The Phoenix and the Crow

Stay... Again

Y/N knew better than to daze off in the middle of a job but her mind nearly ached at the idea of a life like the one her imagination painted for her. The lack of proper sleep and built-up stress finally caught up to her. She was running on autopilot. Thank the Saints for Kaz dragging her behind him and the both of them not being needed for a while. Kaz had harshly nudged her side and snapped her out of her daydream, nodding to the two guards that stood under the archway with their backs towards them.

"I'm not a Heartrender, what do you want me to do?" She whispered harshly.

She didn't get a verbal response only an unbothered side eye causing the Inferni to roll her eyes in return. "Of course." She muttered under her breath as she sauntered down the hall, purposely ignoring Kaz's lingering stare.

Once she made it to the guard on the right of the archway, she looped her arm through his and yanked him downward behind the wall in one motion. She threw her leg out behind her to keep balance as she slammed him into the stone floor, his eyes rolling back on impact. The other guard was quick to grab the back of her neck, pulling her hair in the process. She reached behind her and clamped her fingers around his wrist, twisting it in a way that loosened his grip just enough. She spun around and swung her knee up to hit him in the groin causing him to fall forward, his knee collided with the floor. She moved swiftly behind him to pull him into a headlock. She squeezed her arms tightly and tensed her core as the guard swung his elbow back into her ribs. She grunted with each blow he made but noticed his arms begin to slow and lose power. Within seconds he was unconscious and she laid him down beside his fellow guard.

Y/N sighed in relief and stretched her arms over her head as Kaz approached her side. "Thanks for all the help."

He only smirked and reached for one of the guards, dragging him back down the hallway. "Hurry up."

~

The pair had debated on tailing Matthias or not. Kaz took a gamble on the mere idea and hoped for the fact that he assumed Matthias' feelings for the Heartrender right. The real risk had been in whether or not someone as honest as Matthias could convincingly lie to his mentor's face. Apparently, the Fjerdan has hidden skills.

Kaz and Y/N had tracked Nina and Brum across the grounds to the treasury. Then they'd taken cover behind an ice sculpture. Kaz had focused on the miserable task of regurgitating the packets of Wylan's root bombs, Y/N stayed aware of their surroundings while promptly ignoring the man beside her, trying not to let the thought of him being in slight pain cross her mind.

Once he was done, they checked the perimeter, the roof, and the entry, but eventually there was nothing for them to do but keep hidden, stay alert, and worry about all the things that could go wrong. They were hiding in the shadows of the western colonnade, both left to their thoughts as neither of them felt the need to carry on a conversation. Y/N had taken to inspecting the architecture of the interact hallway they sat in when Kaz decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry."

She turned to him confused as to why he was apologizing. Sure he had many things to apologize for, but what did he mean? "For..."

He froze in his place as if he caught himself by surprise just the same. Maybe he hadn't meant to say it out loud. "You're..." He inhaled sharply, "You're not replaceable."

"I need your skills, Y/N. That's not the same thing. You may be the best Grisha soldier in Ravka, but you're not the only one. You'd do well to remember it if you want to keep your share of the haul."

"You'd do well to remember just who you're talking to, KazBrekker. Sure I'm the best Grisha soldier in Ravka, but I'm the only Phoenix. I'm your only solid connection to Ravka. I'm the only one Nikolai truly trusts." She stepped closer to him, anger seeping out of her, Kaz felt waves of heat radiate off of her. "And you have no right to tell me I'm replaceable."

"I'm aware, thanks."

Kaz looked at her profile without turning his head before he brought his attention to the small flame flickering between her fingertips. A tick. A minuscule tell of her nerves. He wouldn't have been able to notice it when they first met. From the outside, she looked to be a woman made of iron who only grew stronger when dragged through the fire. And to Kaz she still is a woman made of iron, but he now sees how she grows soft while in the fire no matter how hard she tries to hide it.

He cleared his throat, "With your share of the money... What are you going to do?"

"I noticed you already asked the others this question. Why ask me now?"

"Just answer the question." He gave her a sharp side eye causing her to smirk in return.

"I'm not doing this for the money, remember? I'm doing this for my country."

Kaz internally sighed, "Be selfish for once, Y/L/N."

"I don't know what I would do with the money. I wasn't planning on keeping it at all. I was going to give it to the orphanage just outside the main city or at least something of the like."

"That's not using the money for yourself."

"Sorry if it isn't selfish enough for you. But let's face the reality of it, what would I need the money for? Everything I could ever need or want is provided at the palace. If I wanted to selfishly splurge I would take the money from Nikolai Lantsov himself." She chuckled under her breath.

"So you would go back to Ravka."

"I don't see why I wouldn't."

Kaz nodded curtly in response.

Y/N let her stare linger on the side of his face, her eyes tracing all the curves and sharp lines. "Unless I have a reason to go somewhere else of course."

His eyes met hers, not giving away any of his thoughts or feelings. "Would you stay in Ketterdam if I asked you to stay again?" His voice was kept low and he surprised himself with the control he kept while sitting in what felt like an intimate situation.

"I wouldn't know unless you asked me."

"Stay in Ketterdam. Stay with me."

Y/N's eyes widened slightly at his straightforwardness. He didn't skip a beat. "I would stay." She slowly reached for his gloved hand that rested on his thigh. She brushed her pinkie against the back of his hand, waiting for him to pull away but when he didn't she lopped her small finger with his. She smiled softly to herself and rested her head back on the stone pillar behind her.

The moment was quickly interrupted as the Black Protocol alarm bells rang out through the hallways, the chimes of the Elderclock booming over the island, shaking the air. Lights from the guard towers came on in a bright flood. The druskelle around the ash left off their rituals and began shouting orders, and a wave of guards descended from the towers to spread out over the island. They'd waited, counting the minutes, but there was still no sign of Nina or Matthias.

'They're in trouble,' Kaz thought. 'Or you were dead wrong about Matthias, and you're about to pay for all of those talking tree jokes.'

"I swear if that big blonde slab of fur laid a finger on her..." Y/N muttered under her breath as she rose to her feet and flexed her fist, little sparks flying from her fingers. She turned back to him. "What are you waiting for, Brekker? Let's go."