ALL IN. sokeefe.

010

Alden looked at Della and said placatingly, "There's no reason to worry, dear." Sophie groaned inwardly as she heard Alden use the phrase, rolling her eyes. Della scoffed, "There is an absolute reason to worry! Our son, as disgraceful as he may be, broke somebody's arm!" Fitz rolled his eyes at his parents, "It's not even a big deal!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms.

Edaline went into full mama-bear mode and in a clipped tone said to him, "I suppose you wouldn't mind if I broke yours then?" Fitz's eyes widened and he mumbled, "No." Her adoptive mother glared at him and said, "Exactly."

"Well, boys will be boys, Edaline," Alden said soothingly.

Della's mouth parted in shock. "What?"

Edaline blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

Alden smiled uneasily. "Well, boys have to get their anger out somehow, right?"

Della blinked at him, mouth agape.

Edaline shook her head, turning away from him.

Sophie suddenly felt a weight around her shoulders as Keefe wrapped his arm around her. His knuckles were still speckled with blood, Fitz's blood, she realized. "Hey, Foster!" He said, smirking down at her. He winced, "That is some pretty strong fear I'm feeling right now." Fitz looked down at the ground, an embarrassed scowl on his face.

Ro swung around the hall, ogre blade in hand. "Ah, Blondie! Hunkyhair's been looking all over for you." Sophie blushed and looked up at him, "You were?" Keefe nodded, flashing a lazy smirk. "'Course I was, what else am I supposed to do?" Sophie felt her face flush fire-engine red, and she whispered to him, "Not right now," she chanced a glance at Fitz and pity swirled through her. "Fitz is here." Keefe rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him. "Foster, who cares?" Sophie whisper-hissed him, "I do! I care about him, and I don't want him to be sulkier than he already is!"

She dragged him into a more isolated corner of the hall, away from prying eyes and ears.

"You still care about him?" Keefe's voice broke, and he withdrew his arm from her shoulders. Her shoulders suddenly felt cold, and she missed his warmth. "Not like that- it's just that he was the first elf I met!" Hurt flashed in his eyes, "And that makes him better than me?" Sophie grabbed his hand, "No, of course not!" He tried to twist his hand away from her, but she held firm.

He slumped, "Look, Foster, I know we're dancing around how I like you-" Sophie cut him off, "We're not dancing around it!" Ro smirked, "Blondie, you are." Sophie flushed and glared at her. "No, I'm not!" Keefe laughed humorlessly, "Yeah, you are."

"Really?" Sophie said coolly, a quiet calm settling over her. "Yes," Keefe replied tiredly.

Looking up at him, she whispered, "What if I liked you too?"

"Sophie?" His voice was barely a whisper and his expression... there weren't words for it.

"You realize, if we do this, it could get very messy."

Sophie swallowed, and a fear come to life. "Because I'm... unmatchable?" She barely managed to choke out the words.

"No—the Council can feed their Match lists to the gorgodon for all I care. But... I wasn't lying when I said my mom will try to use anyone I care about to hurt me."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I'm already at the top of your mom's list of targets," Sophie reminded him. "Plus, I can Inflict on her!"

She tapped her temples. Keefe caught her hand before it returned to her side, cradling her palm in his. "That might not be enough to stop her."