Six of Crows: To Hell and Back

Part Sixteen Nina

(Thank all of you so much for sticking with this story, even though I disappeared for almost a year. Here's the final chapter.)

Nina sat on the stairs outside the room waiting for something to happen. Kaz was dying and so many things were going wrong. In the end she was doing more harm than good being in there and worrying everyone. She sighed and wiped away the tears that were falling from her eyes. This might just all be for nothing, she thought. Absolutely nothing. Padmavaat had too much work to do. What if in the end Kaz would die and they would've lost everything? It would be all her fault. Nina took a deep sigh and ran her hands through her long hair. Something to calm her down. She lost the man she loved, he who pulled her out of the darkness and into some semblance of normalcy. To think he was just undone, by a mere bullet. Saints, she wanted her revenge, but her Matthias would never have let her. Suddenly, shouting came through the room and Nina stood up rapidly. She ran into the room. Her feet pounded on the old wood of the orphanage. 

It was pure chaos. Kaz was thrashing on the bed, but his eyes weren't open. Wylan and Jesper were holding him down by his arms while Padmavaat was trying to heal his wounds. Esfir came to Nina's side and grasped her hands. She whispered soothing sounds in her ears. 

"It's going to be ok, just take a deep breath. Let them work." The tears that were streaming down her face were falling freely now. No! What was happening? How? This was a mistake. Esfir started to rub Nina's back. Matthias' body was still in its bag. Kaz continued to thrash. Inej watched from the side with a furrowed brow and glassy eyes. Something in Nina's gut told her to move to Matthias. She needed to see him. She stalked over and began to remove the binding. She pulled the top open. Her eyes widened in shock. He still looked dead. Stiff, pale, and unmoving. She frowned and stood up. Her breath shook as she realized this was all for nothing. Her lip quivered and she stepped back in horror. 

She let Kaz go into a painful coma for nothing. She was a monster. Her heart ached and rattled in her chest. The tears that had stopped for just a moment had returned in full force. 

"Don't cry Nina," a voice called. It was so faint Nina thought she might've imagined it. "You're far too beautiful to cry." Nina gasped and she knew it was real. She looked down at Matthias' body and found him, alive. 

"Matthias!" She cried. She knelt down next to him. She pulled him out of the bag and onto her lap. Those who weren't preoccupied with Kaz ran to Nina and Matthias. "You're alive! He did it!" Matthias nodded stiffly, like he could barely move. Nina pressed her hands to his face and sent waves through his body. She understood, he had just come back from the dead and while everything was working he still needed time to readjust. This was all part of the process, he would be fine. 

"Brekker rescued me." His eyes had a distant look in them. "I saw you, in the mirror. There was a mirror there, and we could see who we cared about. I watched you." Nina flushed and moved her hands from his temples to his cheeks. Her hot tears fell from her own face to his. She felt so light. He was here with her and he was alive. This was a victory. Kaz had brought Matthias back from the dead. Nina pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. She smiled down at him. 

"Welcome back handsome." His eyes were sunken in and his skin had no shine, but he looked bad before. In fact, the only thing that mattered to her was that he had the spark of life in his eyes. Which he did, so everything was ok in her book. 

"Good to be back." Suddenly a gasp for air came from the bed and Nina's head flicked in its direction. Kaz! Kaz was alive! She had gotten back Matthias and Kaz was back! Inej rushed over to Kaz and Nina wanted to check on him, but... Matthias was really back. This wasn't just a dream. This was real. Her heart was beating quicker and all she could do was smile. They were reunited. Nothing else mattered in that moment. They would be ok. They had each other. 

XxX

Kaz felt hands on him, but he couldn't see. He tried to open his eyes to no avail. However, he could feel the air entering his lungs. He could smell the blood. His own blood and felt the pain of his wounds. He really was alive. Now, he just needed to find his way to wake up. Instead of voices, he only heard rough murmurs, so it was almost all his senses that were dulled. He was back in the land of the living, but what about Helvar? Was it successful? A good sensation flowed through his body. Warm, but not too warm. The burning pain of his wounds had settled into a dull ache.

The world around him was black and not unlike the seconds before and after he left the shadows of the Darkling. He took a deep breath, forced his eyes open, and shot up on the bed. He gasped in the activeness of his body and tried to see what was around him, but it was all white. This vastness was different from before. In the corners of his vision was fuzzy, but he could see the outlines of shapes and colors. His sight was coming back, he just needed to wait a little longer. 

"I can't see," he managed to get out. 

"If you comply then I can fix that right up," an unfamiliar voice called from his right side.

"Comply?" Kaz felt hands on his temples and his vision came into focus. Inej was at his side, but farther away from the healer they had. She had a look on her face that told Kaz she was happy to see him safe, but didn't want to express it so outwardly. The healer stepped back and Kaz sat up. He saw Nina sitting on the floor with Matthias' head in her lap. His eyes were open and he had a weak smile on his face. He was alive. They did it. "I stole a soul from the Afterlife," he said, impressed with himself. Nina looked up at him. 

"Thank you Kaz," she said, gratefully. Kaz snorted.

"You still owe me 20,000 kruge. I'm not letting you off that deal."

"For his life," Nina paused, smiling down at Matthias. "It's barely a cost"

"Should've charged you more then," he rasped out. Inej stepped forward and closer to Kaz. 

"You really did it," Inej said, softly. "How much did hurt?" Kaz nearly rolled his eyes, but he remembered what he said about her in the Afterlife. He nearly blushed, and told himself not to tell Inej what he said. He could never hear the end of it from anyone if they found out Kaz called Inej his girlfriend.

"It was quick. Don't worry about, I'll get you back someday." Inej made a sound that was halfway between a guffaw and a choke. 

"What was it like?" She asked. Esfir slipped him a look and shook her head. The meaning was clear, don't tell her. 

"I barely remember, but I met some people, I know that. People 'Esfir' knew and some people I knew. Did you know Muzzen held a grudge?" 

"Who did you meet?" Esfir asked, suddenly curious. Kaz made a sound, pretending to have a hard time remembering.

"Some guy named Fedyor, there was a girl named Marie, and I think a couple more." Esfir paled and ran out of the room. She really was Alina Starkov. 

"You scared us for a minute there," Jesper said. "Your wounds were opening and the healer, Padmavaat had a hard time keeping up."

"What were you doing? Can you remember?" Wylan asked. Kaz just shook his head. 

"Barely a thing. I know we fought him, the Darkling. Don't remember how we won, but we did." 

"That's right," Matthias said quietly. "All that matters is that it's all over. I'm alive and so is Brekker." 

"It's just a shame no one will know I'm the greatest thief of all time." Inej rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. 

"Oh, I'm sure someone will find out." Kaz stared up at the ceiling and sighed in relief. He really did it. It felt like forever, even if it was only a day. He brought back Matthias from the dead and he finally found closure with his brother. His amazing big brother. He gained a lot more from this than he lost, though he suspected nightmares would come when he finally slept. It didn't matter now, though. All that mattered was that he was Kaz Brekker and he was alive. 

And that's a wrap folks. I can't believe it took this long to get here. I want to thank you all, so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed. Sorry it took 2 and a half years to get here. 

Peace out, catch you on the flip side.