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" Nah, you’re realizing I’m the total package. Beauty and brains—” “And super modest,” she noted. “Exactly! And, because my amazingness knows no bounds, I even come bearing presents!” He pulled a box of Prattles from his cape pocket with a dramatic flourish. “Today you’re getting my brilliant lesson and candy!” He tore open the box and fished out the tiny satchel, dumping the collectible pin into his hand. “Cool—the Prattles kraken! I’ve always wanted one of those!” He held up the tiny replica of the giant sea monster. “Remember when the Black Swan had us leap under the ocean and that kraken wanted to eat us?” “Kinda hard to forget,” Sophie told him. “And you can keep the pin.” “Uh-uh, it’s yours.” “But you want it.” “And I want you to have it! So how about we call him ours? We’ll name him Krakie, and he can live right here.” He pointed to the bandage covering her right hand. “That way Krakie can protect you from the echo—not that you need protection. He’ll just be your backup. "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
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" Aw, those little shrieking sounds you’re making are super adorable,” Keefe told her. “Ready to punch me yet?” “S-splashing y-you s-sounds b-better,” she said through chattering teeth. “I suppose. But we both know I’ll splash you back—and then you’ll retaliate, because you may look all sweet and innocent, but you have a feisty streak. And then it’ll be an ice-water war, and Elwin will ban me from the Healing Center and you’ll be lost without my visits, and I’d rather not make you suffer like that. So how about I teach you Alvar’s trick to make it not feel so cold?” “You c-c-could’ve o-offered th-that f-five m-minutes a-ago!” “Ah, but then you wouldn’t have been as freezing as I needed you to be. See how well I distracted you?” She was very tempted to dunk his head. “W-WHAT’S THE TR-TRICK? "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
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" You don’t want this butterblast, do you?” He took a huge bite of a round, golden pastry topped with giant sugar crystals. If it weren’t for her injuries, she would’ve leaped out of bed and wrestled it away from him. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you a bite. But first you need to go one solid hour without your stomach growling. So ignore me”—he took another giant bite of the butterblast—“and focus on Krakie. Or you can focus on Krakie’s new buddies.” He set three Prattles pins on her tray—a jaculus, a kelpie, and a sasquatch. “Meet Bitey, Scaley Butt, and The Stink—your new bandage buddies! We need to figure out the perfect place to put them. I think Scaley Butt should be near Krakie so it looks like they’re swimming together. And then Bitey could be close to The Stink so it looks like he’s trying to chomp him.” “You’re a very strange person, you know that?” she asked as he pinned the new creatures in place. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘awesome.’ I’m an awesome person—who stopped you from thinking about how hungry you are for, like, five minutes.” “And then reminded me,” Sophie noted with a stomach growl. “Oops. Well . . . okay, your new hour starts now!” It was a very long afternoon. But it was worth it when Keefe gave her the last bite of butterblast, which was chewy like a doughnut but tasted like pancakes hot off the griddle and was filled with some sort of thick, maple-y cream. It was quite possibly the most amazing thing she’d ever put in her mouth—and that was saying something, considering she lived in a world with mallowmelt and custard bursts and ripplefluffs and pudding puffs. “If you want another,” Keefe told her, “you’re going to have to let Ro carry you with me into the secret cafeteria.” “Not happening,” Elwin warned. Keefe smirked. “Keep telling yourself that. "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
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" Remember, Krakie’s got your back,” Keefe told her as she lay still, letting Elwin check for signs of setbacks. “And so does Fluffy,” he added, pinning a Prattles T. rex next to the kraken on her bandaged hand. “Dude, enough with the cutesy pin names,” Ro told him. “Never!” Keefe said, adding a verminion he called Cheeky. “You’ve got this, Foster. "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
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" I promised to show you a secret cafeteria, didn’t I? Perfect way to end your Foxfire slumber party!” It felt a little wrong to go hunting for desserts while Fitz and Biana were trying to figure out how to live with their murdering brother. But . . . butterblasts did sound pretty good. “Hang on—what are you wearing?” Keefe asked as she threw back her covers, revealing the sparkly slogans on her tunic. “Is that a Bangs Boy reference? Because you know I haven’t let him into the Foster Fan Club, right?” Sophie rolled her eyes. “It’s an inside joke—and Linh made this for me.” “Yeah, well, it still breaks the fan club rules. As penance, I’m getting you a tunic that says, Empaths Give Me All the Feels, and I expect to see you wear it twice as often as Bangs Boy’s.” Ro snorted. “Subtle.” “Ridiculous,” Sophie corrected. “I try,” Keefe told them as Sophie took his hand and let him pull her slowly to her feet. “You good?” he asked when she wobbled from the head rush. No. But she wasn’t going to admit that, so she told him, “I’m up.” “You are. It’s pretty amazing.” “Isn’t it?” Elwin asked as he emerged from his office and helped Sophie strap her arm into a sling. “Bring me back some butterblasts, okay?” “Done!” Keefe told him, bending his elbow to offer Sophie his arm, and after one brief second, she let him lead her toward the door. “TO THE SECRET CAFETERIA! "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
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" and you’re in this, like, Ultra Knight in Shining Armor mode—” “Aw, you hear that, Ro? Foster thinks I’m her hero!” “I think you’re pretending to be,” Sophie corrected, “so I won’t notice the shadows under your eyes. Or these.” She reached for his hand and pointed to the faint bruises on his knuckles. “Been punching walls? Or people?” “The floor, actually,” Keefe admitted "
― Shannon Messenger , Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #7)
