𝕬𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝕷𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖞 - [𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿]

𝐱𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘱 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 — gossip girls

━━━━━━━

 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 been dealt with, and after Kaz had gotten his very own show and threat... Aleksa hadn't left Inej's side. She had become quite the well-tuned nurse with Nina to spectate. Of course, Aleksa already knew her way around a needle and thread, she could clean a wound with a bottle of whisky and an old cloth, and she knew what to keep an eye out for should an infection start to sprout.

 But despite Nina's insistence that she wasn't a healer, the Heartrender had done a wonderful job. As she slept and finally got to rest her head, Aleksa had stayed wide awake as a ghost lingered over her shoulder, whispering such tragic things... She kept a hand curled around Inej's as she promised to do everything she could to keep her safe, to keep her out of harm's way despite Kaz Brekker being so very willing to toss her aside.

 The worst of it was... Aleksa knew Kaz cared for his Crows. They weren't just more members of a gang, they weren't throw-aways; no matter how many times Kaz said they were replaceable... they simply were not.

 But as ever, his greed for kruge and his thirst for revenge rang louder than the cries of his crew. Aleksa understood... to some degree, she supposed. Kaz couldn't have simply become who he was without something spurring his monstrous side forth; it was Pekka. Pekka was the one who'd crafted him, and shaped him into a teenager who lusted for vengeance and retribution.

 Aleksa was happy to stand by his side, to be a sword wielded by the Barrel's Bastard... but she simply couldn't watch as Inej Ghafa, or Jesper Fahey fell into the same fate. Because they could get out, they could have their own lives... Aleksa knew that her life was in Ketterdam.

 She was built for it, and thrived within the damp city like a cockroach; nothing could seem to kill her... and that was the kind of person who dealt best with Ketterdam.

 She couldn't bear the thought of leaving again, not when she'd craved to come home for so very long. She couldn't bear to leave Kaz, for while she felt foolish for letting Dirtyhands draw her in... she couldn't quite resist the pull.

 That was why Nikolai had been turned away. That was why Aleksa had strayed from warming her bed with another... all because of Kaz bloody Brekker.

 Aleksa rolled her eyes skywards, tracing the outlines of the wooden slats above her. Him of all people, the Bastard, the monster, the demjin — a very apt name from Matthias, she had to admit.

 Aleksa was promptly saved from her thoughts when midnight struck. There was no bell, no chime echoing in her ears. But she knew that feeling, the feeling of a chill creeping forth as moonlight practically burned through the darkness.