Swan Song

Chapter Thirteen

Hello! It's me again! :D

Omg you guys are going to haaaaaaaaaaaaate me after this chapter. Like, seriously. I doubt even my Shady Black Belt Protection Squad ™ can help me. I'm dead.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I need to start writing my will.

"Sorry, Mrs. Math Teacher, I couldn't do my homework this week. I was attacked by a mob of angry fans."

This chapter is actually also really long... even without the lengthy(ish) A/N.

Enjoy!

The light forming the scene on Dex's wall faded to nothing within a few seconds. Sophie and Dex immediately turned to each other, ready to discuss at great length what they had just witnessed, but Oralie's eyes stayed fixed (why did I type Fitz?) on the spot where Kenric's projection had been long after it vanished. Sophie felt a twinge of pity for her- after all, if it had been Keefe's face projected onto the wall, Sophie could imagine the emotional roller coaster she would go through. Not that it was the same situation or anything- while Kenric and Oralie were star-crossed lovers, she and Keefe were just good friends. That didn't mean losing him (sort of) hurt any less, but-

She was getting off track.

Eventually, Oralie tore her eyes away from the "Bex, Lex, and Rex rule" graffiti and turned to Sophie and Dex. Silence continued for a few seconds, until Dex was the first to break it.

"So..."

Sophie thought that pretty much summed it up.

"It was the right decision to keep it in the caches," Oralie mumbled, more to herself than to Sophie and Dex. "Especially since he was killed a few years ago... essentially turning someone into a human, how awful. I can't believe the Council would make that decision."

"Actually..." Sophie and Dex said together. Even without using her telepathy, Sophie could tell that they were both thinking of the time Dex had made an ability-restricting circlet, without knowing that Sophie would be forced to wear it. Both knew that there wasn't much of a limit to awful things the Council could do. They were, of course, shocked, but it was more in the "huh, never would have seen that coming" sense rather than "WHAAAT!? I can't believe it! My world has been flipped upside-down by this knowledge!"

"Anyway," Oralie said in a louder voice, evidently not really wanting to get into all the terrible things the Council had done. "I guess we know what stellarlune does."

"Oh mallowmelt... Keefe with the ability to steal abilities..." Dex groaned. He didn't need to elaborate further. Sophie's vivid imagination gave her an image of Keefe taking Fitz's telepathy and imitating his voice, going Now I can be your cognate, Foster! Shall we go stare into each other's eyes? Start dating, perhaps? Insert wink. Then when Sophie turned bright red, he would laugh and say I'm just kidding about that last part, Foster. With a devious look in his eye, he would add Or am I? She would roll her eyes and demand that he would return Fitz's telepathy. Sigh... Anything for you, Miss Foster. Then he would go on to take Tam's Shade powers and do terrible imitations of Bangs Boy. Or Sir Salty Shadows, or whatever they were calling him now.

A throat clear from Dex interrupted Sophie's semi-wistful vision of Keefe, so vivid it was almost like he was standing there... "Did you hear my question, Sophie?"

Bright pink, Sophie hesitated. "Um..."

"Did you catch anything that could help him wake up?" Dex repeated, with an astonishing amount of patience... and, Sophie realized, a teasing smirk on his face. Okay, his patience wasn't so astonishing anymore. But it wasn't like- never mind.