what happened after unlocked

chapter fifty-one ~ disconnection

Several hours later, Biana left Havenfield, leaving Sophie to wallow in exhaustion and general confusion. Sophie trudged up to her bed, prepared to nap, but gave up when she realized she would have to move to get in, and then get into a comfortable position.

Having six abilities was not always fun. Neither was being the moonlark.

Sophie slumped onto her chaise, falling asleep within ten minutes. Her dreams were full of violence, murder, dark figures, rage, and screaming. She woke up and realized the cushion she'd put behind her head was ripped in the middle, and feathers were spilling onto the carpet.

Sophie sat up and took a few deep breaths. The sun had sunk low below the horizon and her room had darkened but for the light from some of her jars and the moon that hug in the sky like a cold, enchanting lantern.

She suddenly wished that Biana was still here, because she would never forget that chilling flash of Gethen's face in her mind...

Her breaths slowly became steady, so she decided to get up, gripping onto a blanket. There was no light coming from under her door, so she assumed her parents were asleep. She crept out into the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door, and through the pastures.

At the top of a small hill near the cliff was the Panakes tree, like a willowy lifesaver waiting for her to collapse under it. She could hear Calla's songs echoing through the heart of her tree as if she was listening to a sermon of the earth.

With that, she tucked away all her worries, even though she was cold.

In the morning, she woke up with crusty eyes and aching joints. She'd slept in a twisted position, and her mind was buzzing. She picked up a Panakes petal from the ground and ate it hastily, hoping she'd feel suddenly better.

The cool wind battered her body as she slowly rejuvenated, and then she had a jolting realization which got her sitting bolt upright.

Sophie brought her hands to her forehead as the memories came trickling in.

Fitz's face as their connection fizzled out was the most awful thing of all.

Fitz.

That was who she needed to see.

She stood up abruptly, grabbing her blanket and hearing her joints crack as she ran to her bedroom. Sophie grabbed the nearest tunic and shoved it over her head, brushing her hair with her fingers.

The Leapmaster was too bright for her early-morning eyes, but she didn't mind. She called for Everglen, and the crystal came forward. She stepped into the light, her heart pounding.

At first it was hard to remember why the blinding gates weren't there, and Sophie found herself wracking her brains. The sun had barely made its decent more past the tree line, but that didn't bother her – Fitz wanted to fix this issue just as much as she did.

She found him in his bedroom, awake as she'd hoped. He didn't look like he'd slept particularly well, either, but he still let her in quietly, looking down at his thumbs which wore their Cognate rings.

"So...I'm guessing you're just as worried as I am?" Fitz asked her timidly.

Sophie nodded. "But what I don't understand is that, we're actually better...in terms of friendship...as we have been in a while. So how come it's not really working?"

"I don't know," Fitz said, shaking his head. "Why don't we do some more exercises."

Sophie automatically took his hand, readying herself. Fitz looked at his hands again worriedly.