The Frosted Files:Open Eyes

//Epilogue\\

    "Where will we go, Fate?" Apollo asked, as we drove down the road towards Alister's bar. Zane still didn't trust me to drive, despite all we've been through in the past few days, but no one else wanted to drive, so I called out Destiny, and had them drive. Zane himself sat beside me, giving me a mobile checkup while we all talked.
    Bar and Ezra sat side by side, hand in hand. She was asleep on his shoulder, and he was gently stroking her hair.
    "I have an idea, just let us get to this place first, sunshine."
    Apollo nodded, and squeezed my hand, petting Thief with his other. My other hand, the prosthetic, was in Zane's grip, and he was checking it over, seeing how the skin and flesh was holding up after all this abuse.
    "We are not staying in a bar, Frost. You're still on a no-alcohol restriction." Zane said without looking up.
    "Yeah, yeah, I get that. This place has something better than booze, though." I said. Zane raised an eyebrow, and continued checking over my hand.
    Apollo's younger sister, Artemis, hadn't yet called back. She went to a boarding school a few cities away, but with her room in the Compound being destroyed, she needed to know.
    The rest of the ride was silent, and when we got there, we all piled out. As I walked, Destiny walked beside me, and at one point simply walked into me, the tech flowing into its hiding spaces.
    We entered, and took a booth.
    "Welcome back, Fate. The usual?"
    "Of course, Al. Same for the table, if you would."
    We all got one of the swirling blue potions, and we sipped quietly. Eventually, small talk sprang up, and I checked my phone. She should be here soon.
    A tap on my shoulder got my attention. I turned, and in the booth behind us sat Karma, the red-skinned wizard that had saved my ass more than a few times.
    While chatting, and without the interruption of Alister this time, we had discovered something coincidental, probably; our mother shared a name. While that was cool, it was very unlikely that they were the same Freya. Karma was over two hundred years old, after all. Regardless, it had given us a good laugh, so we ran with the joke.
    "Hey sis. What's the news?"
    "Scarlett says they have a room beside the throne room being built, probably for you."
    "Not about that."
    "Oh, right, right. Yeah, no, no one knows of this purple-eyed person you saw in the undercity. A shame."
    I had gone over my tech's recordings, and the whole time I was in the little storeroom had been blurred and corrupted. No one else saw the strange person, but I remembered them, and curiosity was killing me.
    So after a bit of catching up, and introducing my people to Karma (most of who, minus Zane, took it in stride. Zane was severely worried over the fact that she's red.), we headed up the stairs, to the rooms.
    "Frost, what did I say-"
    "Just trust me for once, Zane."
    "That's about as dangerous as dancing with a buzzsaw, but sure. You have my attention."
    I took out the key to the Outside Inn, put it in the door on the far back left of the hall, twisted, and opened it. As we stepped inside, I took the key, and shut the door.
    Eladrin slipped over in her usual fluid motion.
    "Hey, Drin. How many rooms d'you have?"
    "Four, dear."
    "Lovely. We'll take them all."
    "Okay! Let me fetch the keys for you."
    Everyone was looking around, trying to wrap their mind around what had just happened. I had to cut their wondering off, though, as Drin came back with the keys.
    "Thank you, Drin. Guys, really quick, before I assign rooms. Don't open the windows, ever, under any circumstance. That's pretty much the only rule, other than the usual civilities that we already follow. Bar and Ezra, you two lovebirds can share a room. Obviously, me and Apollo will take a room. Zane, I'll let you pick, would you like to bunk with Vlad or Karma?"
    "Stay with a close friend of mine, or a red stranger? Man, that sure is a hard choice, Frost." He snatched a key from me. "Come on Vlad, grab your stuff."
    I smiled. Zane's snarky words were refreshing, after everything that had happened. "That leaves you with your own room, Karma." I tossed her the key, and we all went to our rooms to settle in.