of snakes & crows || kaz brekker

─ 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆

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[09|| chapter nine]
a fight eadaz has
underestimated !

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━━━━ ONCE EAD WAS done chewing Kaz's head off for kidnapping her and nearly getting her killed (with an unintentional amount of bite in her words) she set back off towards the Slat to gather her things.

If she was to really attempt to completely rid herself of feelings for the bastard, then she needed to be as far away from him as possible. An alliance with the Dregs might prove to make it rather cumbersome, but Ead was never one to back down from a challenge— especially if she felt it would be difficult.

She could make herself fall out of love with Kaz Brekker, no matter how long it took. Especially now that she was closer to him and saw just exactly how he worked. When she observed from afar and listened to the whispers in the streets it was different, but now she was able to see all the flaws and real slants in his crooked figure.

He was heartless. Word on the street painted him worse than the sickest maniac in the barrel, but it said nothing about how good he was tearing you apart with a simple sentence, a simple word. A statement that was an arrow straight through a heart that only beat for him. And while good looks seemed a redeeming trait in her mind, she knew that's the only place that excuse thrived. Good looks meant nothing if everything inside of you was rotted and corrupt.

Wicked people were wicked. Not even a handsome face could change that.

Ead was no saint herself, but at least she was capable of being a good person to people she worked with. Capable of being a good wife one day, she liked to believe. Kaz simply wasn't the type of man you dated casually, or married in a church. He was the type of man that broke your heart without feeling a single ounce of remorse then sold it for his own benefit.

Ead wondered how Inej would feel if Kaz ever told her that she was investment to her face. Terrible, no doubt. It wasn't a good word at all. It made you feel used, somehow, and despite the fact that Ead had signed herself up for this knowing well enough that Kaz was no softy, she also hadn't expected him to be so... blunt?

         But it was ridiculous of her, wasn't it? He didn't know of her feelings, so to him she was just sealing herself into a deal for the benefit of it all. Her alliance with the Dregs brought so much more opportunity lapping at her feet, gave her greater protection, and now, the real unexpected benefits, friends like Inej and Jesper.

Ead didn't care— she couldn't.

         Being the Viper meant she didn't have the luxury to live life like others and what mattered now was that she was going to distance herself to make sure nothing happened like before— broken hearts and foundations of castles crumbling under her feet. She would succeed in this, she was sure she could do it.

Before she reached the door of the Slat, Ead stopped and decided to treat herself to a warm breakfast. It had been ages since she'd let herself eat something that wasn't fast, like bread and cheese, or dreadfully cooked and seasoned by her inexperienced hands; she deserved the treat.

Growing up she'd definitely been more in tune with the hobbies of her father— tending their yard, learning the gentle art of beating men, and her way around weapons— while her sister took on the doings of their mother. It wasn't like they had cooking classes at the Little Palace, either, so she'd never picked up the craft. Everything she ever made tasted of carcass and soot, even more terrifying than the scraps fed to the First Army when food rations got low.