Nightfall (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #6)

by Shannon Messenger

The star only rises at Nightfall.

And Prentice couldn’t reveal where Sophie was hidden—not when it was still so early in the project.

But I spent the next few hours vomiting anyway, thinking about what I’d discovered about myself—and about us as a species. We tell ourselves that we’re the superior creatures on the planet. And yet, we’ll scour the globe to preserve animals—we even had the dwarves hollow out an entire mountain range so we could build a Sanctuary for them. But we’ve stood back and let billions of humans die. Yes, their life spans are fleeting. And yes, they tried to betray us all those millennia ago—and I have no doubt that some of them would do it again if they knew we existed. But none of that—none of that—justifies letting innocent people suffer and die. Especially children. You should’ve seen them smiling at me, waving hands that were taped to plastic tubes and needles.”

No one expects you to solve everything. And we certainly don’t expect you to fight alone. But I personally can’t wait to see what else you do with the gifts we gave you, whenever the time comes.”

I want you to know it’s okay to be scared. And angry. And overwhelmed.

The villain taunting the hero with an impossible choice—the people they loved in mortal danger on one side, and the rest of the world on the other. And no way to save them both.

But if she was right, then the one-problem-at-a-time approach she’d relied on in the past was never going to work—and maybe it never had. Maybe that was why the Neverseen kept winning.

“No one should be held accountable for their ancestors’ mistakes, so long as they learn from them.

Pyromancers not withstanding

We also began to study genetics, trying to determine if there was a reason for our world’s prejudices against multiple births. Nowhere could we ever find any proof of the feared ‘inferiority’ in our genetic circumstance. But the more we studied, the more we began to realize that there were ways to adjust DNA to affect someone’s abilities.

as her tears soaked his wrinkled tunic and he whispered the only two words that made her feel any better. “I’m here.”

“One of the great follies of the elves,” Lady Cadence said, stepping out of a copse of trees. “We always want everything to be pretty.” “There’s nothing wrong with favoring beauty,” Della argued. “I’d agree if you’d used the word ‘enjoying,’ ”

“But favoring it gives beauty value—and therein lies the folly. Why is something valuable simply because it appeals to our senses? What good does that really do, in the grand scheme of things?

My home may not have shimmering halls or sculpted gardens, but it allowed me to carve out a life between two drastically different worlds. And yet when you look at it, all you see are its quirks and oddities, and whether you realize it or not, you condemn it for them. I’ve often wondered if our kind would be so mistrustful of the ogres if we found them more physically appealing.”

But keep in mind that the mark of most extremists is that they resist change, claiming they’re trying to protect something they fear they’re about to lose.

teachers were always telling us that if we didn’t know our history, it might repeat itself.”

“But even with all that knowledge—all that history—don’t they still live with war and crime? Don’t they still cling to their same prejudices?

Cause we're not learning everything

“Which Pyrokinetic?” Grady asked. “Aren’t they all a little . . .” “Unstable?” Mr. Forkle guessed. “I was thinking more along the lines of ‘out of practice,’ since they haven’t been able to use their ability in thousands of years,”

“They’re definitely that as well. And denying their natural talent has been far more of a struggle for them than most people realize. Brant and Fintan aren’t the only ones who lost part of themselves to their constant craving for flame.

And any harm or heartache that pyrokinesis has caused in the past does not feel like proof that the ability is unredeemable—only that we need better training and systems to manage it. Think of Miss Linh, and the floods she caused before she learned to properly harness her hydrokinesis. Would any of us argue that she should’ve been forbidden from calling for water ever again?”

“The truth,” Mr. Forkle added when Grady stayed silent, “is that many of our abilities have the potential for harm. And while some of us have rules and restrictions to keep us better in check, none—besides Pyrokinetics—are forbidden from using their talent. Our Ancient Councillors let their fear and grief lead them to be unduly harsh—and it has resulted in all manner of catastrophes.

“You can’t change who you are, or who your family is,” Tam told her. “Believe me—if I could, I would. All you can do is make sure you’re living by what you believe in.”

this Nightfall has apparently existed for thousands of years

Consider what we teach about Atlantis in elvin history, Mr. Forkle told them. How the greedy, spiteful humans planned a war against our innocent ancestors because they feared the elves’ natural abilities and craved more power. But if Vespera was capturing humans and experimenting on them—and the Council refused to investigate what was happening, Alden added, the humans would’ve had good reason to want to overthrow that authority.

“After Lumenaria, it’s . . . different. All the jokes about ‘almost dying’—they’re not jokes anymore. It could happen. It did happen.”