Dark of the Tide [Shadow and Bones]

Chapter 16

Inej was the first to see me and Jesper come into the Crow Club, waving us over to where she sat at a table at the balcony, three extra chairs pulled out.

    "Hey, guys. How was Novyi Zem?" She asked.

"Good. The blizzard didn't help, though." I replied, sitting down.

"Yeah. Hey, Arabella, can I talk with you for a second? Please?" She glanced at Jesper and looked back at me. "Alone?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Jes, can you excuse us for a second?" I asked him.

"Not at all. Call me when you need me." He got up and walked out of earshot.

I looked at Inej. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry. For everything that happened before. I want you to know that . . . well, Kaz and I talked about . . . it."

I nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"I want you to know that we have it all cleared up. I won't think of Kaz that way anymore. Promise. Your happiness matters to me." She said.

I smiled. "Thanks, Inej."

"So . . . are we back to being besties?"

I laughed. "Yes, Inej. We're back to being the dynamic duo."

She smiled. "Awesome. Jes, you can come back now."

    Jesper took his seat back in a second and rested his elbows on the table, putting his chin on his palms and looking at us.

    "What did you two girls talk about while I was gone? Anything I should know?"

    I smiled and took off his hat, putting it on my head and enjoying it as he frowned, but didn't say a thing.

    "If we want you to know something, Jes, we would have let you stay." I replied.

    Inej laughed. "Ouch, Arabella. I'm rubbing off on you, aren't I?"

    "Mmh, just a little bit." I agreed, looking around. "Where's Kaz?"

    "Pekka asked to meet with him. He's at Pekka's place. Don't worry. I got Nina to go with him, so he's safe." Inej replied.

    "Good,"

———

"Nina, you okay?" I asked, coming into her room and finding her sitting on her bed, staring at the wall.

She looked towards me. "Oh. Hi, Arabella. Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Honestly? Rumors." She answered.

"What kind of rumors?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It's probably not true, but I overheard some merchants and other Grisha saying that the Darkling survived the Fold."

I thought this over. "Like you said, it's probably just people looking for attention. Don't worry. If he's back, I promise you he won't live long enough to see another day."

"Wow, girl, you are absolutely terrifying when you're like this. I see why Kaz likes you so much." She said with a smile.

I chuckled. "Yeah."

"How is he, by the way?" She asked.

"He's fine. He's resting. I healed him up, but he's tired." I relied, "Thanks for backing him up."

"Of course. I know he means a lot to you." She replied, placing her hand over mine.

A knock came on her door and we both looked towards the door, seeing Matthias standing there.