Crows and Crooked Tiaras

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT: TOUCH OF DARKNESS 

LUNA'S POV

There are still embers of the fire that continue to burn despite the night wind. Cole and his people fell asleep awhile ago, but I can't bring myself to slip away into unconsciousness. Now that I'm alone, without even Cole's commentary to distract me, I have no choice but to think of all that's happened.

Cole has always been impulsive. He's always tested me, pressing a gun against my temple to challenge my faith in him is nothing new. But he's never seemed so...excited by the prospect of blood. He would have killed Nina and shot Kaz's leg. He's looking for a Grisha to sell to someone. Maybe if I can figure out who the mysterious purchaser is, I'll be able to figure out why Cole has business with him. A part of me wonders if this has anything to do with Nikolai. He had brushed off the mention of one of his best friends in such an odd way.

Something in the woods around us makes a sound. I sit up a little tenser at that, but no one stirs. They had set up camp so casually. I realized it's because they're not the kind of people that need to fear. They're the ones that scare others.

When no other noise comes, I continue to stare at the embers until they die out fully. And then I fall asleep.

--

The morning sunlight is the first thing I register. Stretching beneath the blankets that Cole had provided for me, I open my eyes slowly. I wipe the remnants of sleep from my eyes with my fingers as I sit up.

This wooded area seems so much kinder during the day. Without the shadows of nightfall, the trees are lovely, their leaves touched by the colors of autumn. A part of me, though, longs for the cityscape of Ketterdam. I never thought I liked the city that much...but most of my good memories are there. Nights out with friends, clumsy mornings after.

I could get used to traveling life with Cole. He's funny when he's in a good mood, and good to me. Trustworthy despite his general flakiness. And I could make friends with his people...who are currently moving around with no regards to my existence. Yeah, I'd dislike me too if I was them. Most of the campsite has been packed up, and I'm just now rising.

"Cole?"

"You're a sound sleeper." Good. Teasing. That means he's in a good mood.

I roll my eyes at his flattery. "You should have woken me, I could have helped."

"You needed rest," he answers flatly, "You used a significant amount of energy healing that girl." I nod my head once, trying not to think of how impulsive going back to heal Kaz was. His injuries had been intense, and helping him had taken more energy than I should have risked expending. "Do your powers always drain you like that?"

I shrug. "No--I could heal a cut on your hand or mend a broken arm without a second thought. The deeper an injury is, the more energy it takes." I had been exhausted after healing Lenna the night that Kaz and I met. I try not to think of that as I scratch the back of my arm. "The other side of my abilities takes up the most energy."

He nods once. "The infliction of invisible pain?"

I push off the blankets I cocooned myself in last night. "Yes." Cole nods once, eyes bright with curiosity. Scratching my arm, I stand. "But you know I barely understand that part."

Cole approaches me easily, stretching out an arm to offer me his flask. "If only your father would let you figure it out." I don't have anything worth saying to that. "Drink some water while I find something for you to eat. Today we're traveling twice as far as we did yesterday."