Unlocked

One - Sophie

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

The words swam through Sophie's brain like a terrified trout in shark-infested waters. The phrase had been repeating in her head for days and days, never ceasing to torment her already fragile mind.

She hadn't left the healing center in over a week, never sleeping more than a blink. But she was used to that. What she wasn't used to was the handsome blond boy unconscious on the cot next to her.

She felt her cheeks warm at the thought of him being handsome. Not that he wasn't—in fact, he was probably the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen besides Fitz. But she tried not to think about Fitz after . . . Everything. Her favorite color might forever haunt her because of the set of eyes the beautiful shade belonged to.

Keefe's usually styled-to-perfection golden hair now lay flat on his forehead, slicked in a cold sweat. His face was twisted into a slight grimace—something Sophie found awfully painful to look upon.

Keefe deserved so much more than what he had; he deserved the world and beyond that. If she could give that to him, she would in a heartbeat. Sadly, life wasn't that simple. Especially for an experiment like her.

She heard an explosion echo into the room, coming from Elwin's office in the other half of the healing center. He'd been working nonstop, trying every elixir, medicine, and serum possible to help Keefe. But nothing worked. Nothing at all—he just wouldn't wake up.

Please wake up. Please wake up.

The please did not help. Figures.

Another thundering explosion and a shout from Elwin. She decided not to go check on him—the last time she had, she'd been welcomed by smell of selkie skin and croaking muskog. Bad idea.

Instead she perched on her cot—next to Keefe's, of course—and sat on her hands, trying to restrain herself from tugging on her eyelashes. She was sure she had a bald spot at this point, considering all the worry Keefe was causing her. Not that it was his fault.

Sophie peered out the sparkling glass windows of Foxfire and saw that dusk was setting in across the lush, rolling hills.

Edaline poked her head into the room, her hand resting on the doorknob. "Sophie?" she asked, a concerned look on her beautiful face. "I think you should come sleep at Havenfield tonight."

"But—" Sophie started, but Edaline's strained expression stopped her. She looked so tired—not only had she been losing sleep over Keefe, but Sophie as well. Coming home for one night was the best she could do for her.

She stood to tell Elwin she was leaving, but stopped short, her breath hitching in her throat. She turned back to Edaline. She'd gotten an idea. "Can I have a minute alone with him?" Sophie said, gesturing to Keefe, who still lay dull and lifeless in his cot, framed picture of him overhead.

Edaline's expression softened. "Sure, sweetie. I'll be outside." Her rumpled violet gown flowed around Sophie's adoptive mother as she left the room, the door softly clicking as it closed behind her.

Sophie took a deep breath and once again turned to face the beautiful blond boy laying on his cot. She needed to tell him something, something that she'd pushed away for the longest time. But seeing him almost die and watching him sleep for days on end had brought the emotion out strong. So strong that she couldn't deny it anymore.

Sophie wasn't allowed to search his mind—it was too dangerous, even for the Moonlark—but she could still transmit to him. She squared her shoulders and smoothed her wrinkly white tunic.

Keefe, she started, her telepathic voice sounding choked up. She fumbled for a few moments, trying to find a different way to phrase the next sentence. But if she'd learned anything, it was that she couldn't lie to an empath. Even an unconscious one. So she shut her eyes tightly and sent the message before she could chicken out, hoping against all hope it would be the key.

I love you.

She felt stalled, frozen in the moment that felt like a million butterflies exploding in her chest. She'd never admitted her feelings for him before now; but shoving them out of her brain into his felt . . . So completely right. Like she'd revealed a truth buried under a pile of boulders, and it was as much a revelation to her as for him. She exhaled, opened her closed eyes, and—

She startled at what she saw.

Keefe was sitting up, gasping for breath, his icy blue eyes the most breathtaking sight she'd ever seen. She froze, her body stiff and not responding to her mind's commands to move.

When he finally got his bearings, Sophie threw herself at him, hugging him tighter than she'd ever hugged anyone in her life. She sobbed against his shoulder, letting herself break apart against his warmth.

He was alive.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke, his voice taking on the sweetest tone she'd ever heard. "I love you too, Foster." Sophie cried harder, tears falling freely now. And when he added, "Always will" she cried with the force of a thousand suns, her body shaking from pure happiness.

Keefe loved her. And despite every pressure she'd ever felt being the Moonlark, she knew with all her heart that it would all be okay. She had Keefe, and he had her; they were going to make it—together.

And nothing had ever sounded better.