empyrean (n.)
the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure elements of fire
After a lengthy and strenious heist that ended in a battle with the Darkling, Elham Creed is back in Ketterdam with the Crows, where a whole new world of...
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A/N - This is the first update to a sequel for Kaz Brekker and my OC, Elham Creed. Please make sure you read Ineffable before reading Empyrean!
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When Elham spotted the tiny twinklings of light along the horizon the evening the Crows returned to Kerch, she nearly flung herself over the side of the ship into the murky waters below. As the ship got closer and closer to the harbor, and the city came into view, dread coursed through her body like ice in her veins.
The Barrel was calling her home.
It was a call she didn't want to answer. A part of her thought that she was never going to see the familiar hustle and bustle of Ketterdam again, or be able to smell the not so fresh air.
Just days before, Elham was halfway across the world. She had seen so much, she had done so much. She went through the Fold, and lived to tell the tale. She and the Crows attempted the heist of their lives, risking it all. She scammed her way into the Little Palace, a place she once called home. She found familiar faces, and met a few new ones along the way. She learned to use her powers when it mattered most, finally unburdening herself from her longest secret she had kept guarded close.
She faced the Darkling himself, a man who was once everything to her. A man who nearly crippled her with fear. One of the few people in the world capable of bringing the Valkyrie to her knees. The only other man that could truly have that effect on her was the Bastard of the Barrel.
Her Kaz. How Elham longed to have one more evening on the ship with him and the Crows.
Stepping off the ship into the harbors of Ketterdam was the last thing Elham wanted to be doing. It meant that she and the Crows would have to face everything they had spent the past few weeks running from.
Out on the seas, there were infinite possibilities. They could've gone anywhere they wanted, been anyone they wanted. Their lives could have been full of adventure, and love, and family. There's no limit to what they could have done together if they had just stayed on that damned ship, and ignored the last call for passengers docking at Ketterdam to deboard. They could have followed Alina, or sailed to the Wandering Isle. Sure, they would have had no idea what was coming for them. Those possibilities were something they could handle together, however, no matter what they were.
But the Barrel? Elham knew exactly what was waiting for her in the Barrel. They all did, and it was nothing good.
They had come back empty handed, save for the necklace Alina gave Kaz to keep quiet about having seen her. Dreesen had given them an advance, and they hadn't held up their end of the bargain. Pekka Rollins was snubbed on the job, his opportunity for taking the kruge for himself hanging by a thread.
The thread Kaz Brekker cut in his effort to rid Pekka Rollins of everything he held dear, sealing his fate when he took the deal to capture the Sun Summoner.
