Prologue
"SOPHIE!"
Keefe screamed into the night, but the wind ripped the words away before they even left his mouth. He fell to his knees, silently sobbing. Begging her to come back. Begging her to be okay. Begging her to not leave him in this sad, broken world by himself.
He cried, and cried, never ending streams of tears flowing down his face like waterfalls. Grief etched into his handsome features. Keefe couldn't do it. He couldn't live without her. Even if he did, it would be a miserable existence. Never again would he joke about Fostering It. It wasn't so much of a joke anymore. Too real to be funny. Without her, his world would come crashing down, and now he had no one by his side to help him pick up the pieces.
"SOPHIE DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!" He screamed, but his words were once again swallowed up by the night. "Sophie you promised me." The boy sounded really choked, his voice raw. "I promised you."
Sophie had finally fallen for him, but he hadn't been there to catch her.
Sophie POV
"Sophie, I thought you loved me."
Fitz sounded so heartbroken, Sophie couldn't believe he was such a good actor. Or maybe he really had convinced himself that he loved her.
"It makes sense in your head, doesn't it Fitz. The Moonlark for the golden boy."
"Sophie, I -"
"I don't want to hear it. You only care about me in theory. The moment things get hard, you run. You get angry. You hurt me. You've done it before, you'll do it again, and you know it."
"Sophie."
"Shut up Ritz. You're just a rip off of the real thing." Fitz looked confused. Obviously he didn't get the joke.
"Sophie, I love you. I thought you loved me to." He had a pleading look in his eyes, begging her to reassure him. To give him everything he wanted.
"Not everything's about you Fitz. I've tried so hard to forgive you. But you're making it really hard for me to do that. I don't love you Fitz. I don't even like you. Not like that, not as a friend." With that, she raised her home crystal to the light, but just before she leapt away, she placed her cognate ring on the table, watching his blank face turn from shocked to angry once he processed what was going on.
"Come talk to me when you're ready to grow up." She stepped into the soft beam of light and was whisked away.
While Sandor did a quick sweep of her room, Sophie called Keefe on her imparter. Not even a minute later, he burst through her door, a worried look on his face, dagger at the ready.
"Keefe, I told you it's not the Neverseen this time." Sophie said, exasperated.
Keefe POV
"I know you said that, but they could have made you tell me that." Keefe still looked worried.
"At this point you're just as bad as Sandor." Sophie said. Finally admitting that there was no immediate threat, Keefe lowered his dagger, but still kept it in his hand, not ready to put it down yet. He quickly, and warily crossed the petal covered floor, and sank onto her bed, won over by her upset, but not terrified emotions. At last, he relaxed now that he was next Sophie, able to protect her better.
As soon as he sat down, Sophie leaned against him, and he stiffened at first, surprised by the sudden movement, but then relaxed again, wrapping an arm around her. She started talking, softly, as she began to recount her argument with Fitz. By the end, she was yelling, tears streaming down her face, as she finished by telling him about the ring. He just sat there, holding her and listening.
"Sophie, you did the right thing."He whispered. Her head snapped up towards him.
"Do you really mean that?" Sophie's voice was soft and fragile, as vulnerable as a newborn chick without a mother.
"Of course I do Foster. Lord Hunkyhair always has your back, just like you always have his. Can you promise me one thing though?" Keefe said. Sophie looked up, expecting to see him smirk, but he looked dead serious.
"Can you tell me what I'm promising first?"
"Anything for you Foster. I know this has nothing to do with Fitz, but I need you to promise me that if things ever get too hard with the Neverseen, if you aren't coping, you'll come to me for help, even if it puts me in danger." Keefe felt the uncertainty pouring off her in tidal waves, but he knew she could see the intensity in his ice blue eyes. She started to shake her head, but Keefe interrupted her. "Sophie, I need you to promise me. I- I don't know what I'd do without you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I didn't do everything in my power to keep you safe." His voice cracked, and Sophie finally relented.
"Okay Keefe. But you need to promise me something too."
"I promise. Yes! Anything! Whatever you say-"
"Keefe you haven't even heard what I have to say. I need to know you really mean this."
"Sorry Sophie." The emotions wafting off her scared him a little, they were so complicated even he couldn't translate them into anything understandable.
"Promise me that if this gets too hard for you, if you need a break, you WILL walk away, no exceptions."
"Okay, okay. I pinky promise, yes you heard me correctly, PINKY promise, you that if things get too hard, I will consider walking away, but I will always be there to catch you if you fall. Always."
Keefe smirked to himself as Sophie sunk into his embrace. Trust her obliviousness to not notice he never really promised what she wanted him to. As doubt crept into his mind for tricking her like this, he told himself that it was better off this way; he could be there for her, and she didn't have to worry about him.
They just stood there for a while, her clinging onto him like he was the only one in the world, and him with his arms gently wrapped around her.
"Hello son, nice to see you again. I will be quite honest though; I did not expect to walk in on this."
