The Seventh Crow

Part 41

I make my way towards the known area of Matthias. Nina should be heading towards the others. Especially the Grisha. We have to get Kuwei revived before he is actually gone forever.

I'm so close to reuniting with Alev. So close to having an actual life. I can take off to the Wandering Isle or Noyvi Zem. Of course, after I get Alev. That is if he wants to go with me. Leave everything behind and start a new life.

It's funny, when I first met him he hated my guts more than anything. I came into his life, his world, and turned everything on its head. He didn't like it one bit.

"Nox," Barge said. "Go grab the ropes."

I nod my head, walking towards the small outpost. Moving in between the small group of Grisha we were going to be taking across the border.

Alev was already inside. He was moving a couple things from the cabinet to the bag hanging in front of him. He looks at me like I interrupted something important.

"Sorry," I say, shutting the door behind me.

I walk over to the cabinet. Alev's shoulder brushing against mine. He stiffened from the touch before moving away.

"What do you want?" he grumbles.

"Just getting some rope," I say. "Barge wanted some."

Alev reaches into the cabinet one more time. Bottles of some type of liquid emerge held in his hands.

"What's this?" I ask, grabbing it from his hand. Our fingers brushed against one another. I held the touch until he moved away.

"Just some jurda extract. For the Grisha."

"I didn't know we had any."

"Well it frankly wasn't any of your business." Alev takes the bottle back from me. Making sure not to make any contact with skin.

I hold down my laugh. Is he scared of touching me? Why would he be scared of something so small?

I grab the rope from the cabinet. Making sly glances at Alev. Wonder what he would do if I touched him? I thought.

I turned to go, noticing that Alev relaxed a little bit. I put my hand on his shoulder, he quickly stiffened from the touch. A pink tint lining his cheeks.

"I'll see you out there?" I flirt.

Alev reaches out and grabs my wrist. He was very gentle in the manner, but his expression wasn't very happy. Though, his green eyes held something else. I don't know if it was tenderness or exhaustion.

"This isn't a weekend getaway," he states. "Do your job."

He drops my hand and walks out of the outpost, slamming the door behind him. He can pretend to be angry or upset, but I saw his eyes. I'm not sure what it was, but he is hiding something. Something that I want to learn more than anything.

I open the outpost door and walk out with a smile. Barge was already holding his hand out for the rope, which I gladly handed over.

I glance over to Alev. He quickly looked away. Making himself look busy.

Alev was always the stubborn one, yet he always said I was. Maybe because I never gave up the strange back and forth between us. Kind of flirting just to see how flustered he would get. 

Probably always thought that I was never serious about the job. When in reality it was the only thing keeping me from going crazy. Learning about the Grisha. Seeing Alev...

Alev was my first friend. I liked him more than he thought back then, probably more than he thinks now. I would do anything for Alev. Just like how he got a job in the Ice Court with me as motivation...

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. Though, it quickly fell when I saw a young boy pointing a gun at my brother. He was wearing a Drüskelle uniform.