Ravens and Crows

Chapter 17 ~Jesper~

The first thing I was aware of was the pounding in my head. Yeah, over using fabrikator powers.

Note the sarcasm.

Then I was aware of a person holding my hand.

The hands were soft and slightly trembling with nervous energy. The hands were small and slim compared to my longer one. The hands were Wylan's and if my head was banging a little quieter I could've made out what he was mumbling about.

"Wylan?" I mumbled pushing my eyes open against their protests of the light.

"Jes!" Wylan's grip tightened on my hand. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Can I help?"

I smiled at his rambling as I struggled to sit up. "I'm fine, just a little headache and- my revolvers!" I patted at my waste for them but they weren't there.

"They're on the table." Wylan pointed to a wooden desk on the other side of the room. "You honestly think we'd let you sleep with them?" His lips quirked up for a second but then feel back down to a frown and he looked down at his knees. "Jesper, I'm so sorry."

I sighed. "Wy-"

"No," He caught me off, slightly aggressive. "Let me talk. I-I know I put you in a tight spot, and I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. My brain has just been a little confused lately. When we got to the future, I felt like all these possibilities emerged, like suddenly I could be more than just an illiterate merchant and it felt so nice because lately I've just been feeling..."

"Trapped?" I suggested when he faded off.

He nodded. "At first I thought it was just nerves. That the council would find out I'm stupid, that they would hate me for living or controlling my dad's fortune. Or my mom wouldn't love me like she used to because I'm not what she wants me to be. Everything was important, everything had to work, everything needed to be addressed. And I got tired but I-"

"Was too stubborn and revenge bent to admit it?"

"Revenge bent? I wouldn't call myself that."

"You did say the other day that you wanted to prove your dad wrong. You don't think some of that comes from something a little darker?"

"I'm not Kaz," He defended. "But I was definitely stubborn. I guess admitting it kind of felt like giving up, and Kaz went that extra step to give me my father's money."

"Hate to break it to you, merch, but Kaz did not do that for you, he did because if the owner of one other the most powerful merchant companies in Ketterdam was a fellow Dreg, that would give him a lot of power."

"That's true," Wylan's shoulders sagged. "I guess what I'm trying to say is let's go back to Ketterdam and figure stuff out there."

My stomach danced at the thought of not having to choose, though I would never tell him that. "You mean it?"

He nodded. "The future is weird. Plus, I've always wanted to go to Novyi Zem."

I felt a goofy grin spread across my face. "Really?"

"I'm not saying I want to be a farmer, my skin would probably blister from the sun, but I say we travel and just figure out want we want to do. Go on some adventures like we used to."

"Does this mean breaking more people out of prison?" I tease.

Wylan shakes his head. "Definitely not. Your idea of helping Inej didn't sound terrible, though."

The smirk he gave me set my heart on fire and I leaned forward to cup his face in my hands.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you Wylan Van Eck?" I whisper.

"Just a couple hundred times." He rolls his eyes, then closes the gap between our lips.

Updating regularly? What does that mean? I will update tomorrow too, I promise. -RW