Reversed

xxxiv. thirty-four

The freezing wind hit her face as soon as she was out of the window. She pulled her hood down, shielding herself from the wind.

Her window was high off the ground—so high that she could not jump down without breaking something. So she levitated down.

Or, tried to. She'd assumed that since she had her memories back, she also had her skills and abilities back to one hundred percent.

And that had been a mistake, because the splitting pain that agonized her mind when she tried to levitate shattered her concentration and she dropped like a rock.

She tried to grit her teeth through the pain and slow the fall, but if she wasn't imagining things, the pain was actually worse now.

At least there's snow below, Sophie thought bleakly before she hit the cold, snow-fluffed ground. Her cheek clipped a hard piece of ice and bounced to the side.

It took a few minutes for Sophie's body to stop shaking from the shock of falling and the temperature change.

A streak of red in the snow caught her eye and she looked over to where she fell. She cursed. The blood soaking the snow was clearly visible to anyone who was looking for her, and would make looking for her a whole lot easier.

She dug a hole in the snow with her numbing hands. Once it was deep enough, she pushed the bloody snow to the bottom and covered it up with the clean snow.

She brushed her fingers across her cheek, not surprised when they came away red. She packed some snow into the wound. She could tell that it wasn't that deep, but she needed to temporarily staunch the bleeding—at least for a while.

Sophie held the violet pathfinder she'd stolen from the Neverseen up to the moonlight. She had a chance to consider where she wanted to leap to as she waited for a cloud to pass over the moon.

Should she go back to Havenfield? As soon as she thought about it, a part of her rolled with hatred and sick feelings at the thought of seeing Grady and Edaline again. Plus, she didn't want to deal with a tearful reunion.

She didn't even know if she was going to stay. . . she didn't feel any desire to be with her old friends and family, even though she knew they hadn't done anything to her. Maybe she was just used to being alone.

She could go to Everglen, or Candleshade. But she didn't know if Keefe still lived there anymore, or if he was still at the Shores of Solace. She also didn't want to accidentally run into Lord Cassius. And she didn't want to see the Vackers, either.

Alluveterre was still held by the Neverseen as far as she knew. And she assumed the Neverseen's pathfinder didn't lead to any of the Black Swan's other hideouts.

The last place she could think of was Foxfire. She could get help from Elwin, and Magnate Leto might be there. Although she couldn't be sure about either this late at night.

But it was her best shot. So she spun the crystal and checked the snow for any other traces that might clue the Neverseen in on that she'd left sooner than she'd hoped.

With one last glance at the towering fortress that had been her home for over seven months, Sophie stepped into the purple beam of light, leaving everything she was sure of behind.

_________________

Sneaking into Foxfire was easy now that she'd done it twice in the past week. She kept her eyes peeled for any lights or movement in the halls, but so far she hadn't seen anything.

As she got closer and closer to the Healing Center, Sophie found herself praying Elwin was there. The snow she'd brushed onto her cheek wound had already melted, and the blood was starting again. She felt it dripping down her face, but she was afraid any extra movement of her heavy limbs would make her pass out.

If she fell into unconsciousness again, she knew the blistering fire inside would completely consume her. There would be no escape.

Her vision was starting to blur. She gasped as her shoulder hit the wall of a corner she was supposed to be rounding. She leaned against the wall to steady herself, blinking to clear her sight.

Heat licked up her neck and she kept walking, and despite her burning body, Sophie was shivering. She needed help. Soon.

She nearly fainted with relief—or maybe it was just exhaustion—when she saw light flooding out from under the Healing Center door. Elwin was there.

For some reason, she felt like she should hate him. Like she should be mad at him.

But. . . why should she? All he had ever done was help her. She knew that.

Thinking of the goofy physician didn't make her feel the same negative emotions she felt when she thought anyone else's name.

What would he think of her now? Surely he'd heard of all the things she had done in the past seven months. He'd had to of heard about her joining the Neverseen.

She gulped, hesitating for a long time outside the door. Then another wave of heat pounded against her forehead, and she decided that she would have to put her pride aside for the sake of her. . . well, her life.

She slowly pushed open the door. She made her face slate-blank, not sure what the proper expression was as Elwin whipped around at the sound of the door clicking shut.

His eyes widened, and he shakily set down the elixir bottle he'd been holding. He looked as if he wanted to come towards her, but his eyes were guarded and wary. "Sophie?" he asked tentatively.

Sophie's eyes welled at the sight of him. His familiar messy hair, his quirky spectacles, and his animal-covered clothes. Today they were tiny little verminions.

A tear slipped down her bloody cheek and she rasped, "It's me."

Elwin didn't wait any longer before rushing over and sweeping her up into a hug. He made a choked sound into her shoulder, like an attempt at speaking.

Sophie wilted into his embrace. Physical contact that didn't involve punching after seven months felt so good a fresh stream of tears ran down her cheeks. She was just starting to realize how many things she'd taken for granted while she was with her family and friends.

But. . . she was also leaning on him for support. Now that she knew she didn't have to do any more work, he body seemed to be shutting down. And Elwin seemed to notice it too. Bullhorn came over and nervously paced around Sophie's ankles.

Elwin helped her stumble over to the cot. He walked over to his shelves, quickly returning with a light blue elixir. He pushed it into her hands. "The Healing Center hasn't been the same without my Number One patient," he said, his eyes crinkling. But she saw the worry behind them.

He started flashing multi-coloured orbs around her as she drank the elixir, his frown sinking deeper and deeper.

"Limbium," she muttered to him as she sank into the pillow. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her skin was so hot. She was boiling in her clothes. She clawed at them, trying to tear them away.

She fought against the fogginess seeping into her mind. She didn't want to be trapped again, burning and blistering and scorching in her brain, her lungs unable to draw any more oxygen in.

But she wasn't alone this time, and Elwin knew what to do. he always did.

"I'm not going to let you go. You're safe now." The last thing she heard was Elwin's firm voice. She help on to the hope that he would save her.

Everything would be fine.