Page 45 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

“They’re staying.” He wipes his mouth and wraps the remainder of the food.

“What about Gunnar? He knows your secret.”

“And he’s going to keep it.”

“Really? What’s in it for him?”

Harek looks away.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“He still has your sword.”

I try to connect the dots, but can’t. “What does that have to do with your parents?”

“Gunnar thinks it’s collateral, that he’ll be able to use it in the future.”

“For what?”

“I’m not sure, but by the time I reached the farm he’d already hidden it. I chewed him out for everything and told him to hand it over, but he obviously didn’t. We came to an agreement—he’s going to stay silent about your true nature and my family’s. In return, he holds onto your sword.”

“My favorite part of the story is how I had any say in this.”

He gives me an exasperated look. “He isn’t going after you or my parents, and he isn’t going to try to marry you off to another Vog. We can get you a new sword in the fae city, or if you reallywant your father’s, I can return and get it. It won’t be easy, but it won’t be impossible either.”

“That sword is tied to my powers. It glows around me only.”

“We can forge a sword with your magic.” He says it like that’s the most obvious thing ever spoken in the history of the world.

“It won’t be my father’s.”

“We’ll figure it out later. One thing is sure—we can’t return. Not now, anyway.”

I cross my arms. “What’s one more loss?”

He frowns. “I tried, Eira. He could’ve hidden it anywhere. It might not even be on the farm. He could’ve stashed it somewhere else altogether.”

All I can do is nod. I can’t believe my stepfather managed to steal one more thing from me after I’d already run away. I’m just glad Vog is dead, and Gunnar won’t receive any money for me. Unless he sells the sword.

I’m definitely coming back to Skoro one day and making him pay for everything. That’ll wait until I’ve learned everything I can about my powers and can use them against him. He’ll regret ever having treated me poorly, kept me from my mother during most of her illness, trying to marry me off to the most disgusting man in our settlement, and for stealing my sword.

Harek puts his bag in a tiny closet. “We should get some sleep.”

“In shifts.”

“Of course. I’ll take the first one.”

I shake my head. “I’m too wired right now. You get some rest, and hopefully after pacing for a few hours I can get some sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I got a nap earlier. You’ve been going nonstop since we woke up.”

“Okay. After we both get enough sleep, we’ll head out for the fae city.”

My stomach tightens at the thought. What will we find there?

Chapter

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