Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) - Shannon Messenger Page 0,207

willing to take,” Alvar said quietly. “Because your mom planned everything so carefully—but I knew the moment I met you, you’ll never be who she wants you to be. Remember that, okay? Consider it my parting gift, since I always liked you more than I liked my actual little brother.”

Keefe turned away, and Sophie wished she had her gloves on so she could reach for his hand, knowing how hard those words must’ve hit him.

There’d been a time when Keefe had thought of Alvar like a brother too.

Looked up to him—wanted to be him.

And now…

“No matter what happens next, you can still be you,” Alvar promised Keefe. “But you’re probably going to have to fight a lot harder.”

“What does that mean?” Sophie demanded.

Alvar shook his head. “That’s all you get for free. If you want the rest, you have to let me go.”

He crossed his arms, pressing his chapped lips together. And Keefe opened his mouth, clearly ready to tell Alvar where he could shove his bargain—but Sophie stepped in front of Keefe so he could see the look in her eyes as she told him, “I think you should take the deal.”

Keefe blinked.

“I know,” she mumbled, hardly believing the words herself. But that didn’t stop her from repeating, “You should take the deal. Think about it—what do we gain by turning him over?”

“Uh, we make sure he can’t cause any more trouble?” Keefe reminded her.

“I know, but… look at him,” she argued. “Does he really look like a threat? And this might be our last chance to learn something about what your mom is planning before she makes her next move.”

“But—”

“I let Brant go,” Sophie reminded him. “He had information about the ambush on Mount Everest, and I let him go to get it—and I don’t regret it, even with all the horrible things he did afterward. Sometimes, when there’s no great option, you make the deal that gets you what you need to know right then—and if we decide to hunt Alvar down after that, I’m sure we can find him again.”

Keefe chewed his lower lip so hard, his teeth left little dents. “Okay… but… if Fitz finds out—”

“I know,” Sophie interrupted.

There was a decent chance Fitz would hate her for this forever—and if he did, she would have to deal with that.

But knowing that didn’t change anything. “It’s still the right decision,” she promised. “Even with the fallout.”

“I agree with Blondie,” Ro chimed in.

Sandor let out a squeaky sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… so do I. Alvar won’t get far in his condition. And I can’t see him doing a whole lot of damage.”

“He hasn’t done anything this whole time he’s been hiding here, right?” Sophie reminded Keefe.

Alvar flashed a tired smile. “Sounds like the majority has spoken. So are we ready to do this?”

Keefe stole another glance at Sophie.

“I’m sure,” she told him, before he could ask.

“Okay,” Keefe said, dragging a hand through his hair. “I… guess we are.”

“One more thing,” Ro told Alvar as he slowly struggled to his feet. “If you do anything—and I mean anything—that makes my boy or our pretty Blondie feel guilty for agreeing to this, I will find you and take great delight in making your final days as agonizing as possible.”

“I believe you,” Alvar told her, coughing as he pulled a crystal from his crumpled tunic—a crystal that looked like it’d been torn randomly out of a Leapmaster.

Keefe grabbed Alvar’s arm before he could hold the crystal up to the light. “Secrets first—then you can make your little escape path.”

“You really think I can run away?” Alvar coughed again, nearly toppling over in the process.

“Just tell us what you know,” Keefe demanded, tightening his grip on Alvar’s wrist.

Alvar cleared his throat, needing several gasping breaths before he said, “Your mom was very specific about the child she wanted. She wanted a son—and she wanted him to have a very unique ability. But she abhorred the idea of experimenting on her own kid, like the Black Swan was doing in Project Moonlark. So she did something to herself—and your dad—before she got pregnant. She never said what—but I know it involved the elements somehow.”

“How do you know that?” Sophie demanded.

Alvar shrugged. “I’m a Vanisher. I know how to sneak around and eavesdrop—and I figured it might be good for me to have a little dirt on Lady Gisela if I needed it. Clearly I was right.”

“And that’s it?” Keefe asked, laughing when Alvar nodded. “That’s the big