The blue leaping crystal takes me inside the Daniels' apartment, where both of them are staring angrily at me. I would be scared if Sunny wasn't sleeping in Liam's hair.
I gulp. "I thought you guys were in London."
"We were," Liam agrees. "But imagine my surprise when we learned you weren't where you supposed to be."
This makes me narrow my eyes. "How did you know?"
Dr. Daniel fishes around Sunny's feathers and pulls out something incredibly tiny - so small I almost don't see it. And then it hits me.
A microcamera.
"That's why you got Sunny." I say, devoid of emotion. "So you could keep an eye on me while you were in London."
Sunny quacks happily. Yes, Keefe, that's exactly what I'm here for!
Liam gives me The Look. "Clearly it was necessary. No note, nothing. You know what I did find? Cleaning supplies."
"I-"
"We're here for a reason, Keefe." Liam says sharply. "So you don't get to just pick up and leave-"
"Well, I did." I say with just as much venom. "And clearly, that 'reason' went out the window when you picked up and left."
"Well, then what should we have done?" Liam asks furiously. "You're not a child, that we need to -"
"My point exactly!" I erupted. "If I'm not a child, then I can't see what the issue is in the first place!"
This, ultimately, led to Liam storming away.
"He was just worried, Keefe," Dr. Daniel says. "We didn't know where you possibly could have gone."
"It wouldn't have been hard to figure out," I say drily. "In fact, I won't be surprised if there's a tracker in my body that I don't know about."
"There should have been!" Liam yells from another room.
Dr. Daniel sighs. "I know it doesn't explain the camera. That was wrong."
"Yeah, I figured."
"What's going on, wherever you went?"
I sit in the living room and Dr. Daniel follows suit. "I went back to the Lost Cities. They need me to bleed."
Dr. Daniel gives me the wait-what look. "What do you mean, they need-"
I tell him about Elysium, about the Wanderling, and about Dex and Biana and the rescue mission. "They need my blood to key open certain parts of Elysium."
Dr. Daniel looks uncomfortable with the idea, but he nods his head. "What do you need?"
Most teenagers raid the wine cabinet.
I raided the knife stash.
YOU ARE READING
Keeper of The Lost Cities: Book 9: Showdown
FantasyKeefe and Sophie are lost. In completely different worlds, they fight their own battles, but they both need each other to win. Two of Sophie's friends are taken hostage, and she will stop at nothing to get them back. But coming for them means goin...
