Lux [h.s]

fifteen

Cora spent the night in Thalia's wagon, lying down on the hard mattress and staring at the dark ceiling above her head as the enchantress slept next to her, no worry in her heart.

She kept repeating the events of the past day in her mind, over and over again, the look in Harry's eyes seeming darker every time.

He'd killed someone in front of her. He'd told her to close her eyes, as you'd ask of a child while playing hide and seek, and then slaughtered over ten people before her in a matter of seconds. And worst of all, he'd seemed unaffected by it. As if he knew they weren't the first and wouldn't be the last.

That wasn't the Harry she knew. The Harry she knew was kind and came to help her when she asked. The Harry she knew took her to see the stars. But he'd committed a murder without flinching. Cora wondered if she knew him at all.

Thalia had mentioned he protected his people, and so he had done. What did protecting his people entail? To what level would he stoop in the name of it? She didn't know what to think.

Eventually her thoughts faded into a muddy, grey background and the sounds coming from outside lulled her to sleep.

• • •

When she opened her eyes again she saw a pair of violet eyes staring down at her and jumped up, slamming her back against the side of the wagon in fear before realising they belonged to Thalia.

"I forgot how long humans sleep for," she said, sending her a hard look, and Cora frowned.

"Do you dislike me?"

Thalia turned around, draping her black cloak over her shoulders and checking herself out in the mirror, staring at her through the reflection. "I don't dislike you, I dislike your judgemental spirit. Harry does more for us than you'll ever know."

"I don't understand," she admitted.

"You don't know what it means to be hunted like game and treated like a nightmare." She scoffed. "You don't know what it's like to have to hide yourself in hopes of staying alive. Harry saves us."

Cora stood up as well, brushing her fingers through her dark blonde hair in hopes of making it look presentable. "He saves you from what?"

"From what almost happened to you."

"But you can protect yourself, can't you? I'm powerless. I couldn't escape."

Thalia scoffed. "Harry was only able to help you because they trapped you like a human, not a fay."

"What does that mean?"

"If they'd treated you like a fay, they would've shackled you to a board, used iron to strip you of your powers and lined the room with poison. Nobody gets free from that alone," she explained. "Harry is one of the few that's willing to risk his life to save others'. This is why we follow him. Most of us are exhausted, but he's a fighter and a dreamer."

Cora put on her cloak as well, tilting her head. She could notice that the caravan wasn't moving anymore, which meant that they'd stopped somewhere during the night. She found the thought comforting, for some reason. "What does he dream of?"

"That's not for me to say." Thalia sent her a glance before opening the door. "Go have breakfast, we'll be moving again soon. I'll get a horse ready for you."

Cora followed her out, a confused look flashing through her eyes when she took in the amount of people that were walking around the circle of wagons. It looked like she'd slept for longer than she'd intended to, but she blamed it on the exhaustion from the day before.