𝖈𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖘, 𝐤. 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐤𝐞𝐫

𝟎𝟎𝟎. NEVER FORGET

⊱♠⊰

       IT WAS a terribly stormy night the night that Tivra Dayal's life changed forever.

      She remembered with vivid clarity the feeling of the hot rain as it pelted her tanned skin, coating her head to toe with polluted water, drenching her clothes, plastering her thick black hair to her head. The rain came in heaps, barreling toward the earth with such ferocity that it fell sideways. She recalled the way her eyes flinched as the rain beat against them, clouding her vision, obstructing the figures that stood on the bridge below her home.

      Lighting cracked across the sky, illuminating the slums of Ketterdam in a brilliant flash of white. Tivra did not flinch, even as thunder cracked, whipping across the heavens with enough ferocity to tremble the earth. She watched in silence, her eyes wide, her hands curled around the slick railing she leaned against.

      Another flash of lightning, another glimpse of the scene below.

       Tivra would never forget the sight of her father's blood as it trailed down the bridge and into the black water of the river below. She would never forget the gleam of crimson against silver as Kaz Brekker lifted his crow's-head cane and swung one final time, metal slicing against bronze skin, blood arcing through the air as her father's body tumbled over the railing and into the tumultuous river that cut through Ketterdam.

      She had been silent as a mouse as she watched her father's body slip into the depths, disappearing from view forever. Her heartbeat was strangely calm as she watched the river swallow her father, hiding the sins of the thugs that stood and watched his body disappear.

      When she finally wrenched her violet gaze away from the murky river, the first thing she saw was the silver of Kaz's hardened eyes as he stared up at her, his thin body soaked to the bone, his fine clothes plastered to his lanky frame. Lightning flashed and within those pale eyes, Tivra saw nothing.

      He stood leaning on his cane, the silver crow's-head of which was perfectly clean. The rain had washed away any remnants of the blood that once coated it, of the flesh and bone that clung to its polished surface.

      But the rain would never be able to wash away the weight of his sins.

      Rage exploded in Tivra's chest, ripping through her body in intense waves, flooding her veins with adrenaline. Her vision narrowed, tunneling, focusing only on Kaz Brekker as she launched herself over the railing of her balcony. Her knees were bent, her body bracing for the impact as the slick stone of the bridge hurtled closer and closer. She hit the ground hard, her ankle twisting painfully as she slipped on the wet stone, though she managed to fall forward into a barrel roll and spring onto her feet without so much as a grunt.

      The Dregs yelped in surprise as they whirled to face Tivra, whose strange violet eyes burned with hatred. She didn't know when she had produced the dagger Kaz had gifted her when they were fifteen, but she did not question her movements as she swung the blade without discrimination. 

      She gripped the metal crow's head tightly, the handle molding into her hand perfectly as she wildly swung and stabbed. Blood coated her hand and ran down her arm as she drove the blade into every man she could see. She worked through the Dregs with frightening ease, besting men twice her age and size, but they didn't matter to her.

      Their blood meant nothing. The heat of it coated her hands, making it difficult to maintain her grip on her dagger. Rage coiled in her chest, each pump flooding her body with a thirst for revenge. Her mouth was bone-dry as she ripped through the Dregs, bodies falling around her as she locked her gaze on her true target.

      She wanted to feel his blood coat her hands. She wanted to watch the life leave those steely eyes as she drove the very dagger he had gifted her into his cold, black heart. When the last Crow fell, feathers flattened by the rain, coated in the slick of their own blood, Tivra stopped. She stood halfway across the bridge, her hands trembling as she glared daggers at the boy who stood on the other end of the bridge, his hands clasped over the cane that matched the blade that slaughtered his men, his pale eyes watching Tivra carefully. There was not a trace of fear or regret within those eyes, and by the time Tivra reached Kaz, her muscles were screaming and her body was more slick with blood than rain.

      "Go ahead," he murmured, his voice a mere rasp, the sound of stone grinding against stone. Tivra had once adored the peculiar grind of his voice. Now she wanted to rip his vocal cords out so that he might never dare to speak to her again. "Kill me. It won't bring him back."

      Tivra lunged with a scream that ripped her throat raw. Blood coated her tongue as she hurled herself at Kaz, who easily sidestepped her, his cane coming down hard on her extended arm. Her blade clattered to the ground as she wailed in pain, her bone fractured from the impact of his Grisha-made cane.

      Tivra ignored the burning pain that cut through her arm as she swept the blade off the ground with her other hand and turned to face Kaz. "Why?" she screamed, her throat aching as she faced down the boy she, not even moments ago, loved.

      Kaz's eye twitched as he tightened his grip on his cane. Was that a flash of grief that darkened his eyes? Or was Tivra only hoping that he regretted his actions? He looked away, a muscle in his jaw feathering as he stared at the horizon, watching the tumultuous waves of the harbor beat against the docks.

      "Your father betrayed us," he said softly, that grinding rasp of his voice barely detectable over the sound of the rain battering the city. "He had to be dealt with."

      Tivra growled and lurched forward, though she did not attack. She clutched her bloodied blade in her left hand, her ankle throbbing painfully, her right arm burning. "You killed him," she whispered, her anger betrayed by the crack in her voice. "You killed him!" Finally, Kaz's gaze slid back to Tivra and the moment she looked into his eyes, the fissure that had formed in her heart ruptured. 

      Kaz remained silent for a long moment, his eyes locked on Tivra's face. Her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs as his eyes slid across her face, his expression perfectly smooth. Not even the blinding flashes of lightning revealed the truth within Kaz's eyes. She hoped that he could not see her tears, that he simply thought there were only raindrops sliding down her flushed cheeks, but she knew better.

      There was nothing that Kaz Brekker didn't see.

      "Go home, Tiv. Get your affairs in order." His body turned away from hers, his eyes falling to the stone beneath her bare feet. "His body will likely turn up in the harbor."

      When Kaz Brekker turned his back on Tivra, she screamed at herself to lunge, to attack him, to bury her wicked blade in his back, but she did not move. Her muscles turned to stone as she watched Kaz limp away, his head tilted down, his body shrouded by the darkness of the night.

      Even when he disappeared from view, Tivra did not move. She stood on the bridge until the rain stopped falling and the moon gave way to the sun. She stood there, even as the Staadwatch screamed at her, demanding to know what had happened.

      Only when she was dragged away did her mask slip and fall, allowing her emotions to burst out of her in a terrifying display of agony and rage. She screamed as she was dragged through the streets, her body washed clean of the blood she spilled that night, her violet eyes glowing with heartbreak.

      She would never forget what happened that night. She would make Kaz Brekker pay for his sins. His blood was hers.