Natasha Van Doren is a shadow summoner. She bides her time and resides in darkness, feared and esteemed by Ketterdam's civilians, a ghost . She cons Kaz Brekker into joining a heist he can't refuse and with thirty million kruge on the line, the crow...
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"WHERE ARE WE?"
Kaz asked. Blood adorned the fronts of Kaz Brekker and Natasha Van Doren. Their skin was bloodied canvases - pale against the scarlet adorning their cheeks and wrists. Their eyes were wide, hearts thumping with the thrill of adrenaline.
Her knife was slick and slimy against the back of her thigh. "I'll do you one better," She mumbled, racing up flights of stairs. "What have we done?" Natasha looked down at her palms, wiping her arms with a disgusted expression against the plain brick walls. A splatter of blood trailed down the gloss.
"What needed to be done," Kaz quickly retorted. His face was unreadable, his lips pursed and pinched. He never talked much after sinning, he would say to Inej he was off to pray to annoy her. Natasha knew that it was because of the brewing guilt that threatened to erupt at the slightest inconvenience.
"Someone will find him and raise the alarm," Kaz rolled his eyes, lifting his pointer finger into the air. "If you couldn't tell, princess, there's already a symphony waiting for our heads," Natasha clicked her teeth in an irritated manner.
"What about the others?"
"They'll manage," Kaz spoke coolly. He ran a hand through his hair, blood streaking through the dark curls like wicked highlights. "If Ivanov wasn't going to leave with The Wraith, I might have invited her a position at the dregs,"
Natasha scoffed bitterly. "What?" Kaz cried out in a low whisper. His side was against the wall, his head bent with laboured breaths. Without his cane, the pain was unbearable - the sinister cold not doing any better for him. "You're looking at me like I murdered someone,"
Natasha raised a brow, her lips almost quirking into a pained smile. "They're waiting," She responded simply, looking back a final time before racing up another few flights of stairs. Despite, his limp, Kaz was quick on his feet.
With pursed grimaces he was able to match her pace, walking alongside her steadily. He concentrated on his feet as he walked, making sure the bones didn't bend. "Take my hand," Natasha said, sticking out her arm.
She wasn't smiling, nor was there a pleasant glow in her eyes. The sun had faded behind the horizon, bleeding monotone colours of a grey moon. "Your leg's hurting you,"
"I'm fine," Kaz responded roughly. He swept the hair out of his eyes. "I don't need your help, Van Doren," Natasha blinked several times before taking his hand in hers without warning. His fingers twitched beneath her hold.
"Get off me," Kaz hissed.
"Make me," Natasha taunted. She led him by the hand down the corridor. "You owe me enough after the little rendezvous with Pekka Rollins," Kaz could taste the metallic linger of blood in his mouth. It wasn't Pekka's. It was the force of biting the inside of his cheek.
"I didn't ask you to come,"
"Someone needed to babysit you," Natasha riposted. Kaz felt as she slight squeezed his arm. "Someone's behind that wall," She mouthed, her hair a wild tangle in front of her eyes. Her features were alluring in the bright light of the ice court. Kaz locked his jaw closed.
"How can you tell?" He furrowed his brow, kicking his foot around the bend in the wall. Kaz felt her breath on his shoulder, her forehead crooked into the nape of his neck. He tensed uncomfortably around her body, realising how close his arm was to touching the curve of her waist.
"Can't you see?" Horribly, Natasha twisted further towards him. Her lips were a gentle whisper on his cheeks. "Shadows," She twirled her hand with elegance, a black figure darting like embers from the tips of her fingertips. Her skin flushed royally, illuminating with the glow of a thousand stars. "That will keep him busy,"
The shadow of King Nikolai walked graciously against the wall. His blonde hair perked in curls, his lips a cruel twist of arrogance and grandeur. The shadow held a champagne glass in its left hand, rolling the bubbles around the rim of the flute.
"Who's that?" Kaz asked, sparing a glance towards the shadow for a final time. Natasha looked back to, watching as the guard slipped after the tall shadow. His pistol drawn, its barrel oily and cocked.
"A nobody," Natasha said more to herself. She blinked back what she felt might be a sob. Kaz recognised the distraught on her face only too well.
"Who was he?" Kaz repeated. His tone was no more gentle than a tempest.
"Nikolai Lantsov," Natasha's voice trembled in her chest. "I told you, Kaz," She reached out for his hand, easing into his warm touch. "He's a nobody. He doesn't mean anything to me,"
"He did mean something to you," Kaz said, raising a brow.
"A long time ago," Natasha answered with flushed cheeks. "I was naive, Kaz,"
"Did you sleep with him?" Kaz asked quietly. When he noticed she didn't respond, he repeated his question. "Natasha, did you sleep with Nikolai?"
"No," Natasha said, too quickly to sound believable. His shoulders slumped, yet his face was as plain as ever. "Fine. I did,"
"Alright," Kaz shrugged. "For how long,"
"It doesn't matter-"
"How long?" He repeated his voice deathly calm.
"A while," Kaz's gaze bore into her eyes, flooding her mind with dark thoughts. "I was alone," Natasha said desperately. "Nikolai was the first person to see me as something more than this," She snapped her fingers, a cloak of darkness enveloping them both. "He loved me for me, not my stupid power,"
"I didn't see you just for that," Kaz said, his voice a hushed mumble. "I saw you as Natasha. I always have. To me, you were always my best friend," Her lip shook with bitterness. "I saw you for you, Natasha," Kaz dipped two fingers beneath her chin.
Her eyes filled with longing. "I'll get us out of here," Kaz looked away, peering through the dissolved edges of the shadow barrier. "I think, I've got a plan," He tilted his head against his shoulder, his fingers twisted in thought in her palm.
After a few silent moments, Kaz grinned. "Hopefully, the wraith will pick up on this," He stepped over to the tall window, peering across the sloping grounds. Fresh blankets of snow littered the greenery, suffocating them in a thick white layer.
He pulled another pair of lockpicks from behind his tongue, using his shoelace to trail it across the window. Using the picks, he tore the threads into several loose bits. "A treasure hunt," Kaz hummed, placing the threads across the glass panes.
"What if she doesn't see?"
Kaz ticked a warm laugh. "She will," His answer was enough. Once, he had perfected the design of looped words. He stepped back to appreciate his handiwork. "Now," Kaz said, looping his arms over Natasha. He tucked a curl of hair behind her ears.
"We've got a ball to attend,"
A/N
- it's past midnight in London and I'm literally fighting the effects of melatonin pills to write this. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update yesterday I had art and this whole day I've been revising Greek. I made a cappuccino so I could have something drink while writing this but I left it to cool down and now it's too cold :( Anyways, if you enjoyed please vote and comment!!!
