Sophie was scared.
That was the simple truth.
She wasn't scared for herself, but she was afraid that something bad would happen to the people she loved.
Grady and Edaline had gone to the battlefield, Foxfire, not moments before, each giving her a kiss on the cheek.
It terrified her to think that it might have been the last time she'd ever see them.
She looked to her friends, seeking comfort but only seeing them in pairs.
Biana and Dex were holding hands, smiling lightly as they exchanged comforting words. Fitz and Linh were in a tight embrace, like they never wanted to let go.
It hurt her to know that the only person she wanted to see was the person who was fighting against the Black Swan back in the grounds of her school.
The school where she had first met him.
Seeing her friends, all with their significant other, it hurt her. So she went to the only person who she thought could help her.
Tam.
He smiled faintly as he saw her approach him outside, and she smiled back.
She rested her arms on her knees as she sat down beside him, and jerked her head over to where Linh was.
"Are you okay with that?"
Tam blinked out of a daydream.
"Hm?"
She smiled and gestured to where they could clearly see Fitz and Linh still hugging.
"That."
"Oh." Tam wrinkled his nose. "I'm fine with it, but I actually begged them to not show PDA while I was around. But I'm surprised that they're not snogging each other's faces off by now."
Sophie chuckled.
Tam turned to her.
"You miss him, don't you."
Sophie's smile faded into a sad one.
"Yeah. I know it's wrong, but I still do. Everyone else thinks that I've moved on, you know. Only you and Dex know."
Tam nodded.
"Well, we'd better get going."
Sophie sighed as Tam stood up, offering her a hand.
"Yeah. We should."
The grounds of Foxfire were unrecognizable.
It was truly a blood freezing sight.
Goblins, ogres, elves, and even some dwarves were now reduced to mangled corpses on the ground. It sickened her to see the bloody messes of bodies on what used to be fresh, green grass.
But one figure made her want to vomit.
She saw him, and it was obvious how hesitant he was to kill. Nevertheless, he was still running, hitting people, but not killing. Never killing.
At one point he almost shot her with a melder.
Her eyes widened, and she immediately dropped to the bloody floor and rolled out of the way.
She stood up, coughing and sputtering out her own blood.
Keefe grasped her hand like a lifeline.
"Go. Please. You have to go, or, or..."
"Why can't you come with us?" Sophie pleaded.
Keefe grimaced.
"I'm doing what I can. Not all the people I hit and shoot are the Black Swan. Actually, most are from my team. But no one can tell me apart because I'm wearing just a plain black cloak."
Sophie exhaled in relief, but she still couldn't shake the sadness out.
"You can come back, you know."
Keefe shook his head.
"I'm telling you Sophie, you keep trying to fix things. But I'll say it again. You can't fix me."
