Sophie was helpless. She lay on the ground, grasping her arm, the bones shattered by shadowflux. All around her were the sounds of screaming as her friends were captured or injured by the Neverseen. Keefe lay unconscious near her, as purple shadows crept up his neck from his heart. She tried to crawl to him, to somehow help or protect him, but a force field snapped down around her, trapping her where she couldn't get to her friends.

She tried to move, tried to grab a Panakes blossom from her pocket, but she was in too much pain to do so. Pain. So much pain. The darkness beckoned from inside her mind, summoning her to where there would be rest and no more pain. But she was tethered to consciousness by listening to the cries of her friends, who all around her were falling in pain as shadowflux shattered their bones. In that moment, the world seemed so far from the perfection the elves envisioned. And Sophie was outnumbered. She was powerless against the dark forces that always seemed to have the upper hand. And she felt utterly despairing, sinking into the darkness in her mind, searching for a quiet place. All she could feel was utter terror and despair as she reached for unconsciousness.

But then another dart of shadowflux sped towards her, jolting her into the world once again. Though she wriggled to move away, it hit a bone in her leg and shattered it from the inside. And another huge wave of pain coursed through her body. She heard screaming, but it sounded closer this time. She wondered who was making it, a moment before she realized it was herself. Screaming louder. Louder. Louder-

"Sophie! Sophie! SOPHIE!" Keefe practically screamed at her as she jolted awake from her nightmare. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"It was a nightmare," Sophie sniffled, wiping tears away that she only just realized were running down her cheeks in buckets. Ro and Sandor stood at the doorway, summoned by her cries, she realized. They both looked concerned, but relieved that there was not a real threat. Not real, she said to herself. Not real. Calm down. It's okay. Just breathe. Not real, she thought, repeating her usual calming words, hoping they would do a decent job of steadying her breathing and emotions. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Just breathe. It's okay. You're safe now. It's okay. As much as she wished, though, they weren't much help.

Sometime in the night she had rolled away from Keefe, and he closed the distance between them now tentatively, as if he might somehow hurt her just by touching her. "Can- can I hold you?"

Ro and Sandor quietly left the room, letting him take care of the situation.

"Yes, please. Please, please. Hold me and never leave me! Don't leave me!" Sophie cried softly, bursting into another round of tears. Her calming thoughts didn't do much help usually.

Keefe scooted to her quickly, lifting her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his hard shoulder. He rocked her back and forth, whispering, "Shhh. Shh. I won't ever leave you. I will never leave you. You're safe now, Sophie. Don't worry. It's all going to be alright," in various combinations until her tears subsided and she calmed in his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She sniffled, wiping her face with a sleeve. He reached for a tissue on his dresser and gave it to her, letting her blow her nose with it. "It was just another one of my usual ones. We were fighting the Neverseen and everyone was injured and I couldn't get to you or anybody and I was trapped in a force field and couldn't move and was in so much pain and, and there was just no hope—" She started crying again.

"Whoa, whoa, okay. It's okay. That's not happening right now. We're alright. You're safe, and I'm safe, and that's not going to happen. We're so much stronger now, and Ruy isn't able to trap you in any more force fields. Umber is dead and Tam is safe, so there's no more shadowflux we have to fear," he said, imagining what else her nightmare contained. "We have hope, Sophie. It's going to be okay. Take some deep breaths with me."

She breathed deeply with him, hiccupping for a minute before calming in his arms. "But tell me one thing, love. Do you get these a lot?"

She nodded against his shoulder, mumbling, "Almost every night."

"Oh Sophie. Oh my precious, beautiful, wonderful girl. You don't deserve that. I'm so sorry. I understand just what that is like."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I've struggled with nightmares a lot, about our battles just like you described, and my parents, and pretty much all the hard stuff we've gone through. Some nights I dream I'm still living with the Neverseen, or you're captured and I can't help you, or stuff like that. The worst is when I dream you're dead for real this time. But you'll get through it, I promise. You're not alone. We'll get through it together."

"You promise?" Sophie whispered sleepily, wiping her nose.

"I promise. Now, let's get you cleaned up and ready for sleep again." He gently let her go, and walking into his closet, pulled out a soft, clean pajama shirt for her, as well as one for him since it was soiled with her tears. He led her into the bathroom and helped her wash her face with cool water, then left her to change shirts while he changed his.

Back in their mound of blankets, he wrapped his strong arms around her, and she nestled into his chest.

"I'm so afraid that I'll get another nightmare," Sophie whispered sleepily, sounding like she was trying to fight back tears.

"I don't think you will. But if you do, I'll be right there with you to help you again. Just remember you're safe here. I won't let you go all night." Keefe pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, holding her tighter.

He was just dropping off to sleep when she whispered, "Keefe?"

He yawned. "Yes, love?"

"Thank you so much."

"Of course, my dearest Miss F."