❝ 𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❞ | kaz brekker

¹¹the end, or is it?

❝ 𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❞

The End, or is it?

Her third trip. Before making that promise to Kaz, Paedyn might have just fainted at the thought of going back through. But now, she wore a mask.

One of bravery, to hide any of the fear she felt. Standing there, at the back of the skiff with Kaz at her side, she started to feel just a tad bit of bravery. Very small in comparison to the other emotions running through her, but there, nonetheless.

Despite her mask, Kaz must've known what she was feeling. Why else would his gloved hand grab her own; why else would he lean down and whisper in her ear.

"It's okay to let a little fear show. That alone is what makes you strong."

Paedyn thanked Inej's saints that she chose to slip on a pair of gloves today as she felt Kaz's hand tug her down below deck.

How could he have known that a simple touch was all it took to comfort her? 

Jesper's groaning in frustration pulled Paedyn from her thoughts. The group of four stood below deck, the sharpshooter frantically cleaning his guns.

"This is a bad idea," the boy muttered.

"Would you rather go through Fjerda?" Paedyn asked, raising an eyebrow. Still wearing that mask of bravery, Paedyn took a slight step closer to Kaz as a volcra screeched in the distance.

"I think it's rather practical," Kaz replied to Jesper, who threw a glare at the girl next to him.

"What? Why?"

"I don't see how we step off this boat without you pulling those guns," Kaz answered. Jesper let out a humorless laugh. "So, cleaning them is a good idea."

"I don't mean this," Jesper sighed, waving his guns around. Gesturing to everything around them, he continued, "I mean this. We are in the worst place in the world, on a ship full of people who want us dead, surrounded by monsters who want us in their gullets. I should have brought Milo."

Jesper mumbled his last sentence, glancing at his guns sadly.

"Who's Milo?" Inej asked.

"The goat," Jesper replied with a roll of his eyes.

"How many bullets do you have?" Kaz turned to Jesper as the volcra continued to growl in the distance. Paedyn took note of how the growls were closer this time and reached into her bag. She was good with knives and could shoot a gun if it came down to it. But what she had stored inside was her true specialty.

She let go of Kaz's hand to pull her weapon out as Jesper responded, "Not enough."

Touching the weapon brought a sense of family and comfort. It was her mother's, after all. She had never told the rest of the crows about it's importance, not after Kaz gave it a strong glare after her first mission and told her to find something more practical for up close battles. 

"So, what's our play?" Jesper asked as a loud blast was heard from above and a strobing blue light shone everywhere.

"We wait," Kaz replied, seemingly content standing where he was.