❝ she loved him,
but she kept pretending
she didn't because
she knew he didn't
love her the same ❞
In which the Snake of Ketterdam slithers out from the cracks of the Barrel to raise her head and break some bones.
【 Kaz Brekker x OC】
【 Grishaver...
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∘☽༓☾∘
𝕿he first thing that Kaz saw was the blood. It was dark red, seeping through makeshift bandage on Stasiaj's stomach, dripping to the ground.
He felt his heart stop.
"Is she...?" Wylan trailed off, as Kaz hid the fear and panic on his face. "Is she dead?"
"No. I think she got stabbed twice," Inej replied, tying off her own wounds as Wylan hurried to Nina's side, pulling Stasiaj's other arm over his shoulder. Kaz wanted to help. He wanted to run to her, to hold her tight and help her. He wanted to press kisses to her forehead, feel her breath on his skin and listen to her heartbeat. He just wanted to know that she was alright because he didn't know what he was going to do if he lost her.
"The Grisha—" Nina had attempted.
"They're either safe at the embassy or beyond our help. They can fend for themselves. We're going to ground," He replied, before urging them into the boat. He grabbed an oar, watching as Wylan and Nina lowered an unconscious Stasiaj onto one of the benches, setting her down as gently as they could.
After that, no one spoke a word. Kaz and Rotty rowed only sporadically, steering them into the quieter, narrower canals, letting them drift silently whenever possible, until they rounded a bend near Schoonstraat and Kaz said, "Stop." He and Rotty dug in their oars, bringing them flush with the side of the canal, tucked behind the bulk of a vendor's boat. Whatever the floating shop sold, its stalls had been locked tight to protect its stock.
Up ahead, the stadwatch swarmed the bridge, two of their boats obscuring the passage beneath.
"They're setting up blockades," he murmured, before shaking his head. "Ditch the boat, we continue on foot."
As they got farther from the manufacturing district and the Barrel, the patrols dwindled, which was good, as Rotty and Wylan struggled with Stasiaj's body suspended between them. Still, they moved in fits and starts, passing along alleys, occasionally entering empty storefronts or the lower levels of unoccupied apartments so they could cut through to the next street.
It was well past midnight when they reached the financial district. They'd arrived in one of the wealthiest areas of the city, not far from the Exchange and the Stadhall.
Kaz led the group through an alley to the back of a large building, where a door had been propped open, and they entered a stairwell built around a huge iron lift that they shuffled inside. Rotty remained behind, presumably to keep watch over the entrance, as Nina took his place with Stasiaj. Kaz gnawed on his lip, before turning again and looking around.
