Key to my Heart [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven

Fitz's POV:

The whole act Fitz had been putting on had been really hard. Sophie had been through so much, with the break-up and everything. And now she thinks I joined the Neverseen? I don't know how she is acting so calm right now.

Seeing the look on her face as she saw him clearly in the Neverseen's outfit, he wanted to drop the act and get them both out of there. He wanted to untie the horrid ties around her feet and hands, and leave. The cave they were in led out to dozens of tunnels, with so many twists and turns it was almost impossible to find your way through them. But Fitz managed to navigate his way through the maze, so he could escape if he needed to without getting lost. But he knew that wasn't a possibility if he wanted to keep her safe from the Neverseen. He was so confused with all the things Gethen and Sophie were talking about. How does he know who her parents are? Was he a part of the Black Swan and then turned on them?

Behind him, Alvar tapped his shoulder "Do you think she'll actually buy your act? Be more evil-looking," he whispered. "Also, what is Gethen telling her?"

While Fitz was too busy racking his brain of possibilities, he realized that he could find out easily. He used his mental energy and tried to slip into Sophie's mind, using the keyword he always used to get in, to get her mind to trust him, but it didn't work. His probing couldn't get past her. He tried again, pulling all the energy from his core and mental reserves, and all the warmth he could possibly find in his mind, and pushed past Sophie's blocking. He hoped she wouldn't notice, but he saw Sophie rub her temples and shoot a quick glance at him. He tried to make it quick and undetectable. He quickly rummaged through all the thoughts she had in her mind. All the images and thoughts were too overwhelming, like looking directly at the horizon. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face, and then suddenly, he was calm. It was like Sophie had inflicted on him to slow down and relax, because she trusted what he was doing. It was like even after all they had been through, they were still Cognates, and they still relied on each other and trusted each other. Fitz finally found what he was looking for. Sophie's father is Gethen. The thought hit him like a boulder.

He stumbled back and pulled away from Sophie's mind so fast he could've gotten whiplash. He looked at her in surprise. She had let him find the information he needed. Could she have gone in his mind while he was in hers, and seen what he and Alvar were doing? The Neverseen were a bunch of creeps, and Alvar had recruited him to pretend to join them, but secretly leaked information to a group called the Exsules, which meant 'exiles' in the ancient language. (Or in our case, Latin). He wouldn't say anything about them except that they were related to Sophie and the Black Swan knew about them, so Fitz joined in and sabotaged the Neverseen from the inside. He wasn't lying to Sophie when he said he had been part of the Neverseen since she came to the Lost Cities, but only to protect her. He hadn't known what he was signing up for at the time, but he never regretted his decision even once, especially after he saw how special Sophie is. He remembered how angry he was at Alvar when he told Fitz that they had to break up. He'd had a huge crush on her since she healed his dad, and now that he knew she liked him back, Alvar was making them break up?

He moped for days before actually doing it, making up a trashy reason about the 'Vacker name'. Forkle even added to the pain by not putting him on Sophie's matchmaking list, as if reminding him, You can't date this amazing girl, you don't deserve her. So he followed through with it, and left immediately after, not wanting her to see how much it hurt him. It was better if she thought he dated her only for her power and name and would leave her as soon as a tiny obstacle came up. No, he dated her for the beautiful, brave girl she is, and she deserves someone who can tell her that. Fitz certainly wasn't over her, though, and longed for the day he could leave the Neverseen and explain everything to Sophie, including how much she meant to him, and that he did it for her. He wondered how Sophie was being so calm. If she knew what he was doing, why didn't she telepathically tell him she knew? Unless the news about Gethen being her dad had startled her enough to temporarily forget. But a small, selfish part of him wanted the reason to be that she was waiting for the chance to talk to him in person, to tell him she understood what it was like to do things under pressure. It would probably never happen, but you never knew.

Sophie POV:

Gethen. The word echoed around Sophie's mind, bouncing around trying to find a space to fit in. But it was too big, too new, too shocking. When she felt Fitz trying to get past her barriers, she let him in, not knowing why she trusted him. Of course, he instantly jerked out when he found out who Gethen was, but she still had enough time to go into his head like he was in hers, and find out what he had been doing this entire time she was in the Lost Cities. She was shocked when she found out he was doing it all for her, that he genuinely cared. Whoever the Exsules were, Alvar wouldn't say much about them, but they were out to protect her for some reason. As she saw his memories of multiple times he saved her from going straight into a trap planned by the Neverseen, she felt a rush of gratitude for Fitz. Then, a tumble of memories came crashing back to her. Sophie transmitted to Gethen, I'm getting a lot of memories back, it might take a while. Gethen nodded and she closed her eyes. She was looking at her memory in the third person, like being inside a TV show where no one could see or hear her.