GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

055 ━━ fatal error

genuine question: has iona and bellamys relationship progressed smoothly? i feel like so many books have them fall in love within an episode ;-;  i never want my stories to feel like that. has it been a nice painful slow burn? >:)

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IONA FELL into step with Bellamy, a little bit away from everyone else, as they traversed through Ice Nation land. She'd been wanting to talk to him since they learned Clarke had been taken, but she hadn't found a good opportunity.

Not to mention, she's been avoiding interacting with him as Indra's words still rang through her head at even the slightest thought of the boy.

Bellamy seemed to tense as she approached him, however, which already was a bad sign. Had she done something to hurt him? Or did she perhaps... scare him? He'd seen her kill before, how was the man earlier any different?

At this point, she was nagging herself with the pointless questions- considering she wasn't speaking them aloud and he couldn't actually answer- and grew tired of it.

Gathering the courage, she finally spoke:

"Are you afraid of me?" Iona questions. She stares out at the bleak environment around them; white snow upon black dirt, grass in small patches scattered randomly around, and later hidden by trees and bushes.

Bellamy looks over at her, studying her side profile, and hesitates momentarily, "Of you? No." He gnawed on his bottom lip, thinking back to when she killed without question- and in a way he'd never seen her do before, "Of what you can do? Definitely."

Iona chuckles. It was lifeless, dry; merely a laugh to hide the way his words drilled right into her heart. She didn't want him to ever be scared of her.

Still, she covered it up, teasing, "You should be afraid of all of me, Sky Boy."

Bellamy's heart fluttered at the nickname she'd called him since the day they met. A small smile appeared on his face. His eyes searched hers, glancing from her eyes to her nose, then to her mouth for a small, barely noticeable moment.

Then, he was looking away, and it was as if that moment hadn't ever happened in the first place.

Iona swallowed harshly, forcing down the lump in her throat, and stared straight ahead.

Focus, Iona.

Sighing, she slowly drifted from Bellamy's side, her place soon being taken over by Pike. Wandering over to Indra, Iona fell into line behind her, grass crunching beneath her.

When Indra came to a very sudden stop, so did Iona, even stilling her breathing until she found the source of Indra's halt. In the distance was chanting, combined with tunes from musical instruments.

"War drums..." Kane murmured, realization dawning upon him, too.

Iona huffed. She reached for the knife tucked into the strap on her thigh, holding it firmly. Disgust swam in her eyes, and she resisted the urge to spit, "Azgeda."

"You can tell it's Ice Nation from the sound?" Monty questioned, looking at Iona in confusion.

Indra shook her head. She pointed across from them, where bodies lay scattered in the high grass, a clear indication of murder. "No; from them," Indra said. From this distance, they appeared to be bounty hunters.

The group rushed forward in an attempt to move the bodies. After all, if they were caught, it might just appear as though the Skykru are guilty for this, and war would break out between the clans.

As if it hadn't already.

However, Bellamy quickly protested, "No! Careful. Two people, 12 o'clock." He zoomed in with his scope, momentarily stunned, but shaking it off, "It's Clarke!"

Iona furrowed her brows, trying to see what Bellamy was seeing in the bushes. Alas, she couldn't find the figures, and merely chased after Bellamy as he darted in that direction.

Pike stopped him, making Iona scowl, "You'll never make it in time."

"He's right, look," Monty appeared beside them, pointing to the horizon. Warriors marched through the field proudly holding up their flags, chanting as they came into eyesight. "We'd never make it across."

As the group created a plan of action, Iona stalked closer to the army. 

Something seemed off.

She'd seen Azgeda declare war before. They typically were ruthless, yes, but also sneaky. Their army was far smaller, while most of their soldiers infiltrated the ranks of the opposing force. They were a deadly threat- but they acted on the inside.

This wasn't how they normally operated.

Had Azgeda changed that much?

When Iona finally realized her mistake, it was too late.

She'd walked right into the hands of the Ice Nation.

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