The words loomed over her as Grady followed Blur, Wraith, and Squall out of her room. Edaline started to follow, then turned back and hugged Sophie tight.

"We'll figure this out," she promised. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Fine" didn't sound nearly as comforting as Edaline probably wanted it to. But Sophie still told her, "Thanks."

Edaline hugged her again, then left Sophie alone with Mr. Forkle and Granite. Somehow the smaller group made it easier for her to ask the question she couldn't get away from.

"Do you think Keefe is bad?"

"'Bad' is a relative term," Mr. Forkle said. "All I can say is that he's become very reckless."

"So you think his guilt made him do this?" Sophie asked.

"I think he's desperate for answers we cannot give him," Granite said. "And this is the path he has chosen."

"But how is this a path?" Sophie asked. "The Neverseen will never trust him unless he convinces them he's one of them."

"And therein lies the recklessness," Mr. Forkle agreed. "It will be up to Mr. Sencen to decide his level of commitment."

Sophie's mind flashed to what Fintan told Keefe during their confrontation.

Surely you've realized that switching sides means betraying your friends.

Was that why Keefe had given her the necklace?

She stared at the bead he'd made. The tiny crystal she'd used to escape had dissolved-but it had been there.

And it had saved her.

But he hadn't known she'd be following him that day, so he must've made the bead for "just in case."

It helped thinking that, imagining Keefe trying to preplan for any possible dangers. Except . . .

He'd only made one bead.

"And you have no idea what he meant," Granite said, "when he mentioned that he'd regained memories his mother had erased."

Sophie shook her head. "All he said was that he was raised to be something else."

"Likely another part of this Lodestar Initiative," Mr. Forkle said. "We'll have to increase our efforts to learn more about it. Perhaps I should pay Gethen another visit."

"I'm going with you," Sophie said.

His mouth started to curve with a "no," but at the last second he changed it to, "Of course. I'll speak with the Council to arrange it. In the meantime I urge you not to make rash decisions. Don't be too quick to give up on your friend. But do not trust him blindly, either."

"What about the cache?" Granite asked, unleashing a whole new set of worries. "The Council won't be happy to know Sophie has lost it."

"We must recover the cache-quickly," Mr. Forkle said, "before the Council discovers it's missing."

"You mean we're not going to tell them Keefe stole it?" Sophie asked.

Mr. Forkle sat next to her on the bed, his bulky weight making her lean toward him. "This isn't the first time we've had to keep secrets from the Council. And it likely won't be the last. If the cache remains missing too long, we'll inform them. But to tell them now would only be a distraction."

"How are we going to get it back?" she asked.

"I'm still working on that," Mr. Forkle said. "But hopefully, with the right planning, we can recover everything we've lost."

The glint in his eyes made it clear he wasn't giving up on Keefe either.

"Sounds like she'll need a good bodyguard," a high-pitched squeaky voice said from the doorway.

Sophie jumped out of bed and sprinted across the room, throwing her arms around Sandor. She didn't mind at all when he lifted her off the ground, or the noseful of musky goblin scent.

"I'm not hurting you, right?" she asked, realizing how tight she was squeezing-even if it was hard to imagine hurting so much rock-hard goblin muscle.

Sandor laughed. "No, Miss Foster. I've never been better."

He set her down and turned to Mr. Forkle, informing him of the new security protocols Grady and the rest of the Collective had agreed upon, which included bodyguards for Fitz, Biana, and Dex, as well as regular observation of Everglen and the Hekses' house. The best news was that Sandor would resume his supervision of Sophie.

Sophie tried to listen to the rest, but she kept staring at the bead in Keefe's necklace. He'd chosen a Panakes blossom, which Calla had said could heal anything.

As she stared longer at the intricate flower, she noticed tiny letters painted into one of the petals-the same petal that had hidden the crystal that saved her.

Trust me.

Mr. Forkle cleared his throat, reminding her she wasn't alone.

"You're not alone," he said, making her wonder if he'd been eavesdropping on her thoughts. "And I think it's important for you to know that as you enter this next phase in your life. You're back in the Lost Cities. Back under the watchful eye of the Council. Returning to the routines of Foxfire. And I'm sure everything that's happened will make you question who's truly on your side. So I think it's time to finally answer a certain question you keep asking, don't you, Granite?"

"I do," Granite said, though he sounded wary.

They each pulled a small vial from their cloak pockets. Sophie didn't recognize the green liquid in the bottle Granite held. But she definitely recognized the callowberries in Mr. Forkle's hand.

She gasped as he popped one into his mouth and swallowed. Granite coughed and spluttered as he downed his elixir. For five seconds nothing happened. Then their bodies started shifting and shrinking. The process looked painful as their features tightened and twisted into their rightful places.

Sophie tried to guess which faces would soon stare back at her, but when the shift was complete, she discovered how wrong she'd been.

"You?" she whispered, not sure which of them stunned her more.

Mr. Forkle had turned into the tall, black-haired Magnate Leto, her Principal at Foxfire.

And Granite's rocky features had dissolved into the olive-toned complexion and blond hair of Sir Tiergan, her telepathy Mentor.

"Yes," they said, looking both proud and shy.

"The surest way to protect you was to be in your life," Tiergan told her, "even if it meant resorting to deception."

"So that means . . ." She couldn't finish the sentence, her mind splitting in too many different directions. All the times Sir Tiergan had helped her or guided her, all of Magnate Leto's strange looks and probing questions.

It seemed so obvious now-but also so impossible to wrap her head around.

"Is anyone who they really say they are?" Sophie asked, sinking back onto her bed.

"Yes," Magnate Leto-Mr. Forkle-whatever she was supposed to call him-told her. "You are, and always will be, Sophie Foster."

"And we will continue to watch over you. Which is why we've chosen to reveal ourselves. We want you to know that you're never alone," Granite-as-Tiergan said. "We're always here in one form or another. All you have to do is trust us."

That was what Keefe was asking for too, along with the final words he'd said to her.

Please don't hate me.

The request had never felt more impossible. But Sophie decided in that moment that she was going to grant it. She may not understand what he was doing. But she couldn't hate Keefe.

"There's the determination I've come to know so well," Mr. Forkle-as-Magnate-Leto said with a smile. "So let me leave you by sharing some encouraging news as well. Something to prove we are making progress. We have a long road ahead of us, with many challenges on the horizon-"

"This is supposed to be encouraging?" Sophie interrupted.

Mr. Forkle-as-Magnate-Leto sighed. "You kids are so impatient."

Sophie smiled at his familiar phrasing and motioned for him to continue.

"As I was saying," he said, "the tides are turning in our favor. Our losses have been small, and our gains have been great. Especially since Mr. Tam agreed to a favor this morning." He paused to smile at Granite-Tiergan before turning back to Sophie. "As of this morning, Prentice is awake."

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Okay, I know you probably started reading this secretly hoping it was the beginning of Book #5, but alas. IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT, I PROMISE.

(Unless you're one of my future fans, reading this when the book is already out-in which case, why are you still here? Go get Book #5!) This is why I love you guys so much. You make me wish I could write even faster, so there'd never be a delay between books. But since I haven't manifested that ability-and have yet to find a TARDIS-thank you for your patience and enthusiasm and devotion and letters and fan art and cupcakes and all the other incredible things you do to prove that I have the Best. Readers. EVER.

This series also wouldn't exist without the constant guidance and support of Team Shannon! (Shhhh-they don't know I call them that!) Laura Rennert, can you believe this is our sixth book together? I'm running out of clever ways to thank you! So I'll just hand you some tea and say, "Here's hoping for many more books to come!" I also must thank everyone at Andrea Brown Literary, as well as Taryn Fagerness, for spreading the Keeper love worldwide. And to my foreign publishers, thank you for everything you do to share these stories with your readers.

Liesa Abrams, this is our sixth book together too. Somehow, I keep winning the editor lottery! Thank you for your constant, tireless energy and for helping me mold this story into the book it needed to be. *sends you all the gluten-free cupcakes and cookies* I also want to thank everyone at Simon & Schuster for the love they show this series, especially Mara Anastas, Mary Marotta, Katherine Devendorf, Emma Sector, Carolyn Swerdloff, Teresa Ronquillo, Jennifer Romanello, Ksenia Winnicki, Lucille Rettino, Michelle Leo, Anthony Parisi, Betsy Bloom, Matt Pantoliano, Amy Bartram, Mike Rosamilia, and the entire sales team. Plus an enormous THANK YOU to Karin Paprocki, for continuing to outdo herself with my covers, and to Jason Chan, for his jaw-droppingly gorgeous artwork.

Thank you, Sara McClung, for stepping in with a sanity-saving (and game-changing!) brainstorming session when I needed it most. I could never write a Keeper book without you. Tremendous thanks also go to Victoria Morris, for being the voice of encouragement and reason that guided me through the final push. And thanks to Kari Olson, for being the one I go to with All The Questions (even if your answers often unhelpfully involve Keefe and kissing).

Special thanks also go to Amelie Mantchev, Barbara Sutherland, and Kerry Sutherland, for being my incredible fact-checkers and helping make sure I'm keeping my details straight. Now I can blame you guys if there are any mistakes. (I kid, I kid!) You guys rock!

I also have no idea what I'd do without the amazing authors I turn to for advice, motivation, commiseration-whatever I need to survive this hectic business. Thank you, Erin Bowman, Zac Brewer, MG Buerhlen, Lisa Cannon, Christa Desir, Debra Driza, Nikki Katz, Lisa Mantchev, Ellen Oh, Andrea Ortega, Cindy Pon, CJ Redwine, James Riley, Amy Tintera, Kasie West, Natalie Whipple, and Sarah Wylie. I'm probably forgetting some of you-hazards of deadline brain-so if I have, know that I'll forever kick myself for leaving you out!

And I will seriously never be able to properly thank the many teachers, librarians, bloggers, and booksellers who've helped this series grow, especially Mel Barnes, Alyson Beecher, Katie Bartow, Lynette Dodds, Maryelizabeth Hart, Faith Hochhalter, Heather Laird, Katie Laird, Kim Laird, Barbara Mena, Brandi Stewart, Kristin Trevino, Andrea Vuleta, and so many others. I could add another hundred pages if I tried to thank you all-and my publisher would probably strangle me-so if you're not mentioned, please know I adore you and am forever grateful.

To my parents, thank you for your never-ending support, for your determination to get Keeper in the hands of every single kid and for the steady supply of home-cooked food during the crazed deadline days when the mere thought of more take-out made me want to hide.

And, saving the best for last, I absolutely must thank my husband, Miles, who truly makes all of this possible. I'm sure it's not easy being married to someone who spends so much of their day living in an imaginary world. Thank you for always giving me a reason to come back to reality.

COPYRIGHT 2012 BY DEVENDE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Also by Shannon Messenger.

The KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES Series.

Keeper of the Lost Cities.

Exile.

Everblaze.

Neverseen.

The SKY FALL Series.

Let the Sky Fall.

Let the Storm Break.

Coming Soon.

Let the Wind Rise.

end.