sounded like it wasn’t happy about its new diet plan.

The path they followed split, part of it winding down steep cliffs to a rocky beach lined with dark caves. Still, that path looked much less scary than the wide, flower-lined one they took to meet her new guardians.

The path led to a wide meadow, where gnomes were using thick ropes to lasso what looked like a giant lizard covered in neon green feathers. The beast thrashed in protest.

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen,” a husky male voice commanded from somewhere among the ropes and feathers.

ROAR!

“Okay. Here goes nothing,” he called.

The gnomes tugged on the ropes, pulling the beast’s neck low enough for a blond elf to heave himself up—no easy feat considering the beast was twice the size of an elephant.

SNAARRLL!

“I’m trying to help, you silly girl,” he yelled as the beast bucked and thrashed.

Sophie cringed, hoping she wasn’t about to watch her new guardian become lizard food.

“Need a hand, Grady?” Alden called.

“Nah. Almost got it.” He lunged and grabbed something black tangled in the feathers. It twisted and writhed, but Grady yanked it off, nearly losing his balance in the process. The fluffy lizard stopped struggling as Grady tossed the black thing to one of the gnomes and slid down the beast’s back. “Sorry about that,” he called to Alden, once he was back on the ground.