Page 37 The first was when she was five. She'd woken up in the Emergency Room, and the doctors told her she'd fallen and hit her head and her neighbor had called 911. From that moment on she'd been able to read minds. She knew now that Mr. Forkle had triggered her telepathic abilities that day. What she didn't know was why. Five was incredibly young to manifest a special ability...
Page 37 The second incident was when she was nine. Again she'd ended up in the hospital, this time for a severe allergic reaction. The human doctors never figured out what caused it, but a few months ago she'd found out the hard way that she was deathly allergic to limbium, a special compound that affected certain areas of the brain.
Page 109 "Can you really communicate with her?" Kenric asked. With his vivid red hair and wide shoulders he was the easiest to recognize—and one of Sophie's favorite members of the Council, thanks to his warm smile.
Page 135 "What exactly does limbium do?" "Many things, depending on what you mix it with. Mainly it affects the limbic system." A diagram from one of her old human science books filled Sophie's memory. "That's the emotional center of the brain, isn't it?" "And the center of behavior, long-term memory, and motivation. It's also the root point of any special ability. Not something to be tampered with lightly. Which is why we put it in very few elixirs—and only use a drop. Though in your case that's still a fatal amount…."
Page 191 Everyone looked at Sandor, who seemed to debate with himself before he answered. "There... is a way to trick our senses."
Page 191 "The Councillors, and a few select members of the nobility. No others."
Page 209 If the Black Swan really were the good guys, then Prentice had technically been innocent. He did hide something from the Council—but he was hiding her. Probably trying to protect her from the real bad guys.
Page 221 "If anyone's mind should be broken, it's hers. She's hiding more secrets than anyone."
Page 312 "That was hands down the most foolish thing you've ever done!" Tiergan shouted, and Sophie was surprised to realize he was the one hugging her.
Page 320 Tiergan smiled sadly and offered her his hand. They'd walked several steps before Sophie realized how natural the gesture felt. Tiergan's usual awkwardness around her seemed almost forgotten. Like he'd stepped into Alden's role without even realizing it.
Page 322 "I suspect your upbringing helps you process grief better than the rest of us," he added, like he knew what she'd been thinking. "Death and loss are so much more common for humans."
Page 344 Seconds later a tall elf with far too much shiny gel in his jet black hair opened the door just far enough to lean out and tell her, "You kids don't seem to realize that interrupting elite study time merits a week's detention."
Page 344 Neither did his sigh as he pulled the door open with a clank of metal on metal and said, "Well, this is going to be interesting. I'm Master Leto—the Beacon for the Silver Tower. Welcome to the elite, Miss Foster. We've been waiting for you."
Page 347 He laughed like his joke was the funniest thing he'd ever heard, and it pretty much cemented for Sophie that she wasn't going to like Master Leto.
Page 351 When she didn't move, he nudged her forward, and she tripped on her too-long cape and slammed against the door, which swung open and sent her toppling into the room. She could hear Master Leto snickering as a Mentor with raven black hair and midnight blue eyes leaned over her and said, "This is going to be far worse than I imagined."
Page 372 "Once again your ignorance astounds me. Only negative emotions can be inflicted, Sophie. Fear and pain and hopelessness work best. Though anger works too." He crossed his arms. "Well, go ahead, then."
Page 385 "He's covered the walls in portraits and awards and has a life-size statue of himself in the center—carved out of Lumenite, so it glows. I used to have nightmares about it coming to life and trying to eat me."
Page 389 "He thinks that the new abilities the Black Swan triggered aren't working right—and that it's affecting your other abilities."
Page 389 "If anyone's malfunctioning, it's him—I heard him try to laugh one time and he sounded like a freaked-out banshee."
Page 400 "Or maybe Silveny just has good taste," Keefe said, stepping close enough to lean in and whisper, "Just so you know, you're pretty much my hero now. It takes serious talent to freak out the entire Council. I may need you to give me some pointers!"
Page 418 "I hadn't realized the fear had spread this far," he mumbled. "I rarely walk among the masses like Bronte and Kenric do. This must be why they're pushing so hard for the alicorn's relocation."
Page 421 Books she'd read so many times the bindings were creased and frayed—though they looked a bit ridiculous now with their wizards and dragons and demigods on the covers.
Page 423 He held out the journal, pointing to scraps of torn paper running along the inner spine. She had no memory of tearing those out.
Page 423 She tried not to imagine Mr. Forkle's chubby, wrinkled body skulking around her house when she wasn't home, tearing out the pages. Or maybe she had been home. An image of him looming over her while she slept filled her mind. When else would he erase her memories?
Page 456 The message was only two words written in bold black ink. Patience. Trust. But when she flipped it over, she found a tiny scrap of hot pink paper attached next to another message. Stop searching for things you are not ready to understand. Wait for us to give your next command.
Page 462 "But I've checked her—many times," Elwin argued. "I would've seen if there was something wrong." "Only if the problem is physical," Master Leto corrected, like he was suddenly the expert on everything. "If it's mental—"
Page 462 "Why are you still here?" Sophie shouted. "Don't you need to get back to the tower and do—whatever it is Beacons do." His lips twitched—almost like he wanted to smile. "It's just a suggestion. That's how the mirror works."
Page 463 "It really is the light," Master Leto said, staring at Sophie so intently it felt like his eyes were peering inside her head.
Page 467 "Think about it, Keefe—how do they even know I have the journal? They have to be watching me. They're probably watching us right now, making notes on any plan we come up with so they can thwart it."
Page 468 The Black Swan had given her pins as clues before, and this one, like the others, looked like it was a Prattles' pin. When she flipped it over, she found a tiny digital readout that said: #1 OF 2. So not only had they snuck into Havenfield, tricked the goblin's senses to avoid getting caught, opened the lock that needed her DNA to open, but they'd also managed to get their hands on the rarest Prattles' pin of them all.
Page 469 Well, they could forget it. She was done being controlled. Especially when she saw the message on the note: Face your fears.
Page 476 There were two lines of text on the note when she unfolded it, but her eyes only saw the first. A small sob slipped through her lips as she read the four words that changed everything. We can fix you.
Page 478 The note had another sentence. One that was just as vague and unhelpful as the other times she'd heard it: Follow the pretty bird across the sky.
Page 484 "But we do know that clearly the Black Swan can get to Sophie any time they want"—she pointed to the notes in Grady’s hand—"so if they wanted to hurt her, they could've easily done it by now. And they haven't."
Page 500 A heavyset figure stepped into the light. "You kids and your screaming."
Page 500 Sophie felt her jaw fall open. "Mr. Forkle?" "That's one of my names, yes." "Want to tell me the real one?" A tiny smile played across the wrinkles of his bloated face. "When the time is right."
Page 500 Mr. Forkle laughed—though it sounded more like a wheeze. "You're not the only one with an impenetrable mind. That's why we're alone right now. Can't have you searching for things you're not yet ready to understand." Sophie glared at him. "I deserve to know what you're hiding from me. And I want my memories back—and my journal pages!" "It's not a matter of deserving, Sophie. Knowledge is a dangerous thing. Trust me when I say that it's better for you not to know." "All I ever do is trust you!" "I know, Sophie. And we appreciate it."
Page 503 "Wait." She rubbed the temples of her still foggy head. "There's a way through my blocking?" How else do you think I gave you your memories? he transmitted. His mental voice didn't sound screamy like Fitz's, but hearing it in her head made her want to claw the words back out.
Page 503 She shuddered at the memory. "So, you did want me to fix Prentice. That was what your first clue meant?" "In part. We needed Alden to take you down there in order for you to have access to Prentice, so the message was also meant to convince him that you should be his guide. But yes. We knew when we started Project Moonlark that we could very well endure some casualties—especially with our Keepers—so we gave you the ability to heal broken minds. That way you could recover anyone who was lost."
Page 504 "A nook where things can be hidden. We trained our Keepers to hide a part of their consciousness there during a memory break, so that we could rescue them later."
Page 504 "But I can't inflict positive emotions." He gave her a knowing look. "I can?" "Only in theory—though it's looking much more likely now that I've seen the connection between you and Silveny. I modeled many of your genetic manipulations on alicorn DNA."
Page 505 Especially when he added, "I have often wondered if that's how you ended up with brown eyes, though."
Page 509 "I mean it, Sophie. Despite what you may think, you are not our puppet. We may give you suggestions and guidance, but in the end the final decision is always up to you. You can leave right now and remain just the way you are."
Page 514 "The guy who posed as my old next-door neighbor to keep tabs on me around humans. And apparently he's the guy who made me."
Page 526 She may be an anomaly and a freak and created for things she didn't understand, and her real father may or may not be some mysterious elf who kept abandoning her when she needed him most. But she wasn't made by murderers. She wasn't bad.
Page 532 Kenric stepped forward. "I think perhaps we're focusing on the wrong concern. Sophie, do you still have the compass that led you to the Black Swan?"
Page 534 "You really believe you can heal his mind?" Kenric asked quietly. "According to the Black Swan, I was designed that way."
Page 553 Kenric stepped forward when no one else did. "I will not concede to a Tribunal, Bronte. No matter how you try to twist it, there's nothing about what happened that would merit us locking Grady away in Exile like a murderer." He turned to the other Councillors. "That's not justice. That makes us just as cruel and reckless as the rebels we're trying to prevent. And if that's the kind of action we would consider to try and prove our worthiness, then we deserve every bit of criticism we're getting."
Page 565 "Yes, Sophie and I were having a pleasant conversation. So I'm sure this is your cue to ruin it."
Page 566 He released an epic-length sigh. "No. I also wondered… is it true that you can inflict positive emotions?" "I think so. Why?" His eyes dropped to his hands. "Well, then. Perhaps we'll have something to teach each other."
Next, I give my thoughts about what some of this might mean. Stop reading NOW if you have not read through all of the books. Significant spoilers from later books are mentioned.
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It's apparent that someone in the Council is either feeding information to the Black Swan or is in the Black Swan. I didn't pick up on that the first time I read this book. Now that I have my suspicions about Councillor Kenric being Forkle, it's quite obvious.
Sophie asks Councillor Terik to help her with finding her journal. Soon after, the Black Swan warns Sophie not to pry into her past. Terik could've told Kenric about the journal. When I first read this story, I focused more on Terik and thought that he was involved.
When I first read this book, I missed the clue when Leto says "you kids." It's such an obvious clue that he is grumpy old Forkle. Leto is a bit mean to Sophie in these early scenes in order to disguise that she already knows him as another identity.
On page 500, Forkle tells Sophie, "I know, Sophie. And we appreciate it." I originally interpreted that as meaning that the Black Swan is appreciative. I now feel like the "we" could instead refer to both Mr. Forkles, since there are two of them.
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