Ok y'all, I just finished book 9.5 so MAJOR spoiler alert!
Can't emphasize that enough: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
I have to debrief and get everyone's opinions because ALVAR! ELEANOR! CHAPTER 42!
Alavar becoming a good person and living his happy little human life, being the big brother Keefe has always needed was such a shock and so nice.
KEEFE RENAMED TO KEEFE FOSTER! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! AND BY HISDAD!Shannon is insane for this but oh my lord was that the funniest and best part of the whole series. Imagine your parent shipping you with your crush to the point of forging legal documents in their name.
Anyway, even though the book was a whole lot of Keefe, here's some more!
Keefe had been through a lot in his many years of being an elf, so there wasn't much left that he thought could surprise him anymore.
He had a super evil mom who had tried to destroy his life and basically the entire world.
He had a dad who was super bad at being a dad but loved to paint in the woods, I guess.
He had unlocked an extra talent that hadn't existed before that could change society as a whole.
He had a girlfriend.A girlfriend he had pined over for years and had admitted her feelings tohimfirst. A girlfriend whom he loves and cherishes and also happens to be the most powerful elf in all of history.
Butthis?
No. He could never have predicted it.
His day had started off so normally too. Ever since the Neverseen had been defeated and the elves pulled themselves together from fighting all the time, his life had a pretty normal routine. He'd wake up, kiss his girlfriend good morning, make them breakfast, and see her off to her Elite classes to train. Then he'd spend his time painting, drawing, or visiting other friends before heading home to eat dinner with Sophie and hear about her day.
And he loved his routine, he'd been doing it for almost an entire year and didn't expect to get sick of it any time soon.
One day, after eating breakfast and saying goodbye to Sophie, he received a summon from the council. He sighed when he realized who it was from, but getting summoned wasn't unusual for the occupants of this two-person apartment. Luckily it didn't seem urgent but a small part of him always got annoyed when they summoned him or Sophie.
He wanted them to be left alone to enjoy their lives. So much of their childhoods, and a good number of years as adults, had been spent fighting the Neverseen and working with the council to repair the damage after the fighting had finished. He wanted to enjoy the peaceful life they had built for themselves. Sophie had only been able to go back to Foxfire to complete her Silver and Gold levels 6 months ago, and she had been so excited to train and hone her powers now that they wouldn't be used for anyone's agenda. She was currently researching her inflicting powers with Bronte and Keefe couldn't help but smile at the many theories and tests she told him about every time she returned from class. She was finally living the life she deserved.
But every time they got a scroll from the council, they both got whisked away for something the council needed their specific specialized talents for and the process was never quick or easy.
He had assumed this time would be no different, but boy had he been wrong.
When Sophie returned from her lessons Keefe listened to her updates on her research as they ate dinner and told her about the council's summon. He had seen Sophie's smile falter and she sighed but ultimately resigned herself to what was needed of them and they agreed to meet with the council that weekend.
When Saturday rolled around, Keefe found himself angrily clasping his cape together as he grumbled about not being able to sleep in. Sophie smirked and pointed out that their Saturday morning involved a lot morephysical activitythan he gave himself credit for, to which he blushed, never really having gotten used to her innuendos even though they were years into adulthood.
They walked into the council chamber and sat at their normal seats, having been summoned many times before. Something had been different this time, Keefe admitted to himself. He should have picked up on Bronte's anger or Oralie's amusement. Both were not unusual feelings for the two councilors but usually these meetings were boring and started off somewhat pleasant.
But the councilors looked almost... uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" Keefe asked after realizing no one was starting the conversation.
Alina cleared her throat, but didn't speak with her normal command, "We summoned you, Keefe."
Keefe narrowed his eyes in confusion, "I know. That's why I'm here? We do this all the time?"
"No," Alina said, seeming to have found her voice and straightened, "Justyou, Keefe."
Sophie shifted in her chair and glanced at Keefe, confused. They were used to the council only summoning one of them to meet but over the years they had almost always just shown up together. It's not like the council had any secrets from either of them and they always worked better together.
"Whatever you need to say to me you can say in front of Sophie," Keefe said, still confused as to what they were doing here.
Alina looked like she was going to protest but Oralie held up her hand and sighed, "Just tell him. It's not like his answer would change without Sophie here."
Alina glared at Oralie, "You don't know that!"
Bronte scoffed, "I think we do."
Alina's jaw set and she turned back to Keefe, "I want you to think very carefully about what I am about to ask you and know that it's very important that you actually consider what I'm about to tell you, despite what other elves might think." Her eyes flicked over to Sophie.
Keefe was bewildered now, what could they possibly have to ask him that was causing this much tension?
"We want you to join the council," Alina stated.
Keefe's jaw dropped. Sophie went rigid.
They had offered Sophie the spot right when the fighting had ended, but she had declined absolutely wanting nothing to do with the council and needed to get on with her life.
"It's not unanimous," piped in Oralie, "Not that I don't think you'd be a lovely addition Keefe, but I know it's not what you want."
"You don't know that," snapped Alina, "let the boy think about it first." She turned her full attention to Keefe. "I know this is unexpected but you would be an invaluable member. Between your many talents and your contributions to ending the Neverseen, you have always been liked by the elves and would help represent them and give them a voice!"
The words sounded rehearsed like Alina knew exactly what she needed to say to him and had thought about it for a while, but Keefe couldn't stop his head from spinning. Never in a thousand years had he expected them to offer him a position on the council.
"Just think about it, okay? Go home, write down the pros and cons, talk to your father, and come to a sensible conclusion. Think about what you could do for your community, all that talk about change that you're so passionate about," Alina continued, trying to wrap up the meeting and encourage him to go home to think about it.
But he didn't need to think about it. He knew he didn't want to be a councilor, and one reason shined above the rest.
He turned to Foster, "Will you marry me?"
Her brown eyes widened in shock, a gasp falling from her lips as she stared at him almost in horror.
"What?!"
"When they summoned you to try to get you to join the council you spent six months denying them before they finally decided to take no for an answer, but I don't even want to give them the option anymore to harass us with this," Keefe said, moving to hold her hands.
Sophie turned red and looked at the councilors who were staring at them in various stages of shock. Keefe turned her chin to face him.
"Ignore them, look at me, they don't matter right now. I know this is sudden and it isnotwhat I had planned to do, trust me. I promise to do it again somewhere much more romantic so we can tell everyone a cuter version of our romantic history but ultimately it comes down to this: I love you, Sophie Foster, I want to marry you, and these knuckleheads just can't seem to leave us alone. You know their rules, Councilors can't be married or have kids, and Foster? I want us to do both. And since we aren't having a kid anytime soon, that leaves us with option one. I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I want to be your husband." Keefe scooted out of his chair and got down on one knee. "I know it's a little sooner than we expected but it was always going to come to this, Sophie Foster, will you marry me?"
Sophie, whose eyes had started to water, nodded her head up and down as she let out a stream of, "yes yes yes yes yes!"
"Yes?" Keefe asked, smiling at her answer.
Sophie motioned for him to stand and placed a hand on his face lovingly, "100 times yes, Keefe. I will marry you." And he kissed her.
He kissed hisfiance.
And when they pulled apart, his eyes landed on the dozen councilors who were all still in various degrees of shock.
Except Oralie who was smiling from ear to ear with tears in her eyes.
And Bronte, who just gave Keefe a nod of approval when his eyes landed on his.
Keefe moved to stand behind Sophie, wrapping his arms around her waist, and smirked at Alina.
"Guess you'll have to find someone else. Someone who's not affianced."
Alina blinked, having been stunned into silence for once.
"If that's all," Sophie said casually, "We have some business to attend to." She pointed a thumb back in Keefe's direction, "Looks like this one needs to help me find a ring!"
And the two walked out of the chamber, hand in hand.
Sophie teleported them home and gave Keefe an exasperated but loving look.
"I know I know I know," Keefe said, hands in the air defensively. "I'll propose to you again tomorrow. I'll stick to the original plan and we'll have a beautifully romantic dinner in Paris and watch the Eiffel Tower light up."
Sophie quirked a brow, "I didn't realize youhadan original plan to follow Keefe, you want to know why?"
Keefe gave her a guilty smile, "because we weren't supposed to get engaged until you finished the Elite levels?"
She gave him a playful smack on the shoulder, "Exactly! We had a timeline."
"Are you mad?" he said, giving her his best innocent puppy dog look.
Sophie softened, unable to resist, "No Keefe, I'm not mad. Foiling Alina's plans and rendering her speechless is reward enough for me to throw any plan out the window."
Keefe gave her a dazzling smile, "It was good wasn't it."
Sophie hummed in agreement but a devious smile came over her face, "Then again, I'm not the one who has to tell Grady that we're engaged a year and a half early."
Keefe groaned, a pit forming in his stomach. "I don't care how many times Edaline says Grady meant it when he said he likes me, I don't think I'll ever believe it."
Sophie laughed, "He does like you Keefe, he's just being a grump because I moved in with you. He doesn't like change. He'll get over it, just give him time."
Keefe gave her a deadpan look, "We moved in together six months ago."
Sophie smiled playfully, "he's not easy but he's getting there."
Keefe sighed, "Okay but can we agree to tell him that we got engaged in Paris like we will tomorrow? I don't think he can handle me asking you in front of all the councilors."
Sophie laughed, "Alright babe, but only if you tell me where you were originally going to propose to me."
Keefe narrowed his eyes, "how did you know there was another plan?"
Sophie smiled, "Because I know you better than you think I do and while Paris is perfectly romantic, I think you had something moreKeefein mind."
Keefe blushed, loving how well she knew him pulled her closer, placing his hands on her hips.
He smiled, leaning in so all he had to do was whisper as he said, "I was going to wait until you were done with school, just like we planned, and then take you back to the hallway where we first met. There would be candles lining the walkway to the very spot. I had this whole speech planned about how I've always loved you and how I knew from that very first moment that you were it for me. Then I would have gone down on one knee and asked you that very important question."
Sophie was giving him that look, the one that showed just how much she loves him, and whispered back, "Nowthat'sa proposal. Let's do that tomorrow so we can tell people that story."
"Even though the surprise is ruined and it's cheesy?" he asked.
She nodded, "I don't need to be surprised. We deserve a real proposal, even if it is cheesy."
He smiled, "We do, don't we? Who cares about the rules, we do things our way!"
"Exactly, the Foster-Sencen way!" she giggled, "Alphabetically of course."
Keefe smirked, "That's a bit of a mouthful, I was thinking that maybe we could just be the Foster way, after the wedding."
She looked at him like she was searching for the joke, but when all she found was seriousness, she had to ask, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," he said.
Her eyes started to water and she pulled him into her, hugging him as tightly as she could.
"I love you, Keefe," she whispered into his chest, still holding him.
"Not as much as I love you," he murmured into her hair, being squeezed too tightly to pull back, and giving the top of her head a gentle kiss.
Sophie softened and let the space between them grow so she could look him in the eyes as she said, "Impossible," with a challenging smile.
That day and the next were two of the happiest days of his life, ones that he would forever cherish and talk about to anyone who would listen, even if it had meant he had to change his routine.
Hey y'all!
Can you believe we only have one more book? (If Shannon sticks to her word lol).
I'm trying to update more but with holidays it might be a minute, so I wanted to get something out while 9.5 was still fresh in my mind. That being said, I just graduated! I have a whole college degree! Whoop whoop! And hopefully more time!
I'm expecting life to be hectic for a month or so but once it gets back on track I'll get back to updating more regularly.
I hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday season and as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!