Swan Song ~ Shadow & Bone

10

now i normally wouldn't upload this early but what the hell I JUST COULDN'T WAIT

big things happening this chapter  :]

I sat in the carriage several days later as we arrived at Ryevost. A First Army soldier had encountered a girl that fit the description of Alina, and an Oprichnik had found the carriage Kaz and the Crows had stolen.

As we climbed out of the coach, David started to follow us, but Aleks shook his head and stopped him.

"Stay," he told the boy. "I don't need you out here." Ivan and Zoya walked over, and Aleks looked at them. "And?"

"The wagon matches the one that was reported stolen from the palace," Ivan said. Zoya nodded.

"They may have continued on horseback, faster, harder to track." An Oprichnik stepped carefully towards the carriage the Crows had stolen, and as he went to open the door, I had only one thought.

Kaz wouldn't make it this easy.

Before I could stop him, the boy opened the door, and the coach blew. My hands, as well as Polina's, shot up, pushing the flames away from us, Aleks, Ivan, and Zoya. I growled and grabbed Aleks' sleeve, pulling him towards the town center with the others in tow.

As we round the corner, I see Kaz, Inej, Karlin, and Jesper coming out of an inn. I made eye contact with Kaz, and that one look said more than I could've thought.

"No!" Polina yelled, glaring daggers at Inej. I gritted my teeth as she threw flames towards the four.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. No matter what he had done, I couldn't bear the thought of Kaz being hurt. Call it a twin thing, but the thought itself made me feel sick. "No, Polina!" Zoya ran over to stop the grieving girl from advancing.

"You can't burn it all down," the dark-haired girl said.

"That Barrel rat killed my brother," Polina claimed. "I will reduce her to ash." Zoya nodded.

"Fine, but be smart about it." The two and Ivan split up to chase the Crows, and Aleks took my arm carefully but firmly as he pulled me into a side street.

"Do you know how to find him?" he asked. I didn't have to ask who. I did know how to find Kaz. I always knew. I hesitated slightly but nodded.

"I do," I muttered. I took his hand with a firm grip and pulled him further into the alley. After a while, I stopped and looked around.

"What is it?" Aleks asked quietly. I looked up at the mouth of the alley and pointed.

"There," I said softly. "He's coming." He nodded.

"Get out of sight," he murmured. "Get behind him so he can't run." I took a deep breath before nodding and climbing up the wall quickly. I pulled myself onto the roof just as Kaz stepped into the dim light of the alley, but he wasn't alone. Close beside him was Karlin, the same girl that I had seen with Inej in the Little Palace. But here, she had a different look in her eyes. A more dangerous look.

Aimed directly at Aleksander.

"Karlin," the man muttered. "What a... pleasant surprise." She glared angrily at him and shook her head.

"You and I both know that's not true," she growled. He clicked his teeth.

"Now," he said slowly, "is that any way to greet your father." I smirked. So I had been right. Karlin wasn't a common name, so when I heard her say it, I had my own suspicions. Good to know I was still good at making connections. Karlin clenched her jaw and shook her head.

"You're no father to me." I jogged across the roof until I was behind the two Crows and dropped to the ground lightly. Kaz spun around when he heard me and froze.

"I should have known you wouldn't be far," he said confidently. I smirked.

"I know you kidnapped Alina, Kaz," I said. "Even after I tried to warn you." Aleks nodded.

"And now you're going to tell us where you stashed her," he said. Karlin looked between the two of us, furrowing her brows in confusion as she tried to decipher what entirely was going on. I saw her hand inch towards Kaz's, and I smirked. I knew for certain that Kaz still despised touch, as I did. I had grown accustomed to having to deal with it, but he hadn't.

So if Karlin was comfortable enough to move to touch him and Kaz was comfortable enough to let her, it meant that they had to be extremely close.

"We didn't take her," Kaz told me. "She fled on her own." I blinked slowly.

"Where is she?" When the two hesitated to respond, Aleks stepped closer, and I mirrored it.

"We won't ask you again." Karlin shook her head.

"We don't know," she said. She made eye contact with Aleks. "It was pretty clear she wasn't interested in being a captive anymore." Kaz nodded.

"She's probably halfway to Novyi Zem by now." I clenched my fists, and Aleks looked to the ground. When his gaze lifted, anger radiated off of him.

"You should have stayed in Ketterdam," he told the two Crows in a dangerous tone. He began to move his hands to form the Cut, and my eyes widened. 

As he threw the blade, I clasped my hands together, pushing them forward and raising a wall of fire between Aleks and Kaz, Karlin, and me. The two Crows' heads whipped to me, and I gritted my teeth.

"Get out of here," I told them firmly, pushing past them to stand next to the searing barrier.

"Why are you helping us?" Kaz asked skeptically. I took a deep breath.

"Because while you tried to kidnap my friend and blatantly ignored my warnings," I said, "you're still my little brother, and I'll be damned if I let you get hurt when I can stop it." I took hold of his arm gently and sighed. "Now for once in your life, please. Listen to me. Get the hell out of here." He glanced at the wall behind me and nodded. Before he went, he paused and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. I buried my face in his chest as he rubbed the back of my hair gently.

"I love you, Kat," he muttered. I felt my eyes well up with tears.

"I love you too, Kaz." I stepped back from him and pushed him away from me gently. "Now go. And be careful." 

hehehehehe

yeah, so that happened

also i feel the need to specify this

i had a lot of trouble coming up with how to go about kaz and katya's interactions but i ended up settling on the idea that because they are twins and because they went through the traumatic experience that left both of them with an aversion to touch, that hatred for contact wouldn't really apply to each other

i don't know if this is true for everyone but i know that i myself don't really like to be touched but there are some people that i'm okay with, so that's how i chose to write it  :)