after unlocked: a sokeefe fanfic

Chapter 44-Keefe

"What is a Legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see." - Lin Manuel Miranda

***

He was dimly aware of being cold.

Of hard stone beneath his back.

Of the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

Keefe's fingers twitched, his muscles screaming at him for laying in such a weird position. He knew he was bleeding out.

Bleeding out too much.

Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes, taking in the surroundings. His vision was blurred, and the fog in his brain tried to place where he was—tried to connect former events with now.

He wasn't in the torture chamber.

That room had been burning hot.

He was probably in a cell, though by the feel, it was deeper in the caverns.

Keefe blinked rapidly, tried to ignore the pain in his chest and stomach and back and head, and sat upright, scooting over to lean against the wall. He swallowed three times, one to make sure he could swallow (surprise, he could), one to get the taste of blood from his mouth (it came back quickly), and one to chase away the dry cotton mouth (he still needed water).

He stared straight ahead, staring blankly at the wall.

"Vespera promised we'd give you a chance."

Keefe didn't flinch.

"Good evening, Mother," He drawled, "Or is it morning? Night? I wouldn't know. Y'know why? Because I've been getting a new collection of scars."

She arched her brows.

"What do you want?" The sarcasm in his voice dropped.

"Maybe I want you to give in."

He laughed—a dry emotionless sound. "You didn't hear? I already did. Why do you think I haven't been tortured yet today?"

"Not like that."

Keefe glanced up at her, amazed at the cold fury in her eyes. He looked away. Not like she was angry for him.

"I need you to give in, Keefe. To join, to end your own suffering. I can convince Vespera. You could start fresh with us. With your ability, you could end the bloodshed. We could end the bloodshed, and everything could be normal. All the prejudices, gone. But it will only happen if you join us."

Gisela stepped closer to him. "Your ability has the power to change the course of all this war."

"Not to your side," Keefe growled. "I'm with Foster, every bit of the way."

She tilted her head at him. "You would think you would side with your flesh and blood. Not with a girl from a human world. A girl who really, is keeping the war going."

Keefe stood up, ignoring the ache in his back, and the flash of pain across torso and the blood stain he knew was going to grow. "Newsflash: Foster's keeping you from winning, and I side with the people I trust. The people who don't betray me."

"It seems as if Sophie does not share your viewpoint."

"What?"

"She trusts you. Yet you betrayed her. Time, and time again."

Keefe inhaled deeply. "I didn't help you."

"But Sophie doesn't know that. In fact, she doesn't even believe you." Her next words were said with a kind of savor. "She doesn't trust you anymore. Nor should you trust her."