Keefe Sencen (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

**Keefe Sencen** (pronounced Keef Sense-in) is the deuteragonist in the *Keeper of the Lost Cities* series. He is a member of the Black Swan and a former member of the Neverseen. He joined the Neverseen as a double agent in an attempt to infiltrate it and tear it down from the inside, as well as to sneak information to the Black Swan.

Keefe is the only child of Lord Cassius Sencen and Lady Gisela Minette Sencen, who is a part of the Neverseen. He is best friends with Fitz Vacker and has shown that he's always wished he was a Vacker — to the point of him seeing the Vackers as his family, and as such spends a lot of time with them. He has family issues (even claiming the role of troublemaker with Daddy Issues, also being grumpy about Tam Song's claim to the title as well), as his father was both verbally and emotionally abusive, while his mother, a member of the Neverseen before Keefe was even born, treats him as a pawn in her overarching plan after lying to him for years. His mother, however, has shown fake kindness to him multiple times in the books. Keefe still shows how his mother didn't say anything when Lord Cassius abused Keefe. In *Exile*, he admits to Sophie that he often hides behind his jokes and teasing, and he uses them to pretend everything is okay, although deep down it's not; making jokes and teasing people are his coping mechanisms.

Some interpret the name Keefe as meaning noble, gentle, handsome, and cherished, although there are many meanings for this name throughout different cultures. For example, in Gaelic, the name translates as "male descendant" or "related by blood", often used for the oldest child in a family. His middle name on his registry pendant record is redacted, although he dubs it "I'm-not-your-legacy-boy". This may show that either he doesn't like his middle name, he's embarrassed about it, or it reminds him too much of painful memories.

Keefe has a crush on Sophie and as of Book 9: Stellarlune she has confirmed to return his feelings and the two are currently in an in-between stage of friends and more-than-friends.

## Appearance

Keefe is tall with messy, artfully, and carefully disheveled blonde hair and ice blue eyes with flecks of dark blue. He is very meticulous with his hair and is known to have more than just a few Elvin hair products. So many, in fact, that when they are looking through his bedroom in *Lodestar*, Tam says, "Dude - this guy uses more hair products than I do!" When wearing his Foxfire uniform, it is said to be a little messy, his shirt is untucked, and his sleeves are rolled up to about the elbows. His father is the complete opposite of him, and always wants him to present himself neatly. He has to have broad shoulders and a lean frame. As of *Nightfall*, a scar under his ribs from the Ogre king, Dimitar's attack. Sophie also noted his "rather impressive amount of muscle tone." It is also stated that he has very long and dark eyelashes.

## Personality

### Mischievous

> ***“'Now let's go see who can cause the most trouble.'*** 'Well, when you put it that way!'”
>
>

—Keefe and Blur, in [ ]

Despite his father's seriousness, Keefe is fun-loving and humorous, even giving the nickname Glitter Butt to Silveny despite her disliking the nickname. He enjoys teasing people, especially Sophie. He is also kind to Sophie when she is at her weakest, and usually uses jokes when talking to her. He jokingly suggested to Elwin Heslege to rename the Healing Center "The Foster Center" because of how many times Sophie has been a patient there.

Keefe loves to cause chaos and annoy others, especially with pranks. Keefe always seemed to find ways to annoy Councillor Alina (while she was principal of Foxfire) and many other people. Every time he pranks someone, he uses something unique, including Gulons, reekrod, and muskogs. He also pulls them on his abusive father, Lord Cassius. His most famous prank was the Great Gulon Incident (Details are highly classified and have not been revealed in any of the books so far).

A signature part of Keefe's personality is that he has no problem making clever and funny jokes and remarks. He often makes snarky comments as a way to rebel against authoritative figures, or just as a way of expressing his disdain for Sophie and Fitzroy (stylized Fitzphie), and sometimes Tam.

It is implied that he uses jokes and pranks as a mask, partly to hide the emotional abuse he has suffered, and also rebels to take back the control he desires from his life. He also is very mischievous about his crush on Sophie Foster, often flirting with her but knowing she'd never find out due to her obliviousness.

### Reckless

Keefe can often be reckless. At the end of *Neverseen*, he joined the Neverseen, stealing the caches from Sophie after he overheard the password in a private conversation between her and Fitz when Fitz blurted the password out loud by accident. Keefe was later allowed to rejoin his friends. He also challenged King Dimitar to a fight, although this was not strictly necessary. In the end of Unlocked, Keefe ran away to places unknown to protect others from him. Around the end of Stellarlune, Keefe was found to be hiding at a expensive looking hotel in London, after stealing jewlery from his mother, and Sophie and her friends were able to find him by the shadowflux Umber slipped into his food during the time he spent with the Neverseen. It is implied motivations behind his reckless actions are guilt and protecting Sophie and his friends.

### Selfless

Keefe often tries to do a lot to help his friends, and, by nature, often puts others' safety before his own. He joined the Neverseen to be a double agent and give information back to the Black Swan. In Nightfall he protects Sophie by volunteering to be a Mercadir, fighting King Dimitar in place of Sophie.

This selflessness can often be reckless, however, since he considers himself both expendable and partly responsible for his mother's actions. An example of this was his impulsivity in joining the Neverseen despite the risks and danger it could potentially bring to his friends.

## Abilities/Skills

* **Empath**

Keefe is an Empath. He can also feel Silveny's emotions, and he talks to her, but in a different way than Sophie, who can understand what Silveny is transmitting to her. Keefe can feel Sophie's emotions without physical contact, but he needs physical contact for everyone else. He received his ability from his father, although Sophie's emotions are stronger than most elves because the Black Swan tweaked her genes. In *Nightfall*, he learned that, when Sophie enhances him, he can tap into Sophie's emotional center and help control her emotions, sending a calming blue wind through her mind to comfort her (similar to what Silveny does to Sophie to help calm her emotions) and other winds for different emotions. In *Unlocked*, after Keefe gained his new ability, it's shown that Sophie's emotions are too much for him. In Stellarlune, Keefe admits that he is becoming numb, and can’t feel Sophie’s emotions as well anymore.

* **Polyglot**

After waking up from his coma it was mentioned that not only was Keefe able to perfectly mimic Fitz's voice, but also having the ability to understand and respond in Ogrish, making it clear that he has manifested as a Polyglot. However due to the strange nature of his new (unnamed) ability, it's unclear whether or not he manifested this as a stand-alone ability or if it merged with his Empathy to create something else.

* **Unnamed Emotion Ability**

In *Legacy*, Lady Gisela appeared to drink something out of a vial to get Keefe a new ability to fulfil his "legacy". At the end of the book, he is put into a coma after being affected by the elements, presumably to trigger a new ability. This new ability seems to allow him to control others emotional state with a single word. (Ex: shouting numb will take away anyone in earshot's emotions away completely. As shown in Unlocked)

The ability seems to be triggered whenever he's feeling overwhelmed. It's important to note that since manifesting this strange new ability, his empathy has grown far stronger, making it easier for him to be overwhelmed in everyday situations. Keefe never wants to use the ability, but it's said that when the ability is triggered it feels as if his throat is closing off and all he can think about is whatever word will help him stop the overwhelming feeling.

* **Unnamed Predicting Ability, similar to Descrying**

Keefe could predict The Dizznee Triplets' abilities by just touching their fingers.

* **Photographic Memory**

Keefe has a photographic memory. This is why he has skipped a Foxfire level (Level One) and can get away with ditching sessions without falling too much behind. In *Nightfall*, Lady Gisela says that Keefe inherited it from her. Though it isn't an Elvin ability, it still is a useful and noteworthy skill. Cassius Sencen remarks on how Fitz scored higher than Keefe on tests even without a photographic memory.

* **Artistic**

> ***“Art is about honesty. That's why I made sure I have the best hair.”***
>
>

—Keefe, in

Keefe is an amazing artist. His parents (particularly his father) don't appreciate his talents, and even tell him art is a waste of time. Sophie mentions multiple times that she thinks his drawings are incredibly realistic, so much that they look like photographs. During *Nightfall*, Keefe gives Sophie a painting of her with Grady Howell Ruewen and Edaline Kelia Ruewen, and one of her, him, Fitzroy Avery Vacker, Dexter Alvin Dizznee, Biana Amberly Vacker, Tam Dai Song, Linh Hai Song, and Wylie Zoran Endal, and during *Legacy,* Keefe paints a picture of Fitz and Sophie together by the Panakes tree upon Fitz's request to do so. Keefe also uses his art to create his memories, upon Sophie's request.

## Involvement

Keefe is an only child, and his best friend is Fitz Vacker. He usually hangs out with the Vackers and treats them like family, and vice versa. When he's not helping to save the Elvin world or teasing Sophie, Keefe plays Base Quest with Fitz, Biana, and Sophie. He also likes to play Bramble with Fitz and Biana. At home, his mother, Lady Gisela, ignores him and his father, Lord Cassius, verbally abuses him. Additionally, both were extremely emotionally distant throughout Keefe's life.

### Book 1: *Keeper of the Lost Cities*

In the first book, Keefe is known to have a goofy personality and has a reputation as a troublemaker. However, he does not play a large role in the events that go down with the Black Swan and the group later known to be the Neverseen.

### Book 2: *Exile*

In contrast to his role in the first book, Keefe's role in the second one is more important. One also gets a glimpse at his more compassionate side when Sophie is upset about Alden's broken mind. Keefe also impressed his father by telling him that he was helping Sophie with Silveny the alicorn. This impressed Keefe's father because Silveny is the key to the people's faith in the Council and saving the Timeline to Extinction. Near the end of the book, he also flies to the High Seas facility with Sophie on Silveny's back in order for the Black Swan to reset her abilities with limbium.

### Book 3: *Everblaze*

In *Everblaze*, he does a great deal of aiding Sophie with whatever mysteries she has to solve involving the Black Swan. He also begins to think that his father is a part of the Neverseen, but to his dismay, finds out that it is actually his mother. At the end of the book, Keefe fights his mother atop Mount Everest and begins to harbor a deep grudge against her.

### Book 4: *Neverseen*

In *Neverseen* Keefe takes on a darker, more angry edge in some areas of the book, especially when it has to do with his mother. This book gives readers a glimpse into what it's like to be in Keefe's world. You see his sensitivity and struggle to hold himself together while trying to hide the "scared, broken boy" he had managed to conceal throughout his life. After learning that his mother had a Washer hide many of his memories of her when he was a child, he joins the Neverseen in order to find answers and help Sophie and the Black Swan.

He feels betrayed by his mother and fights with emotions of regret, grief, and guilt, causing him to lash out at his friends, telling Sophie and Fitz that the best thing they could do would be to go away. He still seems to love his mother deep down but doesn't want to admit it. Keefe is desperate to gain the memories stolen by his mother, and when he does, his fears come to light: it's revealed he was never meant to be a hero, but a Neverseen member. He had later found out that it wasn't only his mother who was part of the Neverseen, it was also Alvar Vacker, whom Keefe looked up to and previously called his "hero." Feeling incredibly guilty and responsible for all the harm the Neverseen caused, Keefe decides to join them so he can work as a double agent.

Keefe leaps away from Havenfield with the intention to join the Neverseen, but Sophie follows him after seeing his suspicious crystal. He protects Sophie from Brant and Alvar, who attempts to take her as a hostage. Keefe ends up sacrificing Sophie's cache, given to her by Councillor Oralie at Councillor Kenric's request, and steals it by mimicking her voice because he overheard her and Fitz talking about the cache's password, "221B Baker Street." He tells Sophie he can't be who she wants him to be and begs Sophie not to hate him, and his last words before Sophie leaves are "I have to do this. Please don't hate me." He uses the necklace he gave her with a temporary leaping crystal to send her back home to escape. Afterwards, Sophie consistently checks up on him by having regular telepathic conversations.

### Book 5: *Lodestar*

In *Lodestar*, Keefe impersonated Magnate Leto at Foxfire and led Sophie inside "his" office. After that, every night and later on in the book, every morning in his Neverseen hideout, he has a telepathic conversation with Sophie. It is in this scene that he reveals to Sophie that he is a double agent and is actually on Sophie's side. Later Sophie, Tam, and Fitz find one of the hideouts and find Keefe and three others (Brant, Ruy, and Alvar), ready to capture them. When Tam and Fitz get trapped behind a force field, Sophie decides she has no choice but to inflict on them. She then wakes Keefe up and Keefe begs to take Alvar with him back to Fintan so he can gain his trust and steal his cache (along with Kenric's). As Sophie disagrees, begging Keefe to leave the Neverseen and come back with them, but Keefe steals their leaping crystal to Alluveterre and escapes, bringing himself and Alvar back to the Neverseen. Keefe finally flees the Neverseen while Sophie is at the Peace Summit; he finds her at Lumenaria and is there when Mr. Forkle dies. It is also revealed that Keefe's blood is the key to open a mysterious door, possibly part of the Lodestar Initiative.

### Book 6: *Nightfall*

In *Nightfall*, Keefe is no longer associated with the Neverseen. When he and Sophie make contact with Lady Gisela through his blood-sealed imparter, she answers. Lady Gisela says she needs him to go to Ravagog and deliver a message to King Dimitar. When they get there, Keefe declares himself to be a Mercadir. King Dimitar challenges Keefe to a sparring match where the first person to draw blood from the opponent three times wins. If Keefe wins, they get the starstone hairpin that they want. Keefe wins by a hair, and he learns that his mother, in the message, told Dimitar to challenge Keefe to a fight to "prove that he's not worthless like the others." In addition, his mother told Dimitar to assign Keefe a bodyguard (if he won). He ends up being assigned Ro, King Dimitar's daughter.

### Book 7: *Flashback*

In *Flashback*, Fitz and Sophie confessed their feelings for each other. Some have interpreted Keefe to be heartbroken. He was a little jealous and acted uncomfortable at first. However, after accepting that this was what would make Sophie happy, he was shown to be very supportive of their relationship. Keefe also acquires the nickname of Lord Hunkyhair after winning a bet against his bodyguard, Ro. Tiergan and Keefe also recovered some blurry memories of a sunset, a couple of trees, a bunch of black fabric, empty glass vials, and a pair of green eyes, possibly Ethan Benedict Wright II's or Amy's, meaning that he has met a human before.

### Book 8: *Legacy*

In *Legacy*, it is revealed that Keefe's mom killed (or is presumed to have killed) a human man named Ethan Benedict Wright II and his daughter, leaving Keefe feeling disastrously guilty for their deaths. Keefe was asked to stay behind from Loamnore, but the situation caused him, Marella, and Linh to attempt a last-ditch effort escape plan. Unfortunately, due to King Enki's betrayal, Keefe and all the others are detained regardless. Keefe is forced to fulfil his legacy, the same legacy that his mom forced upon him. After his legacy is carried out, he is left in a state that is like a coma. Elwin says he is fine, but the use of Stellarlune is most likely making him manifest a new ability. Sophie stays with him to make sure he's okay, he sleeps for three days and remains in this state. The book ends here.

### Book 8.5: *Unlocked*

In *Unlocked*, Keefe wakes up from his coma on the fourth day, feeling nauseous and achy. He accidentally mimics Fitz, and when he speaks back to Ro in Ogrish, it is revealed that he manifested as a Polyglot. He can now feel emotions without having to make physical contact. When Sophie comes to talk to him, her emotions overwhelm him, and by using a certain tone of his voice, and shouting "Numb", he is able to freeze (or rip away the emotions of) Elwin, Fitz, Sophie, Sandor, and Ro. He is able to fix the situation by yelling "Feel", but this causes a fear of talking that continues for most of the book. He tells Sophie to stay away because he doesn't want her witnessing his weakness. Keefe goes to stay at Splendor Plains for the time being, and he reconciles with Sophie via a telepathic conversation. Dex, Kesler, and Elwin try to fix his ability with serums and devices, and having Lex, Bex, and Rex trigger it, but it all goes awry and leaves Keefe even more scared of his ability. While doing this, Keefe notices weird feelings about the triplets' hands, but disregards it until Dex mentions in an Imparter conversation that Lex and Bex manifested, but Rex did not. (Keefe noticed that Lex's hand was cold, and he manifested as a Froster, that Bex's hand was squishy, and she manifested as a Phaser, and that Rex's hand felt "empty", not unlike Kesler's). This causes Dex and Keefe to assume Rex will be Talentless. Facing this discovery, Keefe decides to run away from the Lost Cities in order to protect everyone from the havoc and leverage this ability could bring the Neverseen. He uses his ability to "Sleep" command Ro and wakes her as he leaps away. He takes his stuff and stops at Shores of Solace to gather the rest, and heads to Havenfield. He dyes Iggy a new color, and writes Sophie a letter explaining that he was going to hide "like how the Black Swan hid you", and tells her not to look for him and to forget about him. The letter ends with Keefe saying that Sophie meant more to him than she would ever know, and with the words "Love, Keefe." Grady Ruewen stops Keefe as he is about to leave, but ultimately lets him go; however, he makes him take an Imparter in case of emergencies. Keefe light-leaps away to the Forbidden Cities.

### Book 9: *Stellarlune*

In Stellarlune, Keefe is on the run in the Forbidden Cities after stealing his father's blue pathfinder. Sophie tries to reach him by using Silveny, Luna and Wynn's telepathy but Keefe keeps ignoring their calls. He's absent during most of the book until Vespera reveals that Lady Gisela has a way to find him using shadowflux. When Keefe was with the Neverseen, Umber secretly put shadowflux in his food, creating a ripple in the shadow plane. But since the food there was already so disgusting, Keefe didn't suspect it. Sophie Dex and Tam figure out that Keefe is in London thanks to the Shadow-ripple tracker. They go after him, and Keefe decides to come back in the Lost Cities because he wanted to make sure that the stones at Elysian would be destroyed. When he returns, he chooses to live in the Grove because he doesn't want to be back at the Shores of Solace and see his father again. He later trains with Grady to learn to control his new abilities that he has numbed to protect himself from other's emotions. He also tries to find the things that Lady Gisela might have hidden in the void, but he fails to find it. As the book progress, he keeps training with Grady and drawing in his journals. Sophie admits her feelings for him while they are in the Grove. Keefe and Sophie kiss each other after the talk and start a new relationship.

## Relationships

### Sophie Elizabeth Foster

* **(Close friend/Girlfriend/Second kiss/Love interest)**
> ***“You can ignore it all you want, Foster, but sooner or later you're going to have to solve the triangle. Or should we get real and call it a square?”***
>
>

—Keefe Sencen, to Sophie Foster, in

Sophie and Keefe met midway through *Keeper of the Lost Cities* and since that time the two have become good friends. Keefe always wants to join Sophie on her adventures and is there for her various times throughout the series. In *Exile*, Keefe, and Sophie get to know each other better and begin to trust each other.

In *Everblaze*, Shannon Messenger hinted a couple of times that Keefe could possibly have a crush on Sophie, due to his constant teasing and subtle compliments. In *Neverseen*, it becomes quite obvious that Keefe likes Sophie, becoming jealous of Tam, who he believes is trying to join the "Foster Fan Club". They share many close moments, and he even goes as far as to give her a necklace that he had originally made for his mother, in order to protect her from himself. Also in *Neverseen*, when Keefe says "Hold hands and look into each other's eyes," he reveals that he is quite jealous of Fitz and knows Sophie has romantic feelings for Fitz through his special ability, Empathy. Unfortunately, his Empathy also tells him that Sophie doesn't feel the same way around him.

He also seems to confide in Sophie more than the others, as well as stalling his reckless plans for her. They also shared two "window slumber parties", where they both sleep at their respective windowsills, covered in blankets, just to enjoy each other's company. Sophie was constantly worried about Keefe's mental health and didn't believe that he could handle his issues with his mother. When Keefe is about to go to Ravagog alone, Sophie talks him out of it, this shows how he feels for Sophie, and how he will listen to her more than his other friends.

Sophie is heartbroken when Keefe joins the Neverseen, and, trying to honour his last wish, tries as best as she can, not to hate him. In *Lodestar,* they often communicate telepathically while Keefe is with the Neverseen. When Mr. Forkle passes away in Lumenaria, Keefe was there to hold Sophie in his arms, keeping her together. He also gave her his cloak to keep her warm a couple of times.

When Sophie finds Amy after her parents are taken, Keefe asks if she is okay and asks if Sophie still hates him. Sophie replies, "I'm never going to hate you, Keefe." In Book 6: *Nightfall*, he continually hints that he likes Sophie. Keefe often visits Havenfield, and they share some sweet moments which hint at more than what is said.

In the Barnes and Noble exclusive version of *Nightfall*, Keefe admits that he likes Sophie. Ro remarks that "he's got it bad" for her. He also was "dreaming about a pair of gold-flecked brown eyes" and told Ro that he would be whatever Sophie needed "until she was ready for more". He seems to admit that he will tell her soon, and at the beginning of *Flashback*, he continues to flirt with her and compliment her. In mid-*Flashback,* Sophie and Fitz admit their feelings for each other and become a couple. He says he is happy for them and congratulates Sophie, but his behaviour reveals that he may be upset. Despite this, he reassures Sophie that she and Fitz are perfect together and he is supportive of their relationship.

In *Legacy*, Sophie has often come to Keefe to help her with many things. It shows that they care about each other deeply. Keefe is the first-person Sophie says that she is unmatchable, even if circumstance forced it. Sophie and Keefe continue to help each other throughout the whole book. Sophie brings Keefe human cookies and Keefe describes it as "something no one has ever done for him before", and Sophie comes to him for advice about resetting her abilities. After Sophie and Fitz break up, Keefe continues to be supportive of Sophie. When Lady Gisela orders Tam to shoot the shadowflux at Keefe, Sophie still clings on to him. She sits beside him all the time while he was in the coma at the Healing Center.

In Stellarlune, Sophie confesses her feelings for Keefe and Keefe admits that he likes her back, so they kiss.

### Fitzroy Avery Vacker

* **(Best friend/Possible Love Interest)**

Fitz is Keefe's best friend. The two are very close and have known each other throughout their school lives. Their friendship began in Level Two at Foxfire when Keefe was the weird guy who skipped a level, and Fitz was the guy who kept disappearing all the time. No one wanted to hang out with either of them, so they became best friends. Keefe is often at the Vacker house, Everglen, playing base quest, playing Bramble, or just hanging out. Fitz says that he and Keefe became friends because they were both eccentric and they did not fit in. After a while, Fitz and Keefe's relationship died down because of their mutual crushes on Sophie.

In *Lodestar*, Fitz is obviously angry at Keefe for joining the enemy. But he was described as "afraid" rather than angry. They grow further apart, with Fitz feeling unable to trust Keefe and Keefe in turn mostly communicating with Sophie. At the end of the book, they reconcile, but there is still tension between them.

In *Nightfall*, Fitz and Keefe have been interpreted to have a lot of tension between each other, fighting a silent war. Throughout the book, it is hinted to be over jealousy, most likely over their relationships with Sophie.

In *Flashback*, their relationship as friends is still very rocky as they get further away from being the friends they once were. This is mainly to jealousy in some of the previous books concerning Sophie and to Keefe running off to the Neverseen. Afterward, there was a lack of trust between them.

In *Legacy*, Sophie and Keefe spend a lot of time together, even though she was "dating" Fitz. Fitz seems suspicious about Sophie and Keefe's intentions, despite Keefe's best efforts to keep himself from interfering in Sophie and Fitz's relationship. They briefly reconcile in the middle of the book, where Keefe calls Fitz his best friend and Fitz agrees. Keefe is a factor in Sophie's decision to remain friends with Fitz.

### Dex Dizznee

* **(Close friend/Possible love interest)**

Keefe meets Dex through Sophie. In *Everblaze*, when it is revealed, Dex is a Technopath, Keefe begins planning various schemes with him. Keefe and Dex both like to tease Sophie and Fitz about being Cognates. Keefe often jokes with Dex about pranking Councillor Alina (when she had been the principal of Foxfire Academy) with elixirs and using his Technopathic skills to make elaborate schemes, which Dex always declines.

Dex and Keefe seem to become very good friends during *Neverseen,* sharing a Lufterator when fleeing to the Black Swan. The two both use the nickname "Wonderboy" for Fitz. This is most likely due to many girls liking Fitz, including Sophie. They have also grown closer as friends as Fitz and Keefe's friendship becomes more strained.

In Unlocked, Dex and Keefe grow closer when Keefe comes to Dex about the problem with his ability and numbing thing.

### Biana Amberly Vacker

* **(Friend/Possible love interest)**

Biana is the sister of Keefe's best friend, Fitz. They are childhood friends, and they have hung out with each other for many years. She saved his life in *Everblaze*, tackling Lady Gisela, who tried to shoot him with a melder.

She is shown to have a romantic interest in Keefe, even though it is implied that Keefe didn't return any feelings for her.

In the fourth book, Keefe admits that he has kissed Biana before in a dare, describing it as "mostly on the cheek." It can be noted that the "mostly" rather than only was brought by Biana turning her head on the cheek kiss (which was a dare) and having him catch the corner of her mouth. Keefe cares a lot about Biana, and it is clear that he does not wish for her to get hurt.

In the sixth book, Keefe denies having a liking for Biana and admits that he flirts with everybody else to try to send the message when speaking with Sophie, although it's possible this could be a cover for flirting with Sophie a lot. Nonetheless, the two are great friends.

In Nightfall, Biana says that it's a struggle knowing that the person you like doesn't like you back, most likely referring to Keefe. Sophie later notes that Biana has been a lot less flirty with Keefe and that it seems she has moved on.

### Lord Cassius Sencen

* **(Father)**

Lord Cassius is shown to be a very controlling and verbally and emotionally abusive father. He often states how disappointed he is in Keefe, but his negative intentions have never extended farther than that. Later, after Keefe knows about his mom being in the Neverseen, he says he is surprised his dad "turned out to be the good parent". Lord Cassius wrote a book about Empaths called The Heart of the Matter. Keefe describes his dad as not so much an author but a "torturer of innocent readers."

In *Lodestar,* Lord Cassius seems to be softer on Keefe as he asks Sophie to tell Keefe that "If he ever comes back, he'll always have a home." Sophie, though, does state that Lord Cassius was verbally abusing Keefe, along with Lady Gisela.

In *Legacy,* when Sophie digs through Lord Cassius's memories, It is shown that he does love Keefe, but does not like to show it due to his warped views on the damage of love.

> ***“Back to nag me already? You seriously need to get yourself a hobby. I hear spelunking's fun. Oooh, or you could try swimming with the krakens! I doubt they'd eat you—but maybe we'll get lucky!”***
>
>

—Keefe, in

### Lady Gisela Minette Sencen

* **(Mother)**

Lady Gisela was once referred to as the better parent, due to her more distant nature compared to his dad's abuse. Although she hides behind her more impartial nature, throughout the series it is shown that Lady Gisela is an extremely manipulative person, using guilt-tripping to get what she wants. At the end of *Everblaze*, it is revealed that she is part of the Neverseen.

In *Neverseen*, Keefe learns that his mother has had someone wash his memories so that he wouldn't remember her affiliations with the Neverseen. Additionally, he receives a note that states that Lady Gisela was "doing it for him". Broken, hurt, remorseful, and overcome by guilt, he joins the Neverseen as a double agent in an attempt to stop them, as he feels responsible for all they have done. In *Lodestar*, she's shown to have once cut open Keefe's skin to take his blood and blackmailing Keefe into not telling anyone. In *Nightfall*, she's shown to be extremely manipulative. Again, she forces Keefe to spill his blood.

In *Legacy*, she forces Keefe to fulfill his Legacy, using a combination of the elements that cause him to be put in a coma.

> ***“No matter how much he hated or feared his mother, some tiny, reluctant part of him was always going to care about her a little.”***
>
>

—Sophie's thoughts, in

### Alden Dedrick Vacker

* **(Father Figure)**

Alden is like a father to Keefe, always allowing him to stay over and making sure everything is working out for Keefe. Alden loves Keefe like his child, and Keefe loves Alden like a father. When Alden's mind is broken, the grief is agonizing for Keefe. In the Keefe Short Story (Flashback), Alden tells him to back off of Sophie, and let Sophie and Fitz "be happy", something that sticks with him for the rest of the series.

### Grady Howell Ruewen

* **(Sophie's adoptive father)**

Grady is Sophie's father and has always been mistrusting and disapproving of Keefe. He always calls Keefe "That Boy" and doesn't like it when Sophie hangs out with him, thinking that he's a bad influence. When Keefe ran away to join the Neverseen, Grady got more upset at him. In Lodestar, when Sophie asks why Grady is so hard on Keefe, Grady has a "talk" with Sophie about boys, and hints that he thinks Sophie and Keefe like each other, explaining why Grady is always so cautious when it comes to Keefe. In *Nightfall* though, after Keefe returns from his bed rest, Keefe talks with Sophie and makes her feel better. This causes Grady to "study Keefe as if he'd never seen before in his life", hinting that Grady might be warming up to Keefe. In Unlocked, it's shown that Grady had slightly changed his feelings toward him.

### Edaline Kelia Ruewen

* **(Sophie's adoptive mother)**

Throughout the books, it is shown that Edaline is very kind to Keefe and feels a little sorry that he had to experience such a rough and unloving childhood. She enjoys Keefe keeping Sophie company, unlike Grady. It also is hinted that Edaline adores Sophie and Keefe's relationship often giving them "Goofy Smiles" when they are having their moments.

### Sandor

* **(Friend/Sophie's bodyguard)**

Keefe is constantly teasing Sandor and trying to make trouble for him. He always calls Sandor 'Gigantor.' Sandor acts annoyed but is actually very fond of Keefe and sometimes trusts him. He also shows signs of wanting to protect Keefe as well as Sophie.

### Tam Dai Song

* **(Frenemy/Possible love interest)**

When they first meet, Keefe doesn't want Tam to take a reading of him, which makes it hard for them to trust each other. Keefe often calls him "Bangs Boy," and says "his (Keefe's) hair is cooler (than Tam's)." Tam refuses to talk to Keefe until Keefe submits to a shadow reading, which he has yet to do. In Nightfall when Keefe is apologizing for betraying everyone, Tam tells Keefe he is not worthless but parents like theirs can make him feel that way. He says that he forgives him but that doesn't stop him from teasing Keefe throughout the remainder of *Nightfall*. In *Legacy* Tam tries to warn Sophie that Lady Gisela is trying to kill Keefe, but Keefe doesn't seem to listen.

In the showdown at the end of the book, Tam ends up blasting shadowflux into him to activate his new ability. Tam repeatedly says that he's sorry, and Keefe seems to somewhat forgive him.

It's possible that Keefe's "rivalry" with Tam is actually just a way of covering up his platonic/romantic affection towards Tam, and vice-versa.

### Linh Hai Song

* **(Friend/Possible love interest)**

In *Lodestar*, it is shown that Keefe was impressed by how Linh controlled the river so well. He was also worried that the Neverseen might have hurt Linh, showing he somewhat cares for her. (Though this could also be his overall protectiveness toward his friends)

### Ro

* **(Personal bodyguard/Babysitter/Friend)**

Sophie, Keefe, and Lady Cadence deliver a scroll to King Dimitar from Lady Gisela (Keefe's mom) that requested that Keefe proves he is worthy and that he gets a bodyguard for extra protection. Keefe and Ro have many similarities such as liking to cause trouble.

Ro thinks that Sophie and Keefe are adorable together "especially when she gets the look in her eye that she wants to rip his head off". In the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition Ro refers to Sophie as Keefe's "little girlfriend" and teases him about his crush on Sophie. Keefe does not correct her when she says this. Ro believes that Keefe should confess his crush on Sophie, and almost uses the dare she has on him to do that. Ro has to call him Lord Hunkyhair after she lost a bet in Flashback, although she usually calls him Lord Funkyhair. The two have a very fun and dynamic relationship, both being very rebellious people who don't like to conform.

## References

Information sourced from the Keeper of the Lost Cities Wiki