Agent Moonlark

Chapter Twenty Four

Keefe

"That was not necessary."

"Oh, it so was."

"Keefe, knocking him out and tying him up and dragging him to the back of the stables was not necessary."

"It still worked."

"I'm pretty sure it's illegal."

"So is stealing a horse."

"Unlike you, I did feel guilty about breaking the law."

"No, you didn't. I can tell what you're feeling."

"Yes, I'm feeling pretty annoyed at you, right now."

"I would say understandably so, but I don't want to lie."

Sophie was still mad about the fact that Keefe had knocked Jurek unconscious in order for them to get away. In Keefe's defense, it was the fastest way. And it wasn't like he'd hurt him. When Jurek woke up, he would be in no pain, whatsoever. He would be perfectly fine, just a bit confused. And dizzy.

"Sophie," Marella said, finally joining in on the conversation, "I'm with Keefe. That was awesome. Seeing his eyes roll to the back of his head was creepy, but weirdly satisfying."

"You would say that because you've been hiding from him for the past few weeks," Sophie argued. Her grip on Silveny's reins tightened.

Marella was riding on Greyfell alone because according to Sophie, she wasn't ready to trust the two spies. On the other hand, this meant Sophie and Keefe had to ride together on Silveny, and Keefe was quickly losing self control with her close proximity. He tried his best to keep his distance, but it was so hard.

Marella glanced at them. "Question, Sophie: Do you even know where the heck we're going?" Her jaw clenched slightly.

"I do," Sophie assured her. "Photographic memory." She pointed to her head.

"Trust Foster," Keefe said. "I always do."

Marella rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'lovebirds.' Keefe could tell she wanted to trust them, but knew better than to trust people she had just met. He could see it in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Sophie leaned forward and whispered something in Silveny's ear. The mare whinnied, then broke into a full gallop. Greyfell started going faster too, following her lead. Keefe got the sense that the two horses were close. They were probably some sort of team.

Keefe's arms around Sophie tensed as it became harder to stay on. He squeezed the jar with the Panakes petals in it even harder. It was one thing he couldn't afford losing.

These petals were the ultimate cure for the Gnomish Plague. And the Neverseen had been the ones to unleash it on the Black Swan and their protégés. While Keefe was not guilty of that, he still felt like he was responsible for them. If he had just tried to learn more about the Neverseen's plans, instead of opting for ignorance, he could be much more helpful, right now. Heck, he probably would've been able to prevent all this.

He really didn't deserve Sophie, did he?

"Hey, Beef guy," Marella shouted over the roar of the wind, "you look like you're thinking. You don't strike me as the type to do that."

"It's Keefe, and yeah, that's Sophie's job." He tried to smirk to cover up the falter in his expression, but Sophie twisted around in his arms to look at him. She was not fooled.

"It's not your fault, Keefe," she whispered, as if she knew just what he had been thinking about. "Look, we'll be there in a couple hours, and then we'll be able to give everyone the cure. It's not your fault."