It wasn't supposed to be like this.
They had moved on. He had long since come to terms with everything his mom did to him.
His adult life had been so much happier than his childhood. Things got a tiny bit better when he started spending time with the Vackers. And from the moment he first kissed Sophie in that clearing, life had drastically improved.
Partly because after that night was when the Black Swan finally started winning.
It wasn't long before the battles were over. And then at last, life had carried on the way it was supposed to. Going to school, dating Sophie, getting older. Love, marriage, babies.
Even his mom's memory break, though hard at the time, had felt like closure. Like one last trial they had to go through, one last nightmare to end the night.
And after that, years of happiness and of adding to their family.
But as he watched Kai collapse and saw the terror on Will's face, he knew immediately that his mom's legacy refused to die.
As he raced across the lawn to get to his son, he tried to reason with himself. This wasn't like what happened to him. He and Sophie had already prepared themselves for this. He thought he was ready for it.
But he wasn't.
It would be better for Will, he knew that. But he also knew—in the same way Grady did—the burden of having such a powerful ability.
But Keefe's was also unnatural. Unintended. And now, Will would have to bear that burden too. Here was a constant reminder that his mother—who should have loved him more than anyone—violated and nearly destroyed him for her own gain.
And now her actions were affecting his son. And probably future generations.
No matter how manageable the ability turned out to be, it still made Keefe sick to think about.
He didn't talk about it much, but that day had been deeply traumatic for him. He still got queasy when he thought about it.
The only positive thing about that day was the way Sophie saw him through it.
Fall apart later, he told himself as he shouted to Tam that Kai would be alright. Take care of Will first.
So he talked his son down. Helped him figure out how to undo the command he'd given. Assured him—truthfully—that this was an ability like any other—one that could be managed.
It was hard not to just fix it. To turn on that ability and give a command himself. But he knew it would only make it that much harder for Will in the long run.
This was one thing Keefe just couldn't protect Will from, any more than he could protect him from feeling the emotions of others. All he could do was equip him, give him the strength and confidence to manage it.
Hearing Tam's assurance that he didn't blame Keefe or Will was comforting—and surprisingly touching.
When Grady arrived, Keefe's composure started to slip. He let Grady comfort Will, and was thankful that his son was already starting to feel better.
Really, Will had reacted just the way anyone would expect him to when manifesting an ability.
At the end of the day, the ability itself wasn't the problem.
Will was going to be okay.
But Keefe felt like something was breaking. He was going to have to claw his way back to being okay.
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KOTLC After Stellarlune-A Sokeefe Story
Fanfiction"Keefe. Even if I hadn't been unmatchable, even if Fitz and I had been on each other's match lists, I need you to know that eventually, it still would have been you." -Excerpt from "Triumphant" All she knew was that this time, she and Keefe were s...
