❛ ʻʻ .. it's strange how fate
keeps bringing us together .. 〞
in which a girl who can see a person's fate from the touch of a hand falls for the one boy fearing human touch.
━━ KAZ BREKKER
frenemies to lovers, slowburn
shadow & bone - crooked ki...
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lv. let the auction commence! – Randvi
THE GENTLE RAYS of the morning sun warmed Randvi's face, kissing her skin with golden buttery light. The breeze winding its way through the streets from the harbour blew wisps of hair from the neat braids Nina had done just hours ago.
For good luck, Nina had said, and for a moment Randvi had felt like a girl again, sat by the fire as her mother decorated her braids with fresh flowers.
But all too soon the last peaceful moment had come to an end. The sun had risen once more, the winds of fate beckoning them elsewhere. They all had their roles to play, like a carefully coordinated dance or well rehearsed play. Inej would be awaiting her assassin on the roof of the Church of Barter, Wylan in the company of his father. Jakov waited with a group of Grisha posing as the Council of Tidemakers.
Randvi and Jesper were to hide in plain sight to carry out the plan, although as Randvi stepped inside the church and found her seat, she didn't know her own part in all of this. Everyone had their talents, their roles to play, so what was hers? To sit and observe. Perhaps Kaz just enjoys my company, she scoffed.
"Promise me you'll leave the church in one piece?" She'd almost begged Kaz, who was to escort Kuwei along with Matthias. "Both of you."
"I'm sure demjin has a thousand back up plans hidden up his sleeve," Matthias said.
"I'm like a bad smell, Randvi. You can't get rid of me that easily." The barest smile ghosted Kaz's lips.
She brushed a spec of dust from Kaz's suit in a bid to make him look somewhat more presentable in front of the Merchant Council and entirety of Ketterdam. His suit was as sharp as ever, but his black eye and bruises made any reputable impression impossible. Randvi's fingers landed on his tie, straightening it and then his collar. Their eyes met. Understanding passed through them, then they parted ways.
Even now she still felt the brush of Kaz's lips against her skin that night in the hotel bathroom, felt his eyelashes flutter, the beat of his heart. He'd tried, but would he ever try again? Randvi may never speak with him again. If everything went wrong, there would be no next time.
They may all die today, but in spite of that, Randvi felt peace. These people had become her friends, her family. She had cursed them and laughed with them. She thought back to the times they'd told stories around fires in Fjerda, to their impossible escapes, their gossiping. If Randvi had been given the choice between the life she could have had and this one, knowing what she knew now, she would've have changed a thing.
Not for anything.
The church bells began to chime three bells. A hush washed through the room. Her nerves picked up, and Randvi suddenly became aware of just who she was in company with. The Fjerda's had their seat closest to the stage, the drüskelle were there, Eivor was there. She felt the shawl shrouding her features fall further, masking her face in shadows. Jesper gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
