sinner saint ━ six of crows

X

SVETLANA WAS AN expert at avoiding awkward situations. The first time she ever encountered somewhat of an awkward situation was when Nikolai almost kissed Alina and she walked in on them. They had cleared their throats and tried to excuse the situation but she simply pretended to not see a thing and address Nikolai with what she had come to talk to him about.

This was what she did when she awoke the new morning to find Matthias' gaze fixated on her. She avoided his eyes, gathered their things, and left the bag beside the tent where he'd pick it up.

They continued on their way, Nina fully aware of the way he'd focus ahead then turn to see Svetlana as she walked in step beside Jesper.

Jesper's eyes squinted, his sunkissed skin glowing with a sense of adventure and giddiness. Svetlana grew to learn his tells, and she knew he was about to start bantering.

"When I'm rich, I'm going somewhere I never have to see the snow again," he said, and Svetlana snorted from beside him. "I hear the Wandering Isle never gets snow. Or maybe Novyi Zem." Svetlana said, then muttered, "Novyi Zem is good all year 'round, except maybe for the summer. The Wandering Isle sounds better."

Jesper sent her a side glance, "Have you ever been to Novyi Zem?"

Svetlana shrugged, "Once, in the summer. It was an overall shit experience."

"And The Wandering Isle?"

"Next destination."

Jesper grinned at her, then turned to walk backward, "What will you do when you're rich, Wylan?"

Svetlana met his eyes with raised brows and a teasing smirk, he met her eyes and winked, a silent thought traveling between them.

Wylan's cheeks turned a pinch of pink, "I don't know exactly."

"I think you should buy a golden piano—"

"Flute." Both Wylan and Svetlana corrected the Zemini boy.

"And play concerts on a pleasure barge. You can park it in the canal right outside your father's house."

"Nina can sing," Inej added, a secretive smile being shared between the ladies of the group. Svetlana snickered.

"We'll duet," Nina grinned, "Your father will have to move."

Wylan turned to Svetlana, "You should join, we'll find you a violin to play," the brunette only grinned at him.

Throughout their journey, it was moments like these that Svetlana managed to cherish. It reminded her too much of Alina's bickering with Mal or Nikolai, Zoya's desire for everything to be set the way she wants it to be, Nadia and Tamar's flirtatious conversations, and Tolya's hours-long poetry recitation sessions.

The memory of the giant bloke of muscle brought a soft smile to her lips. Tolya may have been quite the force to be reckoned with, but he was her greatest friend within the Little Palace. From the moment they met aboard Sturmhond's ship until the moment she stepped out of the Palace with Sophia back to Ketterdam, he was one of the few people she truly relied on, and he helped show her that Grisha aren't just an accessory to war.

When she was younger, Svetlana believed Grisha's only purpose in Ravka was to be part of the army that defended Ravka against its enemies. And as she grew older she realized that the way she thought about Grisha was influenced purely by men in power.

To be completely honest, Svetlana couldn't care less what happened to Ravka as much as she cared about her fellow Grisha. She didn't share Zoya and Nikolai's ambitions of making Ravka a better and more evolved country. She only cared that the Grisha in the country and around the world receive their right to simply live and make something of themselves.