KOTLC Characters Read The Books!

Chapter 4

Me: Hey guys! 

Everyone: LET'S START

THE SCENERY BLURRED—BUT WHETHER IT was from tears or panic Sophie couldn't be sure.

Everything she knew was wrong. Her entire life was a lie.

Grady: *angry mode* FITZ!!!!

Fitz: *shrinks back in the corner* I didn't mean to make her feel like that!

Fitz nudged her arm. "Hey. It's not your fault. You believed what they taught you—I'm sure I'd have done the same thing. But it's time you knew the truth. This is how the world really works. It's not magic. It's just how it is."

The castle bells chimed, and Fitz yanked her behind a large rock as a gateway opened. Two elves with floor-length velvet capes draped over their black tunics emerged, followed by dozens of bizarre creatures marching in military formation down the rocky path. They were at least seven feet tall and wore only black pants, leaving their thick muscles prominently on display. With their flat noses and coarse gray skin, which fell in pleated folds, they looked part alien, part armadillo.

"Goblins," Fitz whispered. "Probably the most dangerous creatures you'll ever meet, which is why it's a good thing they signed the treaty."

Bianca: We should have put someone else in the welcoming group

Fitz: GUYS WHY-

Marella: I agree.

"Then why are we hiding?" she whispered, hating her voice for trembling.

"We're dressed like humans. Humans are forbidden in the Lost Cities—especially here, in Lumenaria. Lumenaria is where all the other worlds come together. Gnomes, dwarves, ogres, goblins, trolls."

She was too overwhelmed to even think about the other creatures he was mentioning, so she focused on the better question. "Why are humans forbidden?"

He motioned for her to follow him to a rock farther away, squatting behind it. "They betrayed us. The Ancient Councillors offered them the same treaty they made with all the intelligent creatures, and they agreed. Then they decided they wanted to rule the world—like it even works that way—and started planning a war. The Ancients didn't want violence, so they disappeared, forbid any contact with humans, and left them to their own devices. You can see how well that's working out for them."

Sophie opened her mouth to defend her race, but she could see Fitz's point. War, crime, famine—humans had a lot of problems.

Fitz: I did a better job there, right?

Keefe: I could have done better

Fitz: No-

Everyone but Grady: Yes

Plus, if everything he was saying was true, they weren't her race. The realization chilled her much more than the frigid wind licking her cheeks.

"The stories told by the humans who'd known us must've sounded impossible after we disappeared, and eventually they evolved into the crazy myths you've heard. But this is the truth, Sophie." Fitz pointed around them. "This is who you are. This is where you belong."

Where you belong.

She'd waited her whole life to hear those three simple words. "I'm really an elf?" she whispered.

"Yes."

Sophie peeked through the rocks at the glowing castle—a place that wasn't supposed to exist but was somehow right in front of her. Everything he was telling her was insane. But she knew it was true—she could feel it. Like a crucial piece of her identity had clicked into place.