The crow and the beast - Kaz brekker

chapter 14 - a new job

A week has passed and kaz had not acting weirdly happy since that one morning, Cara knew he was hiding something but wanted to wait for him to say something about it. Knowing that he would when he is ready for it.

Cara walked into his office, brining him a cup of thee. He thanked her as he took it and she went to sit by the window, watching the people outside on the street.

an hour passed when Kaz called her over. "can you gather the crows for me please?" she smiled at him knowing he was finally ready to tell what he had been up to.

30 minutes later the crows had gathered in the office. They all looked at kaz waiting for him to say the plan.

"we have gotten a new job to do. We are going to ravka."

the crows did not seem excited. "ravka? Why leave ketterdam?" Cara said.

"because we have been offered one and a half million kruge for bringing back a rich merchant's daughter."

A few eyebrows shot up when they heard the amount of kruge they would be getting.

jesper was the first one to speak "so when do we leave?" Kaz smirked. "tonight"


the crew quickly left the office to pack for the trip and when the night fell in ketterdam they were all ready to board the ship that kaz had hired to take them to ravka.

kaz stood next to Cara looking at the boat while the others were boarding. "are you okay with boats?" he asked.

"I have only been on one when I was very little, I cannot remember that trip. So this will be a first for me." She turned to him.

"you will be fine, it isn't that bad." Kaz said

oh it was bad. Cara found out she was very seasick and refused to leave her cabin at all. Kaz brought her food 3 times a day but she barely ate.

he would sit on the floor with her for a while, rubbing her back in comfort but even his touch couldn't help her muscles relax.

it was 3 days into their journey when the storm hit. It made the waves crash into the ship, making the ship rock even more back and forth. Cara felt like she was dying on the inside. She laid in her bed trying to find comfort in the warm environment.

She heard a knock as kaz entered the cabin. Even he seemed to have difficulty to walk straight. "you liar." Cara said. Kaz smirked at her. "I was going to say the storm would be over soon but because you already know I am a liar I will give you the bad news. The storm is following us all the way to ravka which means we will be on this boat in the storm for another week."

Cara let out a load groan. Kaz walked over to the bed. "may i?" Cara nodded while sitting upright against the back of her bed. Kaz put his cane against the bed and sat next to her.

it was moments like this that she loved, she loved kaz being close to her and finding comfort in his warmth. Kaz looked at her, he hated seeing her this way. He wished he could do something to make it better.

he slowly draped his arm around her shoulders making sure that there was no skin contact, even though he had gotten a lot better at supressing the bad thoughts and emotions it brought up. Cara put her head against his shoulder as they stayed sitting like that for a while listening to the waves and the creaking of the ship.

"you should get some sleep" kaz broke the silence after Cara yawned. He removed his arm as she tucked herself deeper underneath the covers again and made a move to stand up when he felt Cara grab his hand.

"stay? Please?"

He looked at her. He would fight the world for her if she asked him. He looked at her and nodded his head. He took off his thick coat and his boots leaving his shirt and pants on. He laid down on the bed making sure to stay on top of the covers while Cara was below them so he wouldn't have a panic attack if they touched.

he had removed his gloves and put the on the nightstand and put his cane on the ground fully so they it wouldn't wake them up if it fell over. He used his coat as covers while he laid on his back looking up at the ceiling.

he felt Cara making herself comfortable next to him, she tried to get as close as possible without touching him. "come here" he said quietly as he lifted his arm so Cara could put her head on his chest.

she gladly did so as she put her hand on his chest as well, he rested his hand on the back of her shirt. He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sign. He had wanted to be this close to her for a long while but never got the courage for it.

The night was rough and sleepless for the most part but both kaz and Cara agreed that this was their new favourite way to sleep. When kaz did sleep he finally did not have any more nightmares about losing Cara, she was right here, save next to him.

together they survived the storm and when Cara finally got off the ship she felt like the happiest girl in the world.

the crows made their way to a nearby town and settled each into a separate inn. Matthias together with nina, jesper together with wylan, inej was on her own and kaz and Cara got a room together to.

Cara was sitting at a table writing in her book when kaz returned to the room bringing them both food and drinks.

he took a seat at the table next to Cara as she put her book away to eat. "so, what is the plan kaz?"

"The person we are looking for was last seen in a nearby town together with a big man. Her father thinks she has been kidnapped by this man. Tomorrow we will go there and ask around if anybody has seen her and follow her path."

Cara nodded. As she quickly finished her plate. "I couldn't imagine the stress the father must have"

"enough to offer 1.5 million kruge." Kaz smirked.

Cara giggled "you and your kruge." She lightly slapped his arm. He catches her hand mid air with his own gloved one. A playful smirk on his face.

"so, what is that book all about?" kaz asked as he reached for Cara's book. She quickly slapped his hand away.

"that is none of your business kaz" he cocked an eyebrow at her but decided against pushing for more information, for now.

they spend the night together like they had on the ship, they both felt comfortable this way.

Kaz was the first to make up in the morning. Cara's head was still on his chest and he heard her steady breathing. He slowly lifted his hand and brushed a strand of her hair our of her face and behind her ear.

he took his opportunity to try something new and slowly brushed over her check with his thumb. He almost didn't feel the urge to panic anymore which made him realize how far he had come. And this was all because of her. She was the best thing that could have ever happened to him and he knew it.

"don't push yourself to a panic attack, you are a comfortable pillow and I don't want to move just yet." Cara opened one eye and looked at him smirking. "I am fine, it's a good day today. For the first time in a long while I feel rested." He responded.

kaz leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Cara's forehead before he got out of bed. He only took a few minutes and then he was gone. Cara understood, he was a busy man. He probably wanted to check on the crows and make sure they will leave in time.

She got out of bed herself and prepared herself for a long walk towards the next town. She met kaz outside of the inn with the other crows and they walked side by side towards the next town.

The crows asked kaz a few questions about the job but it seemed that he did not know much about the job either, other than they were going to pick up her trail, follow it, save her and bring her back to her father.

as the destination came into view Cara nudged kaz. "kaz, I will go explore the streets as a wolf, I might hear useful information that might help us track her down." He didn't say anything but he nodded.

Cara shifted into the small wolf and ran off towards the town leaving the other crows behind.

once she got into the town she noticed it was a fairly small town with a tight knit community. She walked the streets and listened for any information that might be of any help but she found nothing.

when she was little her mother taught her ravkan language, hated learning the language but now she was very grateful for it.

the headed towards the market square, hoping she would pick up something there. She slowly walked over the square but heard nothing useful. However, she felt as if she was being watched.

she looked around but saw nothing suspicious but after a few more minutes she decided to leave the square anyway feeling something was wrong.

As she made her way down an alleyway suddenly she was hit hard in the head with a blunt object. She fell to the side and hit the hard ground. Before she could stand back up somebody was standing over her.

 "goodnight beast"