Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 3) by Shannon Messenger

Author:Shannon Messenger [Messenger, Shannon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2014-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-SIX

WARM SALTY WIND PRICKLED THEIR noses as Sophie and Fitz reappeared on a long stretch of pristine beach. The waves glowed with swirls of pink and green, but it felt wrong to be somewhere safe and breathtaking while the world was burning.

“How did this happen?” Fitz asked quietly. “I didn’t even feel Fintan move. How could he have called down Everblaze?”

Sophie didn’t have an answer.

“We should get started,” she said, tucking the stellarscope under her arm and reaching for the first glass bottle. She didn’t realize she was shaking until the bottle slipped from her hands, landing with a soft thud in the silky white sand.

“Hey,” Fitz said, catching the scope as she nearly dropped it, too. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

But she could hear the tears rising in her throat, and now that she felt them, she couldn’t hold them back.

Fitz pulled her close, letting her cry on his shoulder as he whispered, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Is it?” She wiped her runny nose on her smoky, singed sleeve. “Do you think everyone got out in time?”

“I don’t think my dad would’ve kept that from us, do you?”

“I guess not.”

But they both knew Alden was very good at hiding things.

“I’m sorry I wouldn’t let you search for your dad,” she whispered.

“You mean when I wanted to run into the fire like an idiot?” His chest heaved with a sigh. “Thank you for stopping me. And um . . . thanks for saving my life. I was way too panicked to figure out how to get out of there.”

“Yeah, well you saved me first. I had no idea the Everblaze was burning. If you hadn’t pulled me back, I doubt I would’ve gotten out of there in time.”

“I guess this proves we make a good team.”

A stretch of silence passed before he whispered, “Do you really think Eternalia is going to burn?”

“Not if I can help it.”

She pulled away and grabbed the stellarscope, remembering why they were there. A tiny spout protruded from the narrow end of the scope, and she attached a bottle and hefted the heavy gadget up to her eye.

“Which star do you need to find?” Fitz asked, lining up the other bottles on the sand.

“Elementine is one of the unmapped stars.” She could only find it because of the Black Swan’s carefully planted secrets.

She searched the sky for the six stars her Universe assignment had taught her to look for. The list had actually been prepared by the Black Swan as a clue, and when she connected the dots between the stars, the lines pointed to an empty space, where Elementine was hidden by the darkness.

“Wait,” Fitz said, removing his cape. He tore off two long shreds from the end and handed them to her. “Elwin still talks about how bad the burns on your hands were.”

Sophie could definitely remember the pain—though the yeti pee balm he’d used to treat the injuries had probably been the worst part of the experience.

She handed Fitz the stellarscope and tied the strips around her hands like bandages.

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