(THE GIF I USED ISN'T MINE, CREDITS TO THE OWNER!!)
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Ever since Kaz Brekker survived the Queen's Lady Plague and used his brother to get back to shore, he had felt cold.
The cold affected him every day. The second when someone touched him, he could feel his hands back on his brother's wet rotting body. The feeling of someone's skin on his had become a permanent reminder of the plague.
He had taken precautions ever since his first panic attack, but the feeling of the ice-cold water surrounding him and rising toward his lips appeared to be unavoidable.
He was standing at the edge of the ship that was slowly nearing Ketterdam. He looked out onto the water.
It was freezing but when Sabo stood beside him he could feel her warmth radiating off of her, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know if it was part of her ability to always be warm or if it was his own body reacting to hers.
He looked at her sideways, her eyes were shut as the wind lifted her hair. For a moment he was a boy again, sure that there was still some magic left in the world.
'Did the message work?' he asked.
Sabo nodded. 'My friends will be waiting for Alina and Mal, they've been informed.'
'Can you send a message like that to anyone?'
She had told him about the way she had been communicating with different people over the years. Sending them messages in case of upcoming threats. She had learned it herself, communicating in form of a fire message.
'If I know them and have seen them before, yes. Otherwise, it becomes difficult.'
Kaz nodded at her. 'We're almost home.' he said before looking back at the sea.
Coming back home had meant something to Sabo once, home had been the place where her mother was waiting for her with tea and honey, the honey that was made near her hometown. Sometimes she could still smell it.
If there was anything from Fjedra that she wanted back into her life, it would be the honey, the tea, and the unconventional love she once believed she had.
But as they were nearing the fifth harbor of Ketterdam, something shifted within her. She had begun to see Ketterdam as her new home, a place to sleep, eat, or sit down with friends after a long day.
She was happy to get back, but as the harbor was getting closer, something felt off.
'What do you think will be waiting for us when we're back?'
'Trouble.' He replied.
Jesper and Inej walked up beside them, scanning the dock for any threats.
When Jesper concluded there were none, his face lit up.
'Home sweet home.' he beamed.
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'Straight off the boat from Ravka and no one was waiting to kill us as soon as we arrived.' Jesper said impressed, a wide grin resting on his face.
'Kind of disappointing if you ask me.' Sabo answered as she walked beside him.
'Don't rain on my homecoming parade, Sabo. This is a good sign! I think I might celebrate with a little dice and debauchery.' Jesper said excitedly as he laid his arm around her.
'No debauchery.' Kaz said as he walked before them.
'Dice then.' Jesper decided as he looked around the shops that were beside them. 'And remember the words of the fortune teller in Ravka? She told me I would get rich in the future, wouldn't want to keep me away from the table now, would you, boss?'
YOU ARE READING
The FlameKeeper - Kaz Brekker
Hayran Kurgu"Just because you escape one trap, doesn't mean you will escape the next." Arabella Opjer's life has been a series of unfortunate events. If she had been born in Ravka, she'd been worshiped for her abilities. She was the FlameKeeper. A legend waitin...
