Nine's Legacy

Wow, this novella added so much to Nine's character, providing not only backstory but then leading into his introduction with Four in the main series. Firstly, his relationships with his Cepan Sandor and a new teenage crush Maddy were well-written and, well, fresh. There was a big focus on a different kind of teenage lifestyle in Chicago, with rock climbing and car drives, perhaps to the other Garde. Then when the story takes its inevitable dark turn I watched Nine tested and broken, all the while developing his legacies. When the short story concluded, coinciding with the events of Power of Six, I felt a whole new level of understanding and attachment towards Nine.