Tempest and Tide [Nikolai Lantsov]

"Don't look so shocked, I'm nothing if not a negotiator," The privateer grins, tapping his chin in a mockery of thought, "Though I do so love exceeding people's expectations, so I suppose a bit of shock is inevitable."

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childhood friends | strangers | lovers (the star crossed kind of course)

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This is only canon for the first Grishaverse series. When I wrote T&T, I hadn't read Six of Crows or King of Scars so there won't be any spoilers.

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Lying never came naturally to Korina. Even after years of friendship with the most cunning boy in Ravka she still hasn't mastered the craft. So after Nikolai left it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.

She skipped her Grisha examination thirteen years ago and now they want her back.

Now on the run from both the First and Second Army, Korina makes her way to the coast, hoping to flee to Novyi Zem on a merchant vessel. She's close enough to freedom to taste it on the salty air when she makes her first mistake. She gets on the wrong ship.

A Pirate's ship.

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If you don't like dramatic irony this story will not be for you. | Prequel to Shadow and Bone.

warning ~ talk of sexual assault | nothing spicier than in the grishaverse books | Siege and Storm spoilers ~ obviously lol

27,000 words | fourteen parts | completed