Coalesce

4

•♧•♤•♢•♡•♡•♢•♤•♧•

Nesta stayed curled up into herself for what felt like days. Her mind wouldn't stop showing her Ivan's lifeless body and her eyes wouldn't stop producing tears. She hadn't felt sadness like that since her mother's death and she had hoped that she would never have to again. But the world was a cruel place and it showed no mercy.

She flinched as she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, are you hurt?"

Nesta felt power rush through her, trying to break the surface of her skin, she pushed it down. Whoever had touched her was an amplifier, but not nearly as powerful as her father or Baghra. She slowly lifted her head and saw a young lanky boy in front of her, his face worried.

"I'm not."

"Not hurt or not alright?"

She pushed his hand away from her shoulder and shakily stood. The schooner had come to a halt and the Sea Whip had been hauled on deck. Alina and Mal were standing next to it, gripping one of the harpoons sticking out of its side.

Nesta watched the Shu twins remove the golden scales from the dead creature, grinding her teeth together to stop herself from charging Tolya. That would not end well for her.

Sturmhond said the Sailor's Prayer in both Ravkan and Kerch. Nesta felt that his Kerch was too soft, one could immediately hear that he was Ravkan. Then Tamar murmured the words in Shu. They stood silent for a minute until Sturmhond finally broke it with, "May the Saints receive them."

The crew replied with the same and the dark haired woman whispered the words as well, still thinking about the dead Heartrender.

Nesta felt as though she was floating, nothing that was happening around her really got to her. There was a sort of invisible bubble that didn't let anything through. She was almost disconnected from the world. But she did hear the rumble of the crew falling over Rusalye to take some scales for themselves.

She saw that the boy was still standing next to her, looking at the crew with disgust.

"Do you have a knife?"

The boy nodded slightly and tore his gaze away, looking at her instead and handed her his knife.

She took a few steps towards the animal and worked three of its scales free, putting them in the inner pocket of her kefta. She handed the boy his knife back, who now looked at her the same way he had been looking at the crew.

"It's a gift for my husband. He likes to collect shiny things." She didn't know why she felt the need to explain herself to him.

"What is he? A crow?" The boy laughed and managed to bring a smile on Nesta's face as well. He really was a crow, the name seemed fitting now.

"I'm Anatoly by the way."

"Nesta."

"I thought it was Alyona."

"It's Nesta," she replied firmly. "So, what are you? What order?"

"How did you know I was grisha?"