Torment-A KOTLC Fanfic

Chapter 49

Heyo my guys! Sorry I've sorta dropped the ball on updates, you guys deserve so much better. Speaking of- guys we passed 5k reads. What the heck? I love you all so much, thank you for taking this story this far. I dont deserve you guys. I know my updates have been kinda all over the place, but I've been working on a lot of stuff, most of it is for y'all :). So here's some stuff for you guys to be looking forward to: Im working on a special extra chapter from a Neverseen member's POV. I've been planning on adding it in since 2k reads, but we just recently got to a part in the story where I can post it. I'm also working on updating Tourment's cover, so keep an eye out for that. One last thing: Any PJO Fans out there? I'm working on some stuff for you guys. If you want a sneak peek/hint check out the background on my profile :). Ok, sorry for the super long authors note. I love you all and honestly I have no clue what I did for you to give me this chance. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. Without further adieu, Enjoy!
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She sat up like a bullet and clutched her head, stifling a scream.

“Sophie? Hey, Sophie, it’s okay. You’re alright. Everything is fine. Relax.” A voice softly commanded her while tenderly grabbing her arms and laying her back down on the bed. “You’re safe. It’s alright. Just breathe, okay?" It took her a moment to realize she’d been hyperventilating. The person talking to her continued trying to calm her down, instructing her to breathe in a gentle tone. She listened to him, it was hard not to with that accent. 
Wait, accent?
   
“Fitz?” She asked, trying not to let panic take control again.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. It’s okay Sophie, try to calm down.”
   
“You’re okay?”
   
“I’m fine. Yes, I’m okay.” He promised, sounding slightly taken aback by the question. Sophie nodded, mostly to herself. She opened her eyes, and he let go of her arms. Fitz sat next to her on the cot and grabbed her hand. She intertwined her fingers with his and gently ran her thumb along his cognate ring. She took a deep breath and smiled, allowling relief to fill her. He’s fine. She reminded herself. He’s not dead. It was just a dream. She repeated the last sentence to herself over and over until she fully believed it. Her nerves finally settled and she sat up, causing Fitz to flash his movie-star smile. “What was that?” He asked ge, looking at her with a glint of concern in his eyes. 

“Ummm,” She said, trying to keep the calm she’d just gained. “While I was under, I had a nightmare.” He stayed silent and nodded for her to continue. “In the dream you and the others were in the Wanderling Woods. By my tree.” All color seemed to drain from Fitz’s face when she told him about her tree. “You asked the others to give you space. Then you leaned against the tree and told me about everything that happened...after I died. About how the others looked to you to lead, and how you took up my position in the collective. That’s when…” Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip, not wanting to say what happened then.

“Hey,” Fitz said, noticing her unease. He waited for her to meet his eyes. “It’s okay.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

“That’s when Fintan stepped out of the trees. He set the woods on fire, claiming he wanted revenge for the fall of the Neverseen. You tried to protect my tree...but the fire spread too quickly. He said, ‘If you love her so much, Join her!’. Then he…” She took in a shaky breath. “Then he killed you.”  Sophie didn’t see his reaction, she was too busy turning away and squeezing her eyes shut. Hoping to stop the tears. It didn’t work. 

So much for keeping her calm.

“Sophie?” He asked gently. He reached over and cupped her chin, gently tilting it towards her. She looked at him for a moment, and then leaned closer. She buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back, similar to what he did the night he helped her after her nightmare. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. And so are you. We’re both safe. All of that, it was just a dream. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” She nodded, keeping her head buried in his chest. He rubbed her back softly and sat in silence, not seeming to mind her clinging to him. 

She took several deep breaths and slowly pulled away from him, offering a smile as she did. He returned the smile, and it settled her nerves that were still in a panic. She then glanced over at the cot Tam had been laying in. She was surprised to not see him there. 

“Tam and Biana went for a walk with the others. Considering how their earlier one had been cut short,” Fitz said, noticing her confusion. “They were getting restless. As was the rest of the group. I guess you were out for several hours.”

“And you stayed here?” Fitz nodded in response, and Sophie could’ve sworn she saw him blushing. “You know you didn’t have to do that.”
   
“Yeah...but I wanted to. I told you I was staying. Besides, it was probably a good thing I stayed. If you woke up like that, thinking I was dead, and I wasn’t here?” He didn’t continue speaking, but he didn’t have to. She wanted to argue that she would have been fine, but they both knew she wouldn’t have been. Sophie knew full well how much more she would have panicked if he would’ve been gone. 

“So…” She began, switching over to a new topic. “I assume the link only works one way?”
   
“Yup,” Fitz agreed. “But Tam claimed he knew something was wrong. When we asked him to explain he just said ‘I don’t know. Something just feels...off. I can’t explain it. It just does.’ ” 

Sophie nodded in response. “So, basically, it doesn’t work for him the way it works for me. Instead of the same thing happening to him that it does to me, he just gets a feeling that something isn’t right?”
   
“Pretty much.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because the shadow flux is protecting him, not you. But it’s still a part of him. So if something is up with you, it just subtly communicates that with his shadow flux. Does that even make sense?“
   
“It does.” Sophie agreed. Fitz nodded, and stared off into space. She did the same, and without thinking about it rested her head on his shoulder. He casually laid his head on top of her’s and grabbed her hand. She laced their fingers together and smiled, enjoying the peace of the moment. 
Then the door opened.
   
“Hey Fitz-Oh,” Dex said when he awkwardly walked in. “Am I...interrupting anything?” She took her head off his shoulder and felt her cheeks burning. 

“Umm, no,” Fitz answered. She looked up to see him blushing almost as much as her. Almost. “Nothing at all.”
 
“Oh, ok.” Dex looked like he wished he could disappear into thin air. Sophie knew that’s what she was wanting to do. “I was going to see if you wanted to switch out, but I guess since she’s awake now- Hi, by the way- you guys could come join us outside. If you’d rather have some, uh, alone time…” Dex’s cheeks were bright red as he said the last sentence. 

“No,” Sophie replied. “Outside sounds great.”