Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

Elysian chapter 2

A/N: Okay, I can't help myself. I'm going to go ahead and share chapter two of my version of book 10. With the first chapter of Elysian coming out next week with the Unraveled paperback, I just know that it'll prove that I'm going in completely the wrong direction, but it'll be way too late to pivot. I'm currently writing chapter 50 and I'm around 130,000 words in. So...here's chapter two of my probably highly inaccurate version of Elysian.

 "This is going to sting," Elwin warned Sophie as he began to dab ointment into her freshly cleaned wounds. She was lying facedown on the couch at Havenfield. The leap home had left her even weaker than before, and Keefe had admitted he'd wrapped some of his concentration around her before stepping into the light. He had feared that she was going to lose consciousness and didn't want to risk her fading. Grady and Edaline had come running as soon as they saw Sophie and Keefe appear, and Edaline had hailed Elwin while Keefe and Grady got Sophie inside. Elwin agreed to treat Sophie there, and had arrived within minutes, his satchel bulging with elixirs, ointments, bandages, and who knew what else. "If anyone else is this badly injured, we'll really need to relocate to the Healing Center," Elwin added.

"I think it's just me," Sophie mumbled.

It always seemed to be her.

Grady and Edaline were clearly thinking along the same lines, and were sitting on the floor beside Sophie's head, Edaline holding her hand while Grady gently brushed her hair off her forehead. They looked tense and stricken, but kept smiling at her, telling her how glad they were that she'd made it back in one piece, and thanking Keefe for leaping her home.

Keefe was standing behind them, watching as Elwin treated her wounds. Elwin had been forced to peel the shredded fabric of her tunic away from her bleeding wounds, cutting what was left of it to keep it off her back. In fact, Sophie would probably feel awkward at how exposed she was if she hadn't been through all of this before when Umber had shattered the bones in her right hand.

Before any more explanations could happen, the others arrived. Sophie's line of sight was limited due to her position, but apart from a few scratches and bruises, Fitz seemed to be the only other one injured. "It's nothing urgent," Fitz insisted, gesturing for Elwin to finish tending to Sophie first. "I had to duck and roll to avoid one of the trolls when it took a swipe at me, and I think I sprained my ankle. And one of them managed to get a kick in the ribs. It hurts to breathe." That explained why he was taking shallow breaths. "But Sophie's injuries are a lot more pressing." He moved closer, so Sophie could no longer see his face. "Wow, Sophie, I don't know how you kept standing after that."

"Foster's just awesome like that," Keefe replied, crouching down to get in Sophie's line of sight and smirking at her.

But she could see that the smirk didn't fully reach his eyes.

I'm fine, she transmitted. He locked eyes with her, which she took as permission to enter his mind, and opened her mind to his thoughts.

I know you are, Foster. But I saw that thing lunge for you and there was nothing I could do to stop it. For a few seconds, I thought it had... Keefe shook his head. I'm just really glad I was wrong.

Sophie wanted to ask her parents to move aside so she could reach for Keefe's hand, but...Fitz was there. She didn't want to make this harder on him, and she and Keefe still hadn't had a chance to talk about how they were going to handle all of their complications. So instead, she closed their connection and focused on Elwin, who had placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I want you to lie right there for at least ten more minutes while I tend to the others," Elwin ordered her. "Then we'll help you sit up."

Fitz had been correct about the sprained ankle, and Elwin had been able to treat that immediately. He also had a couple of cracked ribs, which Elwin assured him would be healed in a matter of hours.