Шеннон Мессенджер - Keeper of the Lost Cities

Edaline covered her trembling lips and raced to Sophie, crawling into the bed to hold her so tight it was almost hard to breathe. Grady dropped to his knees on the floor beside them, squeezing Sophie’s arm.

“I’ll just . . . give you guys a minute,” Elwin said, fleeing the scene as they all started crying.

Grady cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “Sorry, we don’t want to wear you out. It’s just a little overwhelming to get you back. We went to your funeral. . . .”

Another sob shook Edaline’s shoulders before she released Sophie and pulled herself up, squeezing Sophie’s hands. “Losing you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever endured,” she whispered, “but the worst part was knowing that you had no idea how much you mean to us.”

Grady squeezed both of their hands.

“We never wanted to love anyone again after we lost Jolie,” Edaline whispered. “But we love you, Sophie. You’re just as much our daughter as she was. We need you to know that—not because we want you to forgive us, but because you deserve to know.”

“Canceling your adoption was the worst mistake we’ve ever made,” Grady added. “You’ll always have a home with us at Havenfield, but we understand if you want to stay with Alden and Della. We just hope you’ll come visit sometime. Let us be a tiny part of your life—even if we don’t deserve it.”

Sophie nodded, too overwhelmed to say anything other than, “Thanks.” But when Edaline kissed her cheek and Grady stroked her hair, she added, “I love you guys too.”

They both smiled, and even though they were still thin and tired, they looked more like themselves. Edaline kissed her cheek again.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Grady pulled a tiny furball out of his pocket.

“Iggy!”

Iggy flitted to her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek. Sophie gagged. “Ugh, I forgot about Iggy breath.” She scratched his fuzzy head, and his crackly purr filled the room. “Thanks for your help in the cave, little man.”

Edaline sniffled. “He did come and find us. Took us a while to figure out what he wanted, and by the time we got down to the caves there’d been a huge wave and . . .” Her voice vanished.

Sophie squeezed her hand. “I’m safe.” She tried to believe the words were true.

Grady stood up as she yawned. “We’ll let you sleep.”

She didn’t want to sleep after losing so much time, but her body demanded it, and by the time Grady pulled the blankets around her and switched off the lights, she was already asleep, with Iggy snoring like a chain saw beside her.

S OPHIE’S DREAMS WERE A HORROR SHOWof ghostly voices and black figures and fire. She woke up tangled in covers, only to find an enormous gray beast towering over her. She screamed as black fear swirled through her mind and her whole body trembled.

“Stop, Sophie,” Alden warned, shaking her shoulders. “Stop, you’re hurting him.”

His voice washed the darkness away and her vision cleared. The gray beast twisted in pain on the floor.

“Sandor won’t hurt you,” Alden promised. “The Council assigned you a goblin bodyguard to keep you safe. It’s not a good idea to inflict pain on him.”

Her jaw dropped. “Inflict?”

Alden nodded. “It seems you’re an Inflictor. A melder causes temporary paralysis, so Dex was semiconscious during your escape. He told me you made everyone collapse in pain. I wondered if that meant you could inflict. You just did it to Sandor, so it appears you can.”

Her eyes widened and she turned to the barely conscious goblin on the floor. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean—”

“He’ll be okay in a minute,” Alden promised. “Goblins are tough.”

And yet she’d incapacitated him—without even trying. “But . . . I’m a Telepath. How can I have two special abilities?”

“It is possible to have more than one. Rare. But considering how special you are, I wouldn’t be surprised if you still have more abilities that you haven’t discovered.”

“What, I’ll just wake up and suddenly be able to walk through walls?”

“Not quite. Most abilities stay dormant until they’re activated—that’s why we have ability detecting. It seems like the trauma of the kidnapping activated some of your latent talents. That’s why you can inflict, why your concentration is stronger now—and Dex said you’re a Polyglot.”

“A what?”

“You speak languages instinctively, just by hearing them. It’s a very rare skill. You’ll be glad you have it as you advance in multispeciesial studies.”

“I guess.” She wasn’t sure she would ever be excited about having more weird talents.

“We’ll run some tests when you’re stronger. See if we can find out what else you can do.”

She shivered. She could still hear the ghostly voice of the kidnapper saying something similar while he interrogated her.

What if she didn’t want to find out anything else?

Sandor heaved himself to his feet and moved back to his post in the shadows. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s all right.” Sandor’s soft voice would’ve made more sense coming from a bunny than a seven-foot-tall, buffed-out goblin. He turned to Sophie and bowed. “It’s nice to know my charge can defend herself if I fail her.”

She shivered. “I take it this means you haven’t caught the kidnappers.”

Alden squeezed her hands. “We won’t let them get anywhere near you ever again. The nobility is working overtime following the leads we have.” He handed her a memory log and flipped to a blank page. “Do you remember anything that might help?”

“I was blindfolded the whole time, and I was too drugged to probe their minds. Plus, I was saving my concentration for transmitting. But the leader was a Pyrokinetic, so it had to be Fintan.”

“You’re sure he was a Pyrokinetic?”

She rubbed where his hands had seared her skin. “Positive.”

A deep pucker formed between his brows. “Then we have an unregistered Pyrokinetic. We’re still monitoring every move of the other Pyrokinetics, and it couldn’t be Fintan.”

“Why not?”

“The sample you collected proved the fires were Everblaze. Fintan was arrested the day you and Dex disappeared, and he’s been held in custody ever since, awaiting tribunal.”

“That actually makes sense. He asked me if I knew who he was, and when I guessed Fintan, he laughed. Then he burned me again.” She shuddered.

“I’m so sorry, Sophie,” Alden whispered, choking up. “When I think about what—”

“Don’t think about it,” she interrupted, hating to see him upset. “It’s over. I’m fine. And it’s not your fault.”

“In a way it is. I’m the one who declared your deaths and called off the search. If I hadn’t done that, we might’ve found you sooner.” He shook his head. “When they found your pendants in the ocean—and there had clearly been a tidal wave at the cave—I couldn’t see how it could be anything other than a tragic accident. I never considered kidnapping. I never thought the Black Swan would sink so low.”

“They didn’t. I don’t know who the kidnappers were, but they weren’t the Black Swan. In fact, I think the Black Swan rescued us.”

“That’s what Dex said. Are you sure?”

She nodded, trying to organize her memories—they were a muddled mess from the drugs. “I think the Black Swan are working against the kidnappers, and I think they sent me the notes and clues because they wanted me to stop the Everblaze.” She paused, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to the next question. “Do you think the kidnappers are the ones who started the Everblaze?”