All were seated.
Nikolai, Crown Prince of Ravka, knelt. The Apparat came forward with the crown, placing it on his head, then tapping his shoulders with the heavy sceptre. Alina and I stood by, watching the proceedings. Then the Apparat placed the symbols of royalty in Nikolai's hands, bowed, and stepped back. Nikolai stood tall now, holding the symbols, and the crowd in the chapel rose to their feet, clapping riotously. Two rows back from the front sat a girl, who looked sickly, breathing laboriously, but no one seemed to notice.
In Ketterdam...
'You three,' Kaz said, and Wylan, Jesper and Nina turned to face him. 'A new opportunity has presented itself. The most lucrative job we've ever taken. There's a new weapon about to hit the market. If it does, it could make the destruction of the Shadow Fold seem like a spring picnic. Every corner of the world would feel the effects. It's a drug called jurda parem. Highly addictive. And if Grisha take it, their power is amplified a thousand times over.'
In Ravka...
The girl opened something, shoving some item into her mouth, tilting her head back. The woman rose from her seat and began to walk into the aisle of the chapel.
In Ketterdam...
'The chemist who created it fled to Kerch once he realised what he'd done, but the Fjerdans caught him. He now awaits trial. If the Fjerdans weaponize this drug, the consequences would be unimaginable. Everything we've ever known, every strength we've relied upon - shattered. Any questions?'
In Ravka...
The woman shouted in Fjerdan, raising her hands, and all of the people began to clutch their stomachs and fall to the ground, coughing up blood. All of the Grisha were made of sterner stuff, and we bent over, groaning. I spat up blood, letting out a sharp cough. One by one, we all fell down. Then, suddenly, Alina let out a yell, sending the Cut towards the opponent, and the coughing up blood stopped.
But the most alarming thing wasn't the Cut itself.
No.
The Cut wasn't made of light, like the last time she'd tried it.
The Cut was black. Black like Aleksander's version of the Cut, black like mine.
She stood, first in shock, then as she looked out over the crowd, seeing the dead body of the intruder, her lips upturned into a small smile. I stared at her in horror.
Under my breath, I muttered one word.
'Merzost.'
YOU ARE READING
The Shadow Crow (A Shadow and Bone: Season 2 Fanfiction)
FanfictionA few days after Alina and I escaped the clutches of my brother, the former Ravkan general of the Second Army, Aleksander Kirigan, we parted ways. I went with Kaz Brekker and his gang of thieves, affectionately nicknamed the Crows, back to Ketterdam...
