Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

Pink Breeze

A/N: a recent comment by @ReinaReads400 was the inspiration for this one-shot. I ditched the chapter I was in the middle of writing and wrote this one—then let this one jump the line to be published—because it was just that much fun to write! This is set just a month or so after the events of "Stellarlune". For the purposes of this one-shot, we will assume that the brief encounter with Elysian restored Keefe's abilities, but that Elysian is extremely dangerous and is still at large and the Black Swan and Council are working together to put a stop to her before she wreaks havoc on the world.

"Are you guys okay?" Keefe asked Sophie and Fitz as they, along with Tiergan, said a quiet goodbye to Prentice and walked outside.

Sophie and Fitz both reached up to rub their temples and Fitz blew out a breath. "I think my brain is broken."

Sophie let out a little laugh. "I know what you mean."

"It's probably time to call it a day, then," Tiergan told them gently. When Sophie opened her mouth to argue, Tiergan shook his head. "No, Sophie. Pushing yourself too hard is not going to help anyone. We are all anxious to get the truth about Elysian, but you won't do anyone any favors by wearing yourself out and putting yourself out of commission while you recover."

"I think he's right," Fitz mumbled, though he didn't look happy about it. "Even if part of me still wants to keep working."

"He's definitely right," Keefe told them. "You both look kinda pale. In fact," he reached for Sophie's hand, pressing his palm against hers. "Let me help you. It's why I'm here." Sophie recognized the signal and closed her eyes, concentrating on the tug in her chest, and turned on her enhancing. Immediately a refreshing blue breeze filled her mind, easing the headache and energizing her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Keefe had grabbed Fitz's hand, too.

"Whoa," Fitz said, his voice stronger than before as they all released one another's hands and Sophie switched her enhancing back off. "That's crazy. That's what Sophie's enhancing does to your empathy?"

"The three of you really are extraordinary," Tiergan told them. "That's why I think this is going to work. But it's going to take time. You've been training really hard, you've managed to keep your Cognate bond strong in spite of everything going on in your personal lives--" Sophie blushed and resolutely did not look at Keefe-- "and you've already recovered a few shattered memories from Prentice's mind. And in case you need reminding...that should be impossible. It is impossible for everyone else--even Cognates. No one can restore memories lost in a mind that has been shattered."

So they all agreed to call it a day and return the following afternoon.

"Well...working with the two of you is very interesting," Keefe told her after they leaped back to Havenfield.

"How so?"

"It's complicated. Fitz...he still has feelings for you." Sophie felt a pang of guilt at that. "But he's not, like, holding out hope to try to win you back or anything," Keefe continued, squeezing her hand. "It's like he's completely determined that being friends with us, and staying your Cognate, is more important than holding on to the past. So he's...well, he's okay, but it's still kind of an effort."

Sophie knew this. They'd spent hours in Cognate training, doing trust exercises, clearing the air, trying to maintain their level of trust. Fitz had been very raw and honest with how he felt. His feelings of betrayal, of regret, of heartache. Sophie had opened up about the truths she'd been hiding from herself for months--probably longer--and apologized for the fact that her ignorance had caused all three of them undue pain.

And Fitz and Keefe had also had a long, difficult talk about the situation. Both boys had told her that it hadn't been pleasant, but it had helped their friendship to clear the air.