"Mr. Sencen, we have a plan in place and I would like to walk you through it before we implement it," Mr. Forkle began. "Firstly, Dex will be able to go in digitally and transfer lusters into pounds, then use that money to pay off the family's medical expenses. Once that is done, I've decided it would be best to send the family a letter, telling them they've received a grant that paid their medical expenses in full. There will be another letter informing them that Mr. Alcot had a distant relative who recently passed away, and who had been hoarding a great wealth. The family lawyer will have determined that Mr. Alcot was the next in line to receive the inheritance, and the letter will include a large check. They will be able to easily deposit the funds into their bank account and, while their grief will not be erased, they will at least be able to live a far more comfortable lifestyle."
Keefe breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. Make sure we take the money from my birth fund. When will they get the money and the letters?"
"Mr. Dizznee will handle the transfers right now, and I will ensure the letters—along with the check—are placed in their mailbox tomorrow. I assume you will want to travel to the Forbidden Cities after that to see that things go smoothly?"
"Yes, please. I need to know that they're okay."
"By the time school is over tomorrow, you should be free to go--with an Obscurer, of course."
"And a bodyguard," Sandor called from the doorway.
Keefe looked ready to argue, but Mr. Forkle spoke before he could. "They'll be around a lot of humans for this particular mission, and should anything happen that would cause you to move away from the anonymity of the Obscurer, we could have a catastrophe on our hands. I assure you, Miss Foster will have one of your strategically placed trackers on her and if she is late coming back, you can go and find her. But it would be best for them to take this short trip without a bodyguard present."
Sandor grumbled, but couldn't argue with Mr. Forkle's logic.
Sophie and Keefe watched as Dex 'worked his Technopath magic', as Keefe put it. Then the three of them left Watchward Heath together. Once outside, Dex turned to look at them.
"Well?" He asked.
"Well what?" Keefe asked, smirking, letting go of Sophie's hand to put his arm across her shoulders.
Sophie rolled her eyes. "Keefe and I are dating," she told Dex. "Since right before Elysian. I've been meaning to tell you, but it's been a busy few days and we're kind of unsure how much to talk about it right now, since Fitz..."
Dex nodded. "I know. And...I already knew. We've all kind of been waiting for this to happen, and then the way you two have been looking at each other at school the last couple of days...it's pretty obvious."
Keefe just smirked again. "Yeah, I finally wore her down. Persistence, that's all it takes. And proximity. And...what's another 'p' word?"
"One that describes you? Dex asked. "How about...peculiar?"
"Or perplexing?" Sophie added.
She and Dex both laughed, while Keefe pretended to be hurt. "And you call yourselves my friends!"
Sophie grinned, tugging on his hand. "I think I'm more than just your friend," she pointed out.
"True," Keefe agreed. "So maybe you should be a little nicer to your boyfriend." He smirked at her again before turning back to Dex. "Are you going to go with us to London tomorrow?"
Dex shook his head. "No, I've done my part. Besides...I'm trying to make sure I set aside more time to hang out with Rex. He's still pretty down."
His whole demeanor changed when he mentioned Rex, and Sophie couldn't blame him. Being Talentless would completely alter everything for Rex.
And right now, Sophie and Keefe were the only ones he could really talk to about it.
So she pulled Dex into a tight hug before leaping home.
Sophie and Keefe leapt back to Havenfield after classes the next day so that no one would see them pull out a pathfinder set for the Forbidden Cities.
Grady--who had grudgingly told Keefe he admired Keefe for his kindness to this human family--handed them an Obscurer and reminded them to be back within an hour.
Plenty of time to go see the family and see that they had gotten their good news.
Sandor, predictably, gave Keefe about half a dozen goblin throwing stars.
Keefe pocketed them, but laughed as he did so. "Between Foster's inflicting and my ability to command an enemy to sleep, I'm not sure we'll even need throwing stars. But it's always good to have backup."
Before he could get a lecture from Sandor about not taking her protection seriously, Sophie grabbed Keefe's hand, held up the pathfinder and pulled him into the light.
It didn't take them long to figure out how to get to the family's home in London. Keefe had used the Tube a few times when he'd been hiding there, and while it was strange to see him so accustomed to anything in the human world, she was glad they didn't have to walk halfway across London.
And when they reached the small flat--a first-floor apartment in a small apartment building--they were able to peek through a window and easily see into the small living room. It was a warm day, and the window had been thrown open to let in the breeze.
Keefe had been right--the woman sitting on the couch was young, but looked very care-worn. The last few months had probably been a terrible strain on her, watching her husband succumb to such a horrific illness.
But she had two envelopes in her lap, and had tears streaming down her face while staring in disbelief at the check in her hands.
There was another woman there, and based on the similarity, Sophie assumed this was her mother. There was a young toddler asleep in his grandmother's lap while the eldest child seemed to be trying to keep the middle one entertained with a television show.
"I can't believe it," the young woman was saying. "I've never seen so much money in all my life. I don't understand it. Roger barely knew that side of his family."
"It couldn't have come at a better time," her mother told her quietly. "Especially since this grant you've received has fully paid off Roger's medical bills, this inheritance will give all four of you security. Someone is clearly looking after you, Claire."
"Thank goodness for that," the young woman said with a sob. "I just miss Roger so much...but at least now I can go to sleep at night without worrying about losing the flat or the kids going hungry."
Sophie stole a glance at Keefe, and was both surprised and touched to see that he had silent tears streaming down his cheeks. When he caught her looking, he offered her a small smile.
"Let's go," he whispered. "Give them the privilege of privacy."
So they walked away, Keefe clinging to Sophie's hand.
"You've done an incredible thing for that family, Keefe," Sophie said quietly.
He shrugged. "Such a small thing for me but so huge for them."
Sophie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before holding her home crystal up to the light.
Back at Havenfield, they told Grady and Edaline what they'd witnessed. Then Grady and Keefe went out to the pastures for some training while Sophie transmitted to Mr. Forkle to fill him in on their brief visit to London.
Grady and Keefe came in just in time for dinner. Sophie could tell Keefe loved the idea of family dinners.
And tonight, Grady didn't even complain when Keefe took Sophie by the hand and led her back outside after they ate.
"So...how are you holding up?" Sophie asked after a moment. They were slowly walking through the pastures towards that beautiful clearing in the Grove.
Keefe let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulder instead. "Oh, I'm fine, Foster. I'm glad we could help that family. Honestly...these last couple of days...I've never been so happy."
Sophie blushed, but couldn't suppress a smile.
She'd been right—Keefe was a really good boyfriend.
"Besides," Keefe added after a few seconds. "I've seen firsthand how much the humans need us. All of the intelligent species argue over how much of our world is inhabited by creatures that abuse the land, but...we didn't give them any choice. And left them—humans with bodies vulnerable to disease—without proper medicine. Trust me, Foster, if you ever make a case for humans being reinstated as intelligent species, I will be first in line to back you up."
"That might be a long time coming," Sophie reasoned as they settled down in the grass, side by side, enjoying once again the scenery this clearing offered.
But she hoped that day would come.
The misfortunes that Vespera and her Nightfall had caused the humans hadn't been their fault and they'd already spent millennia suffering needlessly for it.
"I really hope we can make it happen," she continued. "But...the elves don't seem to get in a hurry to do much of anything. It could be hundreds of years in the making."
It was still weird to think about being alive hundreds of years from now.
"You're probably right," Keefe agreed. "But I'll be right here, no matter how long it takes." His eyes held hers with such fervency that her heart changed rhythm. "I'll always be right here."
"I know," Sophie said quietly, leaning in for a quick kiss.
"You know...while I was hiding in London, I watched a lot of human TV shows and movies. There wasn't much else to do to pass the time. And I watched this one older show. The main character reminded me of you in some ways, but not at all like you in others—so it wasn't too painful to watch."
"How was she like me?" Sophie asked, unsure where he was going with this.
He smirked at her. "Spunky blonde girl with an insane amount of power and the weight of the world on her shoulders. And, in some of the episodes I watched, she had a very hunky boyfriend—also something you can boast about now," he added with another smirk.
Sophie rolled her eyes but said nothing.
"And this boyfriend said something to her about how he was so in love with her that he couldn't think straight. And at the time, I kind of understood what he meant. At least, I'd liked you for so long and sometimes felt like I couldn't think straight, like I was too distracted. But now that we're together, I feel like I actually see things more clearly, if that makes sense."
Sophie wasn't entirely sure it did.
But she thought she did, at least, understand the sentiment. He was telling her that life felt less tumultuous now that she had finally confessed her feelings for him. He was also making it clear that their relationship was starting off on strong footing—a luxury she and Fitz hadn't had.
More evidence that she and Keefe were so much better suited for each other.
She couldn't help but think, as she sat there looking at him, how easy it was going to be to fall in love with him.
She wasn't convinced she hadn't already.
So she grinned up at him. "You're saying you can't live without me?"
Keefe laughed. "Pretty much." He ducked his head down and kissed her. "But for tonight, I should probably walk you back up to the house and say goodnight. Grady says he's not going to interfere with our relationship as long as I treat you well, but I have a feeling if he so much as suspects that I'm up to no good, then I'll be in big trouble." Then he grinned. "And I have a feeling Grady has lots of ways he could kill me and make it look like an accident."
Sophie rolled her eyes. "He won't kill you."
"He absolutely would, or he'd let one of the animals do it for him."
"The animals wouldn't eat you," she assured him.
He pouted, which was...strangely attractive. "Are you saying I don't look like a tasty treat?"
Sophie sighed and just glared at him, trying to pretend he didn't look adorable pouting at her like that.
But...Keefe was an Empath.
"Don't even try to pretend you don't want to grab me and kiss me again," he told her with a wink. "You can't lie to an Empath."
So Sophie gave in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she leaned in for one more goodnight kiss.