Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) - Shannon Messenger Page 0,117

chose to not let the Black Swan almost kill you—again,” Keefe said when she’d finished. “And you think people are going to judge you for that?”

“They should,” Sophie mumbled. “I have the chance to have an ability—or maybe two abilities—that might actually help us take down the Neverseen. And I know better than anyone how badly we’re going to need that kind of power.”

“Yeah, but you also know better than anybody what it feels like to almost die from a huge allergic reaction,” Keefe countered.

“I do,” Sophie agreed.

Her sister had said pretty much the same thing when Sophie had hailed her to check on her after she’d leaped back to Havenfield. Amy had been firmly on Team Don’t-You-Dare-Let-Them-Convince-You-to-Risk-Your-Life-Again.

But… Amy was also human.

She didn’t really understand the gigantic problems the entire planet was facing, or how they threatened the safety of every single species.

“The thing is,” Sophie admitted quietly, “that’s not why I said ‘no’ to what Mr. Forkle was asking. I’m used to pain. I don’t like it—but it’s not like it’s a deal-breaker or anything. And I’m not that worried about surviving, since I’m pretty sure Mr. Forkle, Elwin, and Livvy would find a way to get me through. I even know how valuable the abilities might be. I just… I’m sick of everyone telling me to trust them when they clearly don’t trust me. And I’m really tired of no one caring about what I want when it comes to… pretty much anything. I mean, would it be so hard for someone to say, ‘Hey, Sophie, we get how rough this is for you and we want to do something to make your life a little easier’? Is that such an unreasonable dream? Especially since all I’ve been asking for is a tiny bit of personal information?”

“That one hundred percent makes sense,” Keefe promised, and Sophie felt her shoulders relax a little—until he added, “which is why I have to ask why I feel so much guilt coming from you when you say it. And yeah, it’s definitely guilt—don’t try to deny it. The same stuff that can shatter your sanity if you let it get out of control, so… we kinda need to figure out how to stop you from feeling so much of that, okay?”

Sophie curled her knees into her chest, focusing on the subtle swaying of the swing in the cool ocean breeze. It made it easier for her to say, “I guess it’s because I’m being selfish. And I’m supposed to be better than that.”

“Because you’re the moonlark?” Keefe asked.

She nodded. “The entire reason I exist is so I can use my abilities to stop the Neverseen. I didn’t have parents who loved me and wanted to have a child to add to their family—”

“Neither did I,” Keefe pointed out. “I’m here for my ‘legacy.’ ”

“I know,” Sophie said, hating that Keefe had to live with that. “But… at least for you, doing the right thing means ignoring all of their plans. It’s the opposite for me. I was created to do a job. A pretty important one, from what I can tell. And here I am, refusing to do it simply because I’m trying to find a way to make my life a little more normal. And that’s just… really selfish and silly of me. It’s like an Imparter saying, ‘Hey, I’m sick of you telling me who to hail all the time—I’m not going to do it anymore until you tell me why you made me a square!’ ”

“Uh, but you’re not an Imparter, Foster—though I appreciate the little voice you just did there to really sell the character,” Keefe teased. “But in all seriousness… I see what you’re trying to say. The thing is, though, the Black Swan didn’t make a gadget. They made a person. So they’re going to have to deal with the fact that you have a mind of your own—and a pretty darn smart one too. It’s okay to trust yourself sometimes. If something feels wrong to you, it probably is wrong. And if it feels like someone’s taking advantage of you, they probably are.”

“I guess.” Sophie sighed, hugging her knees tighter. “But… I keep thinking about how I’m going to feel if someone gets hurt the next time we run into the Neverseen, and I’ll have to wonder if I could’ve stopped it if I hadn’t been so stubborn and agreed to fix my inflicting.”

“But you shouldn’t do that.” Keefe reached toward her, and for a second she