cascade | kotlc

17. Keefe Returns, But Not Really

 "Everything okay?" Grady asked as Sophie and Fitz tried, and failed, to sneak upstairs before anyone noticed they were back at Havenfield. June, meanwhile, was actually smart and flew in through her window, saving herself from Dad-torture and positioning herself so she could snicker at her sister and boyfriend for their stupidity.

She was nice like that.

Fitz told her parents the revelations about Cyrah. June closed her eyes.

According to Wylie, the Shade had done the creepy shadow-whispering thingamajig to get into his mind, before his mouth was clamped shut and it felt like his body was on fire. The Shade interrogated him thoroughly, and he'd tried to scream, but he wasn't able to talk as darkness covered his mind, forcing him unconscious. At that point she had arrived and saved him, but still...

It was torture.

The Neverseen didn't have another Telepath except for Gethen, which meant their only way of extracting information was...

Torture.

June gritted her teeth, clutching her gun. And yes, she changed first thing when she returned to her room.

"Did you know her?" Sophie asked. The sound of a window sliding open behind her caught her attention, and June tiptoed over to the stairwell, careful to hide herself as she levitated upwards to Sophie's room.

She threw open the door and stared at the figure, who was placing a bead onto Sophie's pillow. His eyes widened and he held a crystal up to the light, but June was quicker. She lunged at him, and she grasped onto his Neverseen cloak just before he dissolved into light.

"Explain yourself," she said harshly, pinning Keefe's head down under her foot.

He had obviously been unable to overpower her. A couple strikes to the legs and knees was all it took to incapacitate him, and he crumpled into a ball, collapsing onto the soft sand.

"Ow," Keefe groaned, clutching his knees. "I think you broke something."

"Good. Explain. Yourself."

"June- calm down-"

"I won't fucking calm down! You leave my sister hanging after she almost got taken away with you. You left her crying on her bed for days, and you made her starve herself for hours, even. You ignore everything all of us have been trying to do for you, and you decide to run- run away and betray all of us." She sobbed, pressing her feet down harder as Keefe's face dug into the sand. "Why? And don't you fucking dare tell me it's for the greater good. Sophie matters, Keefe. You've hurt her, you've hurt everyone. WHY would you FUCKING BETRAY US?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, struggling to turn his head, spitting out sand. "But it had to be done."

"WHY would you hurt my sister like that? I thought-" her voice cracked. "I thought you fucking cared."

"I do care, June. I really do."

"So why on earth- would you do all these- stupid, stupid things? Don't tell me it's for her, because- you- I hate you!"

Tears soaked the sand as Keefe cried too. She saw his eyes welling up, and the first drop trickled down his cheek.

"I have to, June... it's my legacy."

"I don't care if it's your legacy. I care about you. Your family doesn't define who you are, Keefe. But you betrayed us."

"I know... I'm sorry. I just thought... I was fixing everything," he mumbled, staring down at the sand. "I guess I ruined something else, again."