The Love of a Crow - Wesper/Crows Fanfiction/AU

31. Nina

A/N: And so the painfully-long, confusing action scenes begin. Believe me when I tell you I like to make things DRAMATIC! Also, are anyone else's Wattpad comments not loading? Or is it just my crappy WiFi? I hope you enjoy! :)

At that moment the carriage should have been brimming with anticipation and adrenaline; they would finally see one of their worst enemies yet have their blood spilt, but after Kaz was finished briefing them they all remained silent. Even Nina couldn't think of the right words to say to cheer anyone up. Apart from Wylan's leg bumping up and down, the carriage remained still.

Suddenly Nina felt a large hand brush her own, and she looked up to see Matthias smiling down at her. Red bird, he seemed to say. Don't be scared. We are soldiers.

He was, of course, right. They had nothing to fear other than losing each other, and both would never let that happen, so what else did they have to lose?

A cough sounded from opposite them, and Nina saw Wylan's gaze sink back to the floor; Inej and Jesper's carriage had turned onto the crossroad. Maybe the question wasn't 'What else did they have to lose,' but instead 'Who else did they have to lose'.

That was the Crows' weakness. To Scales, the men and women under his command were like bits of paper; useful at the time until they were ready to be used as kindling. He could watch them be killed and kill each other like it was sport. But Nina found every Crows' life precious, and would die defending any of them. In fact, they all would.

But there was strength in their bonded numbers, in their jokeful insults and their loyalty and their love that all had found in mysterious places. Saints, it sounded as cringy as one of a Grisha's poems, but it was the truth. And it was what would get Scales killed tonight.

At that moment the carriage rolled to a soft stop. They had arrived.

Cautiously Kaz and Wylan stepped out of the carriage, followed by Nina and Matthias. The night was cool and unforgiving, and would have been crystal clear if it weren't for the thick fog that had attached itself firmly on land. It was so thick that Nina had to clutch Matthias's hand to stop him from banging into a light post.

The carriage had parked in a small road that joined up with the main paths to the Church of Barter, naturally followed by the North and East entrances of the Exchange. Either one could be the entry point of Van Eck's men, though it would be hard to tell how many were actually coming, and the fog wasn't exactly a beneficial factor. Still, once again Nina found herself putting her faith, and the faith of the one she loved, in a boy with an extremely bad haircut, even if it meant there would be trouble down the road. A boat had to be prepared for a storm.

Kaz gestured at them to follow. He and Wylan would go to the North exit whilst Matthias and Nina waited by the East. There were smaller alleyways that had been prepped with ladders so both pairs could wait out of sight on the rooftops, then slip down unnoticed. It was also a good spot for Wylan to throw up a warning-red flash bomb if anything went wrong.

Nina watched Wylan follow Kaz hesitantly, and she gave him a reassuring smile, not knowing why she suddenly had a pit feeling of dread grow in her stomach as she watched them leave. She followed Matthias up the ladder and soon they were both gazing down at the empty Exchange, though it looked more like a bowlful of mist curling up towards the sky. Wait... it wasn't empty. There were figures far away, mere specks against a sea of grey. Nina turned to tell Matthias, but he was focused on something else, and by the time she turned back they had vanished. Strange to say the least, but in this fog, it could have all been an illusion.

Yes... there was something unnatural with the fog, she realised as the seconds ticked by into painfully-long minutes. And as she stared across the endless expanse of dark and clearly-visible buildings, then the speckle-painted sky that seemed oblivious to the blanket covering the Exchange, Nina thought it looked a Hell-of-a-lot like something man made. No, not man made. Grisha-made.