Read Online Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities) by Shannon Messenger - Free Book Online Page A

intricate swirls was a black curl with a pointed end, like the curve of a bird’s neck, ending in a beak.
    The sign of the swan.

NINE
    I T’S ABOUT TIME,” SOPHIE WHISPERED , even though her hands were shaking.
    She’d been waiting for the Black Swan to make contact ever since they’d revealed themselves with her rescue. Maybe they were finally going to explain why they’d made her and what they wanted her to do.
    It did feel strange knowing they were still watching her, though—still planting messages and clues in the shadows, waiting for her to find them.
    She glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see a face peeking through the trees. But the woods were as silent and empty as ever.
    Sophie studied the inscription again, which must’ve beenwritten in their special cipher runes—the only runes she could read, thanks to the way the Black Swan trained her brain.
    “I thought you knew the Black Swan’s code?” She’d seen Grady looking through scrolls with cipher runes tucked in the margins.
    “Only a few scattered phrases.” His voice had turned dark. Angry, almost. “What does it say again?”
    “Let the past be your guide.” She moved the compass in every direction and the arrow always pointed north, just like it was supposed to. So the clue had to be the message itself.
    Couldn’t they just say, Meet us here and we’ll explain everything ? Was that really so much to ask?
    “Put the charm down, Sophie,” Grady ordered, so loud it made her jump.
    “What? Why?”
    “You’re not taking another thing from them. If they want your help, they need to turn themselves in to the Council, face up to their actions—”
    “What actions?” Grady had been strange about the Black Swan—always getting angry or changing the subject whenever she brought them up or asked about the Council’s search to find them. “You’re acting like they’re the bad guys.”
    “Grady,” Edaline said, stopping him before he could reply. “Today is not the day for this.”
    Grady sighed, and the pain in his eyes hurt Sophie’s heart.
    Edaline was right. They were there to mourn their daughter, not talk about the hunt for the Black Swan.
    But . . .
    “I’m keeping the charm,” she mumbled, not looking at Grady.
    “It’s not safe—”
    “It’s just a charm, Grady,” Edaline interrupted. “What are they going to do, track her with it? They already know where we live.”
    Sophie risked a glance at Grady, who looked like he wanted to argue. Instead he held out his hand. “Let me see it again.”
    Sophie hesitated, wondering if he would give it back. She couldn’t imagine Grady being unfair like that, though, so she handed it over and Grady held it to the light, squinting at the bracelet from every possible angle.
    “I suppose Edaline’s right,” he said through a sigh. “The charm’s not dangerous, but the message is . You can do what you want with the compass, but don’t you dare let them lead you around with the clue. You’re not their puppet.”
    “I know . But they also rescued me,” she reminded him for what felt like the hundredth time. “They’re trying to help. So whatever this message means, I think we should figure it out.”
    Grady pinched the bridge of his nose like the conversation was giving him a headache. Several seconds of silence passed before Edaline spoke for him.
    “I think we should show it to Alden. See what he thinks we should do.”
    “Works for me.” Sophie stood, dusting the grass off her wrinkled dress and pulling out her Imparter. “Should I hail him and let him know we’re coming to Everglen?”
    “We can’t go right now,” Edaline said quietly. “We still have to visit Brant. But maybe it’s better if you don’t—”
    “No, I’m coming with you.” All the information overload had made her forget there was another part to Grady and Edaline’s annual mourning tradition.
    Visiting Jolie’s fiancé.
    Grady and Edaline shared a look before Edaline reached