He Left Me - KotLC fic (after Unlocked)

Chapter 18

So we went from 80 view to 160 in like a day and a half? I love all y'all, but please please please vote if you like a chapter :)

honestly this one was kinda painful to write.... but i have Big Plans, so stick with me. 

also please please please comment if you have any questions/concerns OR IF YOU FIND A TYPO. please. 

"Why isn't she awake yet?"

"We... had to give her extra. She should be awake any minute."

The faint, murky voices drifted through the fog in my mind. I fought against the growing consciousness. The fog was so peaceful, so empty. It was like when Keefe filled my mind with his breezes.

Keefe.

I struggled to think, trying to remember the cause of the pain his name caused.

Recalling the last time I said his name, I watched the memory of a girl facing a window in the dark. Someone stood behind her. "Keefe wouldn't want this."

The girl whispered, "Keefe is dead."

Keefe is dead. The girl was me.

I surged back to consciousness, gasping. The cool air stung my lungs, and my mouth tasted like something was doused in a sedative and curled up to die in it. I gagged and tried to sit upright, my vision obscured by what felt like a blindfold.

I was tied down, my chest and arms secured to a table. When I tried to squirm or kick, I found my legs, too, were immobile. My chest heaved as I started to hyperventilate. I was trapped, and I was almost absurdly happy.

"Sophie, stop it. Stop it now." Someone slapped me, and I gasped. Anger rose in my chest, but I tried to calm my breathing, grinning like a maniac. 

The air smelled musty, like there was no good ventilation. Maybe underground, or in a windowless room? I tried to think. Most of the hideouts we had found were underground, so it'd make sense if I was being held in a similar place. From the feel of the cold metal on my shoulders and fabric around my legs, I was still in my formal dress, and my hair felt like it was still up. They had probably searched me for pockets and found the two trackers and the imparter.

And the photos we took before the dance, I realized with a pang.

Last I remembered, I was being sedated. The atrium was painfully dark, with the doors locked. My friends and Sandor were nearby. I wondered if Fitz heard my last transmission.

I tried to think my situation through. It didn't look like I would be escaping soon. I wasn't in combat-ready clothes. They probably wanted me for information, in which case, I wouldn't be much help. 

"Sophie." I recognized the voice of Lady Gisela as she entered with the sounds of a door locking. "So nice to see you again. You didn't have to get so dressed up just for me."

"If I knew you were going to crash the party, I would've opted for a much more casual look. Perhaps with more knives, or those throwing stars I know you love."

"Yes, I thought so. But wouldn't you want to look nice for my son? Since you're such good... friends."

"Well, I can't exactly see him like this, can I? You'll have to kill me first." I tried to keep the pain that went through me at the mention of him from my voice. "So get to it, please. These shoes are hurting my toes."

"I suppose." From the sound of it, Gisela took a seat near where I lay. "But the thing is, you lied to me, Sophie."

"Remind me when? So hard to keep track of them."

"You said my son was dead."

"He is." Doubt prickled my mind, and I shoved it away. Keefe wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't leave me for good.

"Yes, yes he is. But only after I tracked him down and killed him."

I fell silent. Keefe had been alive. I had given up on him, and Gisela made sure he was dead. Guilt and pain ripped through my chest. I couldn't even think of a sarcastic reply.

A small voice told me to have hope, that maybe Gisela was lying, but then she continued.

"See, blood infused with both stellarlune and shadowflux is very powerful. I knew Keefe would never cooperate with me. He was too infatuated with his teen romance with you to see his potential. But I didn't really need him. I could make do with just his blood."

I stiffened, and a single tear leaked out from my closed eyes, soaking into the blindfold.

"What a shame you couldn't see his death. He called out for you, you know. So pathetic."

The guilt doubled in my heart at the idea of Keefe needing me when I wasn't there for him.

"You see, Sophie, I really don't like people lying to me. But my companions think it wouldn't be wise to kill you yet. The Black Swan and the Council are scrambling without their little moonlark, and they're sure to make a mistake and expose themselves in their haste. Not to mention, there's so much we can learn from you. The DNA your makers so carefully altered will be so informative. I hope you don't mind us using you for research purposes."

Something sliced across my shoulder, and I gritted my teeth at the sudden stinging pain. Drops of hot blood dripped onto the surface I was strapped to.

"But we need your blood. Thankfully, we don't need you awake. I hope you appreciate the sleep we're about to give you, since I know you've gotten so little lately."

It dawned on me, then, that she was about to use sopordine to drug me. For a brief moment I was thankful it wasn't the usual sweet sedative.

"Goodbye, Sophie. Thank you so much for your help."

There was an odd prickling on the inside of my wrist, and then everything went black.