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Chapters (63)
  1. Dedication
  2. Map
  3. A Note to the Reader
  4. PART ONE
  5. The Keeper
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. PART TWO
  16. The Keeper
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-one
  29. PART THREE
  30. The Keeper
  31. Chapter Twenty-two
  32. Chapter Twenty-three
  33. Chapter Twenty-four
  34. Chapter Twenty-five
  35. Chapter Twenty-six
  36. Chapter Twenty-seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-nine
  39. PART FOUR
  40. The Keeper
  41. Chapter Thirty
  42. Chapter Thirty-one
  43. Chapter Thirty-two
  44. Chapter Thirty-three
  45. Chapter Thirty-four
  46. Chapter Thirty-five
  47. Chapter Thirty-six
  48. Chapter Thirty-seven
  49. Chapter Thirty-eight
  50. Chapter Thirty-nine
  51. Chapter Forty
  52. Chapter Forty-one
  53. PART FIVE
  54. The Keeper
  55. Chapter Forty-two
  56. Chapter Forty-three
  57. Chapter Forty-four
  58. Chapter Forty-five
  59. Cast of Characters
  60. Acknowledgments
  61. About the Author
  62. Don’t miss any of THE GRACELING REALM novels
  63. What’s next onyour reading list?

As Lovisa led the queen to the easy rocks at the back of the property, she could hardly believe she was leaving her own mother like that, crumpled on the ground. At the wall, she showed the queen where to put her hands and feet. The queen took forever to climb. Finally, Lovisa started up behind her, then froze in alarm as that guard, the sister of the one she’d hurt, came running around the corner of the house. The guard stopped. Gaped at Lovisa, gaped at the queen. The guard saw Ferla lying on the ground.

Then the guard looked over her shoulder, turned back, and made a sweeping motion with her hands that conveyed a clear message. Go, she was saying. Run.

With one last, heartbroken thought for her brothers, Lovisa scrambled over the wall behind the queen, jumped, and ran.

PART FOUR

The Keeper

When the four silbercows explained to the creature what they wanted her to do, she was not impressed.

Why would I do that? she said. How could I do that? It would draw the attention of everyone in the ocean, just when all the other silbercows are finally starting to forget about me.

The silbercows told her that no one in the ocean was forgetting about her. All the silbercows talked about her, all the time. The only reason she didn’t see them was that they were careful not to get too close to her singing range.

Good, said the creature, who actually found this to be terrible news. She started singing, putting all her refusal into it. It made her feel so brave. Once, long ago, she’d been happy. She’d had treasures and no one had come near them. She’d hid, and watched the water above, and loved her treasures. It had been all she’d wanted. Then one night, because of a terrible attack on the surface that hadn’t been her fault, her life had changed, and now she had silbercow friends she missed when they were gone, and her tentacle hurt, and they wanted her to do things she didn’t want to do.

When she finished her song, ruffled and triumphant, the silbercows sat silently, staring at her. She waited for them to agree amongst themselves that she was very different from the Keeper, therefore unsuited to heroics.

Instead, as they continued to stare at her, she began to notice the way their shoulders slumped and their whiskers drooped.

She felt her own body droop. What’s wrong? she said. Is it my singing?