Dark of the Tide [Shadow and Bones]

Chapter 19

Jesper POV

"Uh, buddy, I don't think she'll like that one." I said when Kaz picked up a silver necklace.

"Hmm? Oh. No. I'm not going to get her this. I was just wondering if Inej would like it." He said, putting the necklace back.

"Why would you want Inej to have something? I thought we were here for Arabella." I asked, crossing my arms as we walked further into the booths.

"We are, Jesper. I'm just getting something for Inej because she's had to deal with a lot of my stubbornness these past few years." He replied.

"So have I. You could get me something shiny also." I remarked.

He turned back to me and looked at me, then picked up a silver ring with an ocean blue gemstone in it, smiling.

"This one."

I looked at the ring and smiled, looking at him. "That one?"

"Yeah. This is the one." He confirmed, looking at me. "You think she'll say yes?"

"I know she will, Kaz." I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You're getting married, buddy."

Nina POV

"You have to keep this a secret, okay? It's very important that Arabella doesn't know." Jesper said to me when he and I were out in the stables, watching Milo as he pranced around us happily.

"Kaz is going to propose? When?" I asked.

"I don't know that. After all this stuff with her visions or nightmares are done. Kaz told me Arabella's having a tough time right now, so I assume he's going to wait until she's composed herself." Jesper replied.

    I nodded, rocking back and forth in excitement. "I can't wait for them to get together. Seeing them makes me want to cry for some reason."

    He laughed. "Oh, I know what you mean, Nina. Back when we first . . . technically kidnapped Arabella—"

    "Wait. You kidnapped her?" I asked in shock.

    "Kaz's idea. He was promised a million Krueger." He waved his hand, dismissing the comment and continuing on. "You should have seen them bicker."

    "Was it like an old married couple?" I cooed.

    "Yes, but like an old married couple of vipers. They were always lashing out with insults towards each other. But I saw through the outward appearances of my friends." He responded with a smirk.

    "They are the definition of enemies-to-lovers." I said with a big smile. "When was the first time they found out their feelings?"

    "Well, Arabella was hard to get a reading on for a specific time, but I think it was when she was on a mission to get some Krueger Pekka Rollins owed Kaz." He said, tapping his chin in thought. "As for Kaz . . . he's also a hard read, but . . . I would have to say when we were going to Pekka's place. She has just come out in this grey suit—"

"Black blazer and dress pants. Slight frills on the shoulders. And grey flats with rubber soles." Kaz corrected, walking into the stables with his hands settled on his cane, glancing at us. "Good guess. But that wasn't the moment."

    I looked at him. "Then when was the moment?"

    He looked at me and smiled. "It was when Inej bought her a sweater. It was hand-made by a tailor here."

I smiled softly. "What did Arabella look like?"

He smiled at the memory, a slight bit of pink tinting his cheeks. "She looked absolutely beautiful. The sweater was a dark blue and had a crow in flight with a red rose in it's beak stitched into it."

    Jesper smiled at his friend. "I love seeing this side of you, Kaz. I never saw it before you met Arabella."

   "So do I, Jesper." Kaz turned his head towards the entrance, where Arabella had just walked by, stopping and looking at him with a smile. "So do I."

    Arabella looked at the three of us. "Inej wants me to tell you that she's almost done cooking dinner."

    "Does she need any help, Arabella?" I asked.

    "No. She's got it." The brunette replied with a faint smile, brushing her hair back and walking into the stables. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Nina was wondering when you and Kaz fell in love." Jesper replied. "It's like Romeo and Juliet."

Kaz looked at Arabella, then smiled and looked back at Jesper. "You know they both die in the end. Right?"

"Besides that. Your story is epic." I said, saving Jesper.

"Well, thank you, Nina. I'm sure you and Matthias also have a pretty epic story also." Arabella said.

"Okay, that's quite brought talk about epic love stories for one day. Tomorrow, you girls will have the entire day to discuss this. For now, let's eat." Kaz said, taking Arabella's hand and walking out with her, Jesper, Milo and I close behind them.

Kaz POV

I stood by the wash basin, my gloves sitting on the counter of the sink as I leaned back against the cold tiled wall, twirling the ring between my forefinger and thumb.

    A light knock came from my door and I quickly tucked the ring in a black case, setting it in my drawer and going to open the door.

    "Inej. Hi. I figured you would be at the White Rose." I said, suddenly feeling half-naked with my gloves not being on around her.

    The only person I was comfortable with taking my gloves off around was Arabella. And also the person I was hoping to see tonight.

    Inej looked at me suspiciously. "Were . . . you expecting someone else?"

    "Oh. Um, I was kind of hoping to speak with Arabella, but it can wait until tomorrow." I said.

    "You sure?"

    I nodded half-heartedly. "Yeah. What do you need?"

    "I was just coming here to ask you if you're really going to propose to Arabella." Inej said with a slight frown.

    I grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, shutting the door and looking at her. "How did you find out? Did Jesper tell you?"

    "What? No. I followed you guys out to the market." She replied, crossing her arms.

    I sighed and punched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Inej. There is such thing as privacy. I was hoping to keep this only between Jesper and me."

    "Oh. Sorry." She apologized.

    "No. No, it's . . . it's fine. Just keep this to yourself. Please. For the time being." I said, hoping she would agree without any questions.

    She hesitated for a bit before nodding. "Okay. I'll keep this to myself. But ask her soon, okay?"

    "I'll try my best. It takes a while for men to work up this much courage."

    She smiled. "Is the Kaz Brekker nervous? I never thought I'd live to see this day."

    I chuckled. "You should get some sleep, Inej. We all need it."

    She nodded. "Alright,"

    "This stays between you, me, and Jesper. Okay? No one else can know." I said.

    "I got it, Kaz. I'm a vault for storing secrets. You can trust me with this." She replied, opening up the door.

    "I know. Goodnight, Inej."

    "Goodnight, Kaz." She said, walking out and closing the door behind her.

    I sighed and laid back on my bed, taking off my shirt before getting under the covers; my thoughts wandering back to the ring in my drawers, and wondering if she would even consider being with a guy like me.

    I was everything morally grey in this universe, and she was everything pure and beautiful in this world.

    Pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I closed my eyes and sleep eventually took over my body, whisking me away into a dream world.