Dark of the Tide [Shadow and Bones]

Chapter 29

"Happy anniversary, Bella." Kaz said as he came into my room, a box of chocolates in his hand.

    "Chocolates?" I questioned.

    "Oh, yeah. I figured since they probably won't last when we are crossing the Fold again, you should have chocolates instead. Are they okay?"

    "Kaz, they're chocolate. Of course they're okay." I smiled, "What anniversary are we celebrating, exactly?"

    "When we first met."

    "You mean when you kidnapped me." I corrected, taking the box from him and opening it.

    "Yeah."

    "Fun times." I said, biting into a chocolate.

    He chuckled and sat down next to me, nodding. "Those were indeed."

    "You weren't really going to sell me for a million Krueger, we're you?"

    He smiled and looked at me, kissing my forehead. "Never,"

———

I looked onward into the black cloud of the Fold, standing at the very edge and reaching my hand in. The dark swirling around my fingers.

    I closed my eyes and called out in my mind. If the Darkling could call me to him on his will, I could do the same.

    "Aleksander," I breathed out and opened my eyes.

    "I do not enjoy being called like a dog."

    The Darkling stood there just at the edge of the darkness of the Fold.

    "I thought you would have been used to it by now."

    He gave a crooked smile. "Hello, dear sister. What might I do for you?"

    "I want to know why you can't leave the Fold."

    "Oh, I am very much able to leave the Fold. But I do not wish to."

    "And why is that? I can't imagine there being any food there at all. Any food that is edible, at least."

"You may be true on that, but I am waiting for the precise moment to come back."

"So you can scare little kids?" I asked.

He frowned. "You are usually always right when it comes to me. But not this time. This time, I wish nothing more than to be the brother you need."

"I already have one. It's Mal. You're the dysfunctional sociopath in this family."

"Ah, yes, that is what the world sees me as, no doubt. But I wish for you to see me in another light."

"And what 'light' is that?"

"My sensible side. And good morals."

"You don't have any good morals."

"I do. You just haven't seen them in a long time. If you sit, we can talk about it." He said, sitting on a rock just inside the Fold.

"Fine. But if you try anything, I'm out of here." I replied, sitting on a rock and leaning my elbows on my knees.

"I assume you want to know how we are related, first off. Correct?"

"I know how. My mother gave birth to three kids after her husband died. She gave me and Mal to an orphanage in Keramzin while she gave you to a royal Grisha family."

"You've done your reading."

"And screaming."

"Well, that is a given once you've found out your enemy is also your brother. Oh, excuse me, distant brother."

"Thanks for the correction. Answer a question for me."

    "Ask away, Ara."

    I frowned at the nickname. "Why don't you want to leave?"

    "When I leave, I want people to think of me as a good guy and not fear me."

    "Yeah, well, you're far from convincing people of that."

———

"Ara? Ara, wake up." A surprisingly soft voice said from above me.

I opened my eyes and screamed in surprise and shock, pushing him away from me. "What are you doing, you complete whacko??"

The Darkling stood back and held up his hands in surrender. "Apologies if I frightened you, Arabella—"

"You did way more than frighten me." I muttered, scratching at the back of my neck as I crossed my arms.

"You fell asleep. I thought I best if you woke up and went back to your motel where your husband is."

I looked at him in surprise, my eyebrows lifted.

"What?"

"That's the first time you said 'husband' without flinching."

    "I believe that's the first time I said that in general."

    ". . . yes, it seems so."

    "Yes, well . . . I should let you get back. Your friends will no doubt be worried. Until next time, dear sister."

    ". . . Yes. Aleksander." I nodded and turned around, walking away and pulling my jacket tighter around me as the wind blew towards me.

    I opened the door and silently shut it, having someone turn on a dim lamp light from the couches.

    "Where have you been, Arabella?" Jesper asked from the couch, stroking Milo as his pet was laying on his lap giving me the same look as his owner.

    "Out to see Acker." I lied.

    "Huh. That's funny. Seeing as he came by an hour ago and you weren't with him. So, tell me honestly. Where were you?"

    I sighed and sat next to him. ". . . I was at the edge of the Fold."

    "And? I can't imagine you went there to sightsee."

    "I met up with the Darkling."

    "Woah. That's a bombshell."

    "Please don't tell Kaz. You know how he is about this stuff."

   "Believe me, I know. I got your back. No one will know. Besides you, me, and Milo."

    "Thanks, Jes."

    He nodded and set Milo down on the floor as the goat scampered off. "What did the Darkling want?"

    "To show he has good morals."

    "Pfft, I doubt he has any. Sorry, I know he's your distant brother or whatever but—"

    "No, it's fine. Just because I met up with him doesn't mean I trust him."

    "But you're curious to what he has to say."

    "Yeah,"

    ". . . okay then. The next time you want to see him, you tell me and I'll cover for you. Okay?"

    "Okay."

    "Good. I think you'd better take a quick shower before you head off to bed. Don't want Kaz or Inej to be smelling the rotting scent of the Fold on you all day tomorrow."

    "Okay. Goodnight, Jesper. And thanks."

    "No problem, Arabella. Sleep well."

Hey y'all! Sorry for the slow updates. Writer's block is not fun.

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