Operation Infiltration (Kotlc Fanfic)

Chapter 15 • Flickering Shadows

A/N: Ignore how I can never decide on a single POV aesthetic. Btw I'm doing first person now.

«◈･ ｡ ˚ ° ⋆✦【 Sophie 】✦⋆ ° ˚ ｡ ･◈»

When I opened the door, I froze. A figure stood inside, the darkness around them swirling with intent. Had Fintan brought me to the wrong room? "Hello? Who's there? What are you doing in my room?"

The shadows shifted, reaching out towards me like tendrils, and a familiar voice shadowwhispered. It's just me.

Relief washed over me, my tense muscles relaxing slightly. "Tam..." I said, but my relief was short-lived, the turmoil from earlier resurfaced. Flames flared uncontrollably from my hands, betraying my emotions. "Do you think I'm a bad person?" I hesitated before explaining everything that had happened in a shaky voice.

Tam stepped closer, his silver bangs catching the dim light from my flames. "No, but I could check your shadowvapor if you want," he said, his voice calm, but I could see the concern in his eyes. I shook my head, the thought of knowing the truth felt too overwhelming.

Without thinking, I reached out and took his hands in mine, needing to satisfy my craving for heat. His touch sent a shiver through me. As our fingers intertwined, I felt my cheeks flush as my gaze drifted to his lips. I pulled him into an embrace in the hopes he wouldn't see my reddening face.

Tam tensed at first, but then he relaxed into the embrace. We stayed like that in silence, the minutes slipping by. When he moved away, I thought I saw a hint of color on his cheeks, though it was hard to tell in the shifting shadows.

"We need to talk about the plan to take down the Neverseen." I said, trying to distract myself from the confusing emotions inside me.

Tam sighed, his shoulders sagging. "What plan? You joined them on a whim."

I winced at his words, the truth of them stinging. "Yeah, neither did you, but we need one now."

"We're both in over our heads." Tam mumbled to himself.

I nodded. "I know. But we can't give up. We have to find a way to stop them from hurting anyone else."

"We will. But we need to be smart about it." He paced the empty room, the shadows shifting with him, then stood still to face me. "First, we need information before we can do anything else. Like figuring out their weaknesses."

As the night wore on, we sat discussing our plans, but they all felt too vague. I closed my eyes to rest them, and before I knew it, I had dozed off sitting upright. I jolted awake as Tam caught me before I fell off the bed.

"You look tired." Tam said, smiling as I fought off fatigue.

"I'm not. You're the one who looks tired." I replied, stifling a yawn that proved him right.

"I'll leave so you can sleep." Tam said, shifting his weight to stand up.

"No, wait..." I blurted out, unsure of how to convince him to stay. His warmth and presence were the only comforts I had left. Tam turned to face me, his expression softening as he saw the plea in my eyes.

"Stay... please." I added for emphasis.

"I can't." Was that hesitation in his voice? "We shouldn't risk the Neverseen finding us talking together." Before I could ask what he meant, Tam waved his hands to make a blanket out of shadows and draped it over me. The coolness of the shadows soothed my restless mind, dulling the agitation of my pyrokinesis.