the shadows ballad ° kaz brekker

chapter 19

CHAPTER 19:
The end. For now.
Nyx

"I'm Nyx Morozova, I don't think we've formally met," I introduced myself to Alina Starkov.

"Alina Starkov. Sorry I sort of liked your dad," She cringed.

"Don't fret, he was cunning and he had time to learn how to trick everyone. Plus," I looked back at the Fold.

"I don't think it matters anymore."

"We both have pieces of the Stag within us now, and if you ever need my help, just send a letter to the Crow Club and I'll be on my way," I promised her. I could now get through the Fold easily, and she'll be on the run from the world now.

But, I think I need some time off.

"Wait, Morozova? Is he your grandfather or something?" Jesper questioned.

"You barely figured that out?" Inej retorted.

That name has been dragged through the mud.

It's time to redeem it.

"Step one for any good plan, a change of clothes. It's worked for me," Jesper handed Mal a sack of clothes while Inej helped Alina up. She was so careful with her, her Saint telling her that she preferred her with a dagger in her hand.

I could tell how much it meant to her.

"So. . .will you still be trying to kidnap me?" Alina asked.

"'Course not," Jesper replied.

"Have you found religion, too?" Kaz questioned.

"No, it's just," Jesper sighed, "I'm exhausted. Besides, it'd be bad form to kidnap someone after they saved your life, wouldn't it?"

"You are quite valuable, you know?" Kaz told her.

"So was I," I spoke up, taking my place beside Kaz as he looked at me.

"But you didn't sell me off to those who had a bounty on my head."

"He thought you were cute-ah!" Jesper was cut off by Kaz jabbing his cane into his foot.

"So is this," Alina handed him the headpiece she had worn earlier. One I immediately recognized.

"I saw this on a portrait of one of the queens in the Little Palace-"

"It's not a gift. It's to keep quiet about who I am. Where I go from here," Alina made clear.

A very expensive bribe.

Clever.

"The deal is the deal," Kaz put the priceless jewel encrusted head piece in his pocket, and they went off to change. I sat back down by the fire, wondering now where we would go from here. I had a necklace and earrings that went for a million kruge each, and a diamond encrusted ring that went for atleast 1.5 million. I was set, and so was everyone else.

"What do we do now?" I mumbled to myself.

"Train," Kaz answered.

"He may be gone, and we may have everything and more to pay off Dreesen and Heleen, but that doesn't mean we're in the clear," He looked at me.

"We'll need you to get stronger."

That's right. The stag was just an amplifier, but without proper will power and training, I'd be useless if I couldn't control it.

But, that also meant one thing.

"I guess I will be eternal after all," Kaz looked at the ground, and I didn't have to see his eyes to know he was saddened by this.

"I could train you. You could learn how to use guns, if that means you can have a somewhat normal life," Jesper quickly offered.

"That sounds great."

Even though you couldn't physically see it, just reminding Kaz that I could outlive him by thousands of years drew a small rift between us. I know he didn't mean any harm by it, but who wants to live with the fact that the person you love most in this world won't be buried beside you?

"No. I won't let that happen," Kaz spoke sternly.

"Kaz, it's not something we can stop-"

"I know the myths surrounding Ilya Morozova, and how he used the real magic instead of the small science," He maintained complete eye contact with me, "meaning there must be some way to stop it."

If that was true, that he did something to make us eternal, then there must be a way to reverse it. Even if there's nothing that he wrote down or we were born this way, there's no harm in looking.

And that starts where the creation of the Fold began.

"Looks like we're going back into the Fold."

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And that concludes part 1 of The Shadows Ballad. It will be a LONG time before Kaz and Nyx actually share a kiss, as I will be taking his mental illness and past seriously in this book. I'm going to miss writing, but until season 2 comes out, then go check out The Dragons Eulogy and keep a look out for Anastasia.