Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 8)

by Shannon Messenger

  “Only a little,” Sandor emphasized before making his way over to where Fitz’s bodyguard had just stepped out of the shadows.

  He offered Grizel his arm, and Grizel took one quick glance at her charge before she hooked her elbow around his with a wide smile. And as the two goblins wandered arm in arm toward one of the nearby pastures, Sophie couldn’t help envying their ease.

  They made the idea of a “happy couple” seem so much simpler than it was turning out to be.

  Sophie hoped she’d have the same thing someday.

  But for the moment, the best she could do was keep her smile in place as she made her way over to where Fitz stood waiting for her.

  “Sorry—have you been here long?” she asked. “I was…”

  She tried to think of something to say that might save her from having to use the name she definitely wasn’t ready to use yet.

  Before she could, Fitz told her, “Grady told me you went to meet with Councillor Oralie. What did she say?”

  “Say?” Sophie repeated, realizing how many different ways there were to answer that question.

  “About Alvar,” he clarified, and both words dripped with so much venom, Sophie was surprised the grass didn’t wither around them.

  “Oh…” She stalled, trying to remember Oralie’s exact words. “She said… she wasn’t sure what to do with that information.”

  Fitz huffed out a bitter laugh, turning away and tearing a hand through his hair. “Am I seriously the only one who realizes how dangerous he is?”

  “Was,” Sophie corrected gently. “You should’ve seen him, Fitz—”

  “Yeah, I should’ve,” Fitz jumped in, without a drop of sadness or sympathy over his brother’s sickly condition. “But you and Keefe apparently decided not to include me after you took over the project that I was working on.”

  Sophie closed her eyes, taking a second to remind herself that Fitz had every right to be upset.

  But for some reason that felt hard to believe at the moment.

  “You know what?” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Can we not do this right now? It’s late. It’s been a superlong day. You’re clearly upset—”

  “OF COURSE I’M UPSET—YOU LET ALVAR GO!” Fitz shouted over her, and somewhere from the shadows Sandor cleared his throat.

  Sophie shook her head in that general direction, trying to tell Sandor, I’m fine—please don’t interfere. And thankfully, no bodyguards came charging over.

  “Okaaaaay,” Sophie said, giving up on the whole wait-for-tomorrow plan. She motioned for Fitz to follow her over to Calla’s Panakes tree, hoping the soft melodies would clear both of their heads. “I’m assuming Keefe told you why we chose to make a deal with your brother.”

  “He did. And it might’ve made sense if you weren’t a Telepath—and yeah, I know, Alvar claimed he’s so great at hiding stuff. But come on, Sophie. That’s a load of garbage—and I would’ve told you that if I’d been there! And hey, we could’ve taken him on as Cognates! You really think we couldn’t have found that secret and dragged Alvar back to prison?”

  “I don’t know,” Sophie admitted, reaching up to rub her temples. “The thing is, Fitz, it’s not like I planned any of this. It all just sort of happened. I didn’t know we’d end up at Candleshade, and I definitely didn’t know your brother would be hiding out there, and… I just tried to make the best decision I could in the moment—and if you’d seen how awful Alvar looked…”

  “I still would’ve dragged him to prison!” Fitz insisted, tearing his hands through his hair again as he stalked a few steps away from her. “And the thing is, Sophie—okay, fine, maybe you didn’t know how it was all going to go today. But you knew you were going there to search Lord Cassius’s memories. And you knew I’d been working on that already, and—”

  “Exactly,” Sophie cut in. “He’d already figured out how to hide things from you.”

  Fitz huffed out another bitter laugh. “Wow. So that’s what you think, huh? I’m such a pathetically weak Telepath, even Keefe’s jerk of a dad can shut me down?”

  “Of course not!” Sophie promised, moving closer. “I never said that, Fitz. I just… I know that Keefe’s dad is good at getting around Telepaths. And you hadn’t found anything yet, so—”

  “So you thought the moonlark needed to swoop in and take over? The leader of Team Valiant? Lady Sophie Foster?”

  “Wow,” Sophie said, kind of wanting to smack him for that bratty sarcasm.

  But she took a deep breath and reminded herself where it was coming from.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, reaching for his hand. “If I could go back and do it all over again…”

  She was supposed to finish that sentence with, “I’d bring you with me.”

  But… she wasn’t sure if that was actually true.

  And she didn’t want to lie.

  So she just left the blank there for Fitz to fill in, holding her breath, hoping hoping hoping it would be enough.

  His fingers twined with hers, and she felt her shoulders relax.

  “I just… want us to be on the same page again,” he said quietly.

  “Me too,” Sophie told him, meaning it. “I don’t know why this is so hard, but—”

  “Wait, where are your gloves?” Fitz asked, lifting her hand up to study it.

  “Oh. I guess I left them in Eternalia,” she realized, still avoiding the name she didn’t want to think about.

  Her gloves were scattered across that shimmering floor, along with her fingernail gadgets. So it was apparently a good thing she’d left her enhancing switched off.

  “Am I crazy, or are Dex’s gadgets gone too?” he asked, squinting at her nails.

  “They… are,” Sophie said. “I… can control my enhancing now.”

  “Seriously?” He tightened his hold on her like he needed to test it. “That’s amazing! How are you doing it?”

  “It’s… hard to explain. There was this… exercise, and…” Against her will, her mind flashed to the look on Oralie’s face the moment they’d both realized it had been a success. She’d looked so genuinely happy and proud and—

  “Hey, are you okay?” Fitz asked, stepping closer and pivoting with Sophie as she tried to turn away.

  “I’m fine!” she said with a notable squeak to her voice, blinking hard—but not hard enough to catch all of her tears.

  “No, you’re not fine,” Fitz said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s just been a really long day.”

  “It has,” he agreed, trailing a hand gently down her back. “But I wish you’d tell me what happened. It feels like it’s more than just the stuff Keefe told me.”

  “I’m fine,” Sophie insisted, paired with a very “not fine” sniffle.

  “Did something happen with Councillor Oralie?” Fitz guessed—and Sophie couldn’t help flinching. “I take it that’s a yes?”

  “No, it’s…” Once again, Sophie didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

  And this time, Fitz didn’t fill in the blanks for her.

  “What?” he asked, leaning back to study her face. “I know there’s something, Sophie. Why won’t you tell me? You can tell me anything.”

  She shook her head. “Not this.”

  “Why not?”

  Fitz blew out a breath when she stayed silent, and Sophie realized she was going to have to give him something.

  “The thing is…,” she said, backing up a step to clear her head.

  It was too hard to think with his arms around her.

  “The thing is,” she repeated, “I really can’t tell you this. I can’t tell anyone. You’d understand why if you knew, but…”

  Fitz snorted. “You know who you sound like, right? Isn’t that the kind of junk Forkle keeps telling you when you ask about your biological parents?”

  Sophie flinched again.

  And it gave her away.

  “Wait,” Fit
z said, his eyes widening as he studied her. “Is that what this is about?”

  Sophie shook her head hard, trying to stop him from following that train of thought any farther.

  But Fitz had already decided. “You found out who your parents are—that’s why you’re so upset! And I get it, Sophie.” He took her hands again, gently tugging her closer. “That must be so impossible to process. I get why you’re not ready to talk about it yet—so don’t worry, I’m not going to pressure you. And I won’t ask who they are.”

  “Good,” Sophie told him, surprised by the snap in her tone.

  But Fitz…

  Fitz was smiling.

  Not a huge dopey grin or anything, but…

  He looked so relieved.

  And as much as she hated it, she needed him to understand.…

  “I can’t tell you who they are, Fitz,” she said, pulling her hands away. “Not now—not ever. Though, for the record, I only figured out one. They each don’t know who the other is, remember?”

  Fitz’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Does that mean you talked to one?”

  Before she could find a way to dodge that question, he jumped to the conclusion she’d really been hoping he wouldn’t.

  “Wait. Is it Councillor Oralie?”

  Sophie shook her head once again, hating the lie—but she had to stop this.

  “I told you I can’t tell you anything—and I thought you just said you weren’t going to ask.”

  The snap was back in her voice—even sharper this time—and Fitz definitely noticed.

  His jaw even locked for a second, and his face was all harsh shadows and angles.

  But he took a steadying breath of his own before he said, “You’re right. Sorry. You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

  Sophie had to laugh at that.

  Ugly, snorty giggles.

  Because he Just. Wasn’t. Listening.

  “No, I won’t, Fitz. I told you—I can’t tell anyone. Why do you think I’m so upset? I can’t tell anyone—and I’m going to have to live with what that means.”

  Fitz blinked as he processed that, not seeming to notice the tears gathering in her eyes.

  It felt like he was staring right through her as he decided, “It’s definitely Councillor Oralie.”

  And Sophie didn’t know if she wanted to scream or sob or shake him really, really, really hard until he finally heard what she was trying to tell him.

  But she was too tired for any of that.

  Fresh tears streaked down her face as she begged, “Please stop guessing, Fitz. Please. This is going to be awful enough. Just please. Please let it go. Please.”

  “Okay,” he promised, closing the distance between them and pulling her into a hug. “I’ll leave it alone.”

  “Thank you,” Sophie whispered, sinking into the hug.

  And for that one quiet second, everything was good.

  Or as good as it could be.

  And then Fitz asked, “But… what about the match?”

  And Sophie leaned back, meeting his eyes, trying to find the will to say the words he surely already knew were coming.

  But after the day she’d had, she didn’t have anything left.

  Fitz nodded slowly, his face shifting back into lines and shadows. “So… that’s the plan, then? You’re just going to keep this all a big secret and live with the consequences—and you didn’t think you should at least discuss that with me first?”

  “Discuss it with you?” Sophie repeated.

  “Um, yeah—you’re not the only one this affects!”

  And there it was.

  The truth they’d been dancing around, finally forcing them to face it.

  “You… don’t want me to be unmatchable,” Sophie mumbled.

  “Of course I don’t! No one wants that, Sophie—no matter what they’re telling you. And you don’t want it either—you know you don’t.”

  “I don’t,” Sophie agreed. “But I don’t have a choice.”

  “Really? Because it seems pretty simple to me. You’re fifty percent of the way there to fixing everything.”

  The sound she made was somewhere between a sigh and a weary laugh. “No, I’m not, Fitz. How many times do I have to say this? I. Can’t. Tell. Anyone.”

  “So… what you’re really saying is… protecting that secret is more important than your future?”

  “Sort of?” Sophie said, wanting to feel angry but instead feeling very, very sad.

  She wished she didn’t have to explain the next part, but she forced out the words. “I can still have a future, Fitz. It’ll be a little more complicated, but… what else is new?”

  She knew she was mostly trying to convince herself in that moment.

  But she really, really, really needed Fitz to agree with her.

  Instead, he said, “I… don’t think you’ve thought this through. But of course you haven’t. It’s late. You’ve had a long day with lots of huge stuff. So… can we just agree to not make any decisions right now?”

  “We?” Sophie repeated.

  “Uh, yeah. Like I said—this affects both of us, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we decide it together?”

  He actually said the words quite sweetly.

  Gently.

  Maybe even a little tenderly.

  But they were still all wrong.

  “No, Fitz—it’s my life. I’m the one who makes this decision.”

  Fitz straightened up. “Just like that.”

  She nodded.

  “And you’re not going to put any more thought into it,” he pressed. “You’ve just made up your mind, and that’s it—everything’s settled?”

  Sophie nodded again. “If you understood why—”

  “WELL, I DON’T!” Fitz interrupted. “Because you won’t tell me! And apparently I’m not even supposed to be guessing—and I’m just supposed to be super okay with this too! Like it isn’t going to also ruin everything for me.”

  And that was it.

  Right there.

  That was the cold, hard reality they’d both been trying to pretend away.

  There was something eerily calming about having it “out there.”

  Like some giant toxic cloud had been lifted off of them, clearing Sophie’s head enough for her to say, “So… I guess that leaves us nowhere, doesn’t it?”

  And for one second, she held her breath, hoping she was wrong.

  But Fitz sighed and said, “I think it does.”

  And his eyes were heartbreakingly sad as he held his home crystal up to the moonlight and slowly glittered away.

  FORTY-FIVE

  SOPHIE?” EDALINE ASKED, SLOWLY sitting down beside her on the cold, damp grass. “What’s wrong?”

  Sophie wanted so badly to assure her that everything was fine.

  But she didn’t know how to be brave at the moment.

  She’d sunk to her knees after Fitz had left and had been there ever since, watching the fluttering Panakes blossoms fall all around her, wondering how long she’d have to sit there until she was completely buried by flowers.

  As far as life goals went, complete petal submersion seemed like her best option—and it was definitely better than admitting to herself that some small part of her had stayed, hoping that Fitz would come back.

  She wouldn’t have needed some big, dramatic apology—though she wouldn’t have minded a little begging.

  But she would’ve been good with a simple We’ve both had tough days—can we start over tomorrow?

  Instead… they really were broken up—which felt so strange, since they’d barely been together.

  She’d still been getting used to thinking of him as her boyfriend.

  They hadn’t even kissed!

  And now…

  Now there would be so many ugly, painful, awkward, messy moments and conversations ahead.

  She might even lose a few friends.

  And she just couldn’t deal with any of it.

  “You don’t have to tell me what hap
pened,” Edaline promised as she wrapped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “But I would love it if you’d be willing to answer one question for me, okay? Just so I have some idea of which direction to focus my worrying.”

  Sophie’s stomach twisted at the last word, and she realized how knotted up her insides were. It felt like everything was one big tangle and she’d never unravel it all.

  She didn’t want Edaline feeling the same.

  So she forced herself to nod, and Edaline pulled her a little bit closer and whispered, “Did something happen with Fitz? Or Councillor Oralie?”

  The correct answer was both.

  And Sophie’s lips started to form the word, but…

  She couldn’t give Edaline the truth.

  And she wondered if maybe that was the real reason that Mr. Forkle hadn’t wanted her to look into her biological parents.

  He’d known the burden that would come with it.

  The role she’d have to play.

  The lies she’d have to tell, over and over.

  And she hated that in a strange way, her breakup was a good thing.

  It meant she could tell Edaline, “Fitz,” and have a perfect excuse for the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

  One ugly truth to cover everything she was hiding.

  “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Edaline said, shifting to pull Sophie into a full hug.

  And as Sophie sobbed against Edaline’s shoulder, some tiny piece of her crumpled heart smoothed itself out again.

  Because as much as she hated The Liar Who Didn’t Deserve to Be Mentioned, she also knew—with absolute certainty—that she didn’t need her.

  That mother had given her life.

  This mother gave her love.

  So did her father.

  And her human parents had once done the same.

  And that was all that mattered.

  She was officially done with her biological parents.

  In fact, she hoped she never found out who her father was.

  “Do you want to sleep out here again?” Edaline asked, snapping her fingers to conjure up a giant pile of pillows and blankets when Sophie nodded. In record time, Edaline had set up a huge bed for Sophie to crawl into, and even conjured up Ella while Sophie settled under the covers.

  “Will you stay with me?” Sophie whispered as Edaline kissed her good night. And she didn’t care if the request sounded silly or childish.