Page 109 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

It protects the bearer of the secrets.

The bearer protects those entrusted to her.

If you can read these words,

You are her.

A bright light shines from the etchings, and a warmth runs through me. Then new words appear underneath the original ones. I voice those as I read them, too.

You have been entrusted with much.

Your blood carries the necessary magic.

Follow it, protect those in your care.

Be brave, be strong.

You have no other choice.

Everyone depends on it.

My hands shake, and I set the shield back in the chest. A lump forms in my throat, and I can hardly breathe. What is the Secret Keeper, and what does this mean for my future?

Did my mother keep the secret she was meant to? Or did she run from what the shield expected from her? Is that why she didn’t tell me about any of this?

It has to be. She kept everything important from me. Who my father was. What legend says our destiny is. That we’re werewolves. And that she was the Secret Keeper… and so am I.

This might have been what she was running from, and not my father. Or it could have been a combination of both. It sounds like there is only one Secret Keeper—just like there’s supposed to only be one hunter.

I can’t possibly be the only one of two different types of fae.

Knock, knock.

“Are you ready?” Harek asks from the other side of the door.

I gasp for air. How am I going to explain this to him?

“Hold on!” I call.

If I’m the new Secret Keeper, does that mean I have to hide this from Harek? The last thing I want is to keep anything from him, especially after everything we’ve been through.

What if this could put him in danger? If that’s the case, there’s no way I can tell him about this. Not yet. I have to find out more. I have to keep him safe.

But first, I need to put everything back in the chest. I turn toward the flowers and shield.

The chest is closed, and neither the shield nor the flowers are out. I open the lid. Everything appears as it did when I first opened it.

This is my secret. It only wantsmeto know.

My mother was also sworn to secrecy. That’s why she didn’t tell me anything.

All secret keepers are meant to discover what that means on their own, without the help of their predecessors. I don't know how I know this, but I do.

“Eira?” Harek calls.

I slam the closet door shut.

What am I supposed to tell my best friend, the person I love the most?

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