all our broken skies, a kotlc + pjo/hoo fanfic

chapter seven

I know from experience that angry short people are the scariest beings on the planet. Linh is enough of an example—she's five-three, and every time she gets mad, I worry for my life. And the lives of everyone within a five-mile radius.

Nothing could've prepared me for being attacked by a worried short person the moment I light leaped into Havenfield.

"Did you find her!" Dex shrieked, almost knocking me to the ground.

I winced. "Yeah. I did. She's fine."

The brunet sighed, his shoulders slumping in relief. "Thank goodness." He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for attacking you."

I shrugged. "Linh's worse."

"So what happened?" Dex asked, pulling me along by the arm.

I hesitated. Should I tell him? We were under strict orders not to interfere with Sophie unless it was an emergency, just in case her memories returned. I'm pretty sure talking to her and holding her hands counts as interference, but no one could've stopped me. She was having a panic attack on a bridge, in the dark—what else was I supposed to do?

"Well," I said slowly, "after Sophie left, I followed her. I was just about to light leap back when she ran past me. Why did she leave in such a hurry?"

"Don't know," Dex admitted. "I was ordering food."

"Dex!"

"Hey, human food is good!" he complained

I shook my head. "I thought you said it was disgusting?"

"No, I said the fact that they ate meat was disgusting," Dex corrected. "I like ice cream, though. And hot chocolate."

"You'll have to give me a food tour sometime," I said. "We should bring everyone—Edaline, Della, Grady, Linh... Like old times."

Dex snapped his fingers, shaking his hand slightly. I frowned at him, watching as his eyes darted to and fro. It was a habit he'd developed, snapping to buy time as he formulated his thoughts. With every death, the tic had become more and more prominent.

And there had been a lot. I'd learned to be patient with him, though. We were all learning to cope.

Finally, Dex gathered his thoughts. "I think I heard Sophie call Gethen her father."

"You—" I blinked. "What?" It made sense—Gethen had become a father-figure to her—but why would she say that?

"Okay, well, she didn't say it explicitly." Dex frowned. "And I might've heard something wrong. I think I overheard the teens asking about her parents, and she said that she was raised by her dad? Maybe? And I was thinking Gethen."

I sighed, somewhat relieved. Everything would go so much easier if Sophie's relationship with everyone she knew didn't change much. Of course, it'd all go back to normal once she had her memories back, but Grady... He and Edaline had done so much for Linh and I, taking us in. I didn't want to see him in pain because Gethen was filling his role.

"That's not definitive proof, Dex," I said. "Let's not jump to conclusions when Sophie only met him a few hours ago. And I think it goes without saying that you not mention this to Grady or Edaline."

He nodded. "Yeah, I just..." Dex shook his head. "I want Sophie to be happy, you know? But I also... I also really want her back. Sometimes, it feels like she's the only thing holding us together."

I couldn't help but feel the same way. It was hard to not notice how distant the members of the Black Swan had become after we finally defeated the Neverseen. Aside from Juline, the entire Collective had been replaced, and the change in leadership had been difficult. It still was. Livvy didn't carry the same confident aura that the Forkles had.