Cingulomania | Kaz Brekker

08

Kaz Brekker was not sure what to think. 

He had watched his right hand kill a man by doing almost nothing. It wasn't natural. 

Kaz had ordered Inej and Jesper to give Cordelia space once they got to the carriage. Once they heard her muffled sobs from within the carriage, they stopped asking questions. They had stopped briefly in Ryevost, and Inej had reached into the back silently to grab the three of them clothes. She noted how Cordelia's brows were knit together and how the girl's body was shaking slightly as she slept. She noticed how her friend's face was stained with blood, tear tracks interrupting the spatter. Cordelia occasionally gasped for breath in her sleep.

Before Inej could close the door to the carriage, Cordelia shot awake with a gasp, clawing at her chest. She looked around frantically, taking in her surroundings. A carriage, she was in a carriage. She glanced down at her hands, confirming that it wasn't all some sick and twisted dream. 

Her hands were still covered in blood and burns that she didn't notice the night before. She must have gotten them when the Inferni clawed at her hands right before she killed him. The blood was dry now. She could feel it crusted in her hair. 

Cordelia raked a scarred hand through her hair and let out a ragged sigh. 

"Cordelia?" Inej asked softly. 

"I'm fine, Inej," Cordelia replied shortly. She opened the other carriage door and slipped outside. Jesper and Kaz were standing at the trunk hitched to the back.

"Woah, Delia? What happened to you?" Jesper asked, coming up to his friend. He cupped Cordelia's face in his hands to look for any injuries, but she flinched away from his touch, not meeting his eyes. She forgot he didn't see that she was covered in blood last night.

"Nothing," she mumbled, eyes fixed on the trunk, glazing over once more. Kaz shot her a look. They both knew it wasn't nothing, and she was shutting down. Inej made her way to the group and they stood looking at the trunk. 

Suddenly, the lock on the trunk started glowing bright and then flew out of the trunk. The lid slowly raised, someone pushing their way out. 

Alina Starkov looked to see the Crows staring at her. Her eyes locked with Cordelia's and widened at the sight of her blood-covered face. Jesper rested a hand on one of his revolvers. 

"Mariana?" Alina questioned as she jumped out of the trunk. Cordelia shook her head. "Sorry about that little lie," the girl replied. 

"We don't want any trouble," Jesper told Alina. 

The Sun Summoner put her hands out in front of her. "Neither do I, so I'll just be on my way." Kaz stuck his cane out, stopping Alina from moving. 

"Clearly, you want out of East Ravka," Jesper said. "But we can help you." Inej nodded at the Summoner in support. Alina's eyes were locked on Cordelia. "We have a secure route through the fold."

"I prefer to travel alone," Alina responded. The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the light of a hunter. 

"Don't be rash," Jesper said. "You stick with us, everybody gets what they want."

"I'm not being anyone's captive ever again," Alina stated firmly. Cordelia took a step forward. She knew what it was like all too well. Cordelia was perhaps one of the only people in the world who knew how Alina felt. "So step aside and let me pass."

"I know what you're thinking, Alina," Cordelia confessed. "I know exactly what you have been through. You don't have to do this alone. Stay with me and he can't hurt you."