Page 99 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.

Harek puts an arm around me. “I won’t leave your side.”

Einar looks at us, but I can’t read his expression. “Follow me.”

He leads us through the city into a district we haven’t been to before. It seems more like farmland and makes me feel like I’m back home. Not that I have a home anymore, but I still feel more comfortable here than anywhere else in the walls.

The homes and barns are spread far apart, and we have to walk a fair distance. It’s completely dark but little rainbow-colored glowing bugs keep things light enough to see better than if it was dusk.

My father stops in the middle of nothing and grins. “We’re here.”

I look around, confused. “What do you mean?”

“My humble abode.”

“You’ve got that right,” Harek mumbles.

I nudge Harek, though I don’t exactly disagree with him. “This is your home?”

Einar points to a hillside.

“Your home is on the other side?” I ask hopefully.

“Take a closer look.”

Some dim lights turn on, and everything comes into focus. The hillsideisa dwelling. It’s even bigger than the mansions owned by the rulers of Skoro.

Harek and I exchange bewildered expressions.

My father’s grin hasn’t stopped. He’s clearly amused by our reactions. “This has been the home of your ancestors going back many generations. We have relics from every previous known hunter.”

“You… you do?” I try to comprehend the idea of having gone from no family lineage to many generations, several of which are more than a hundred years each.

“Does that mean she can use one of their swords?” Harek asks. “Instead of having to find the other one?”

Einar turns to me. “The runes lit up for you?”

“Yeah.”

“That’syoursword. No other will connect with you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Harek asks. “None? Not even with magic?”

He shakes his head. “It’s like with dragons where the bond is for life.”

“What if the dragon dies?” I ask. “Or the sword is destroyed?”

“Only then can a new bond form.”

Harek stands taller. “If Gunnar destroyed her sword, then she could use another?”

“She coulduseany sword, but it won’t collect the souls. They’ll keep going into her and won’t leave.”

That’s a miserable thought. “I’m not taking that chance.” Then a thought strikes me. “Could the souls leave me when I shift into a wolf?”

My father looks deep in thought for a moment. “I suppose it’s possible, though unlikely. It isn’t something I’d hang my hopes on.”

“But it’s possible?”

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