𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 | 𝐒𝐨𝐂

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘.

xxx: reunion

Natasha Van Doren was never one to obey orders.

She raced up the stairs, changing into a black shirt and suitable trousers, taking care to tightly knot the laces of her winter boots. She shuffled through Kaz's messily organised drawers, grabbing spare daggers and studded handguns, tucking them hastily in the folds of her shawl.

Natasha dropped a pair of grey ribbons onto the floor, sticking them into her pocket absentmindedly and setting off for the door.

The wind lashed across her cheeks like a whip, her cheeks crimsoning into an oozy red colour. The shadows shrieked from the sky, coaxing her back into the warmth and sanctuary of the house. Natasha rolled her eyes, drawing her shawl tighter and setting off to East Stave.

Alessia Ivanov had been right. Natasha soon came to learn the back alleys and escapes of Ketterdam. She managed to navigate easily through the winding alleys, her breath catching at the stumble of footsteps and the rasp of a rifle.

Natasha kept a bone dagger clutched in her left palm, weighing it in her hand and holding it defensively to her chest. She encountered no trouble, sticking to dodgy alleys and carefully jumping over puddles of animal waste, mingled with sewage.

"Natasha," The girl spun violently on her heel, the dagger raised. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Inej Ghafa's arm circled her bicep, dragging her into the corner. The Wraith pulled off the mask covering her face, revealing a pair of red eyes. She had been crying.

Inej looked around, carefully swinging the door of the church shut behind her. Rainwater dribbled down the stained glass, contouring the images of mosaic saints. There was a grotesque beauty to their melting features, Natasha could not bear to meet Inej's eyes. She focused on the saints instead.

"I came to help," Natasha answered. Her voice was stubborn, hard as a rock. "I needed to help. There have been some setbacks in the plan," An anxious glimmer flickered over Inej's eyes. "Not flaws," Natasha quickly corrected. "Kaz went out to check on the others. He sent me to you,"

The lie was easy on her tongue, a simple flourish. A saint's smile quavered into a frown, and Natasha looked away. "What can I do?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And don't tell me to sit on the sidelines, Inej. I'm not incompetent,"

Inej grinned, sweeping back a velvet curtain and stepping aside. "I wasn't going to," She said amiably, kicking open the trapdoor. "The bombs are in place. Wylen's secured them to detonate in an hour," Natasha walked alongside Inej, keeping in time with her step.

"Your plan's got everyone circling the Church. Wylen and Jesper are holding back the stadwatch for the North. Nina and Matthias are down South. Kaz has gone to join Alessia - west," They circled down to the basement, standing in front of a bolted door.

Inej stepped backwards, selecting a knife from her belt and watching the blade gleam beneath the dappled candlelight. She gently coaxed the blade between the bolt, holding her leg against the wall for momentum.

"However, there's nobody East. It's unlikely the stadwatch would travel through East Stave, even more so that they'd stop for a quick prayer by the abandoned church, but it wouldn't hurt to keep watch." Inej shifted her body with a crack, the bolt springing apart in her palm.

The wraith grinned toothily, kicking the broken metal into the corner. The door sprung open, rain and wet leaves skimming into the room. "If you walk down here you'll pass Alessia's station," Inej said. "I'm going to go to the spire and watch from the top. If you see that Alessia's not alright raise the Kerch flag on the side of the ambassadors building,"

Natasha stopped in her tracks, twisting around. "Raising that flag is an official declaration of war, Inej. The Ravkan's here are only a fraction of the entire army. Nikolai won't hesitate to lick government funds dry to rain hell upon us,"

Inej shrugged as if the conversation had become a bore. "The moment they touch Alessia, will be the beginning of the war," She turned on her heel, and the conversation concluded. "Remember, the purple flag," She yelled, taking two steps at a time.

Natasha didn't leave until she heard the heavy bolt slide across the door upstairs. She walked for fifteen minutes, stopping to crane her neck every so often. The crackle of gunfire drew closer, a nervous bubble tightened around Natasha's neck like a noose.

A blood-curdling cry shot through the air like a firework, passing over the treetops, sending crows and pigeons hurdling from their perches. A single crow flew over Natasha's head, before sweeping its jet black wings wide and disappearing from view.

She continued her ascent, swapping her bone dagger for a pistol. It was uncomfortable in her palm and unusually heavy. Natasha struggled to hold it properly, awkwardly keeping her arms rigid in front of her chest.

"Doll."

Nikolai Lantsov curled around the corner, a lovely smirk cleaved upon his lips. A sword glimmered on the front of his chest, a rifle neatly slung between his shoulder blades.

He looked wonderful, the rain colouring his blue eyes bright - it masked the detestation riddled upon his face. "I've been looking everywhere for my wife," Nikolai looked down at the gun against her chest. He chuckled, a dimple appearing on both of his cheeks.

"You don't have the nerve," Nikolai said, watching Natasha stumble in the puddles. "You won't pull the trigger," He leered forward, his chest against the barrel of her gun. "I bet my life on it,"

The horrible thing was Nikolai was right. Natasha couldn't bring herself to shift out of the encasing of her fear, glued into space.

"You're a fool, Lantsov,"

Natasha turned, relief scattering like spores in a field of flowers. Kaz Brekker stood tall, his gloved palm falling heavy on her shoulder. He gripped her tight, afraid she'd shatter into dust and fade away.

His gaze was steely and utterly annoyed. Kaz had known Natasha would leave one way or another. It was the reason he didn't bother locking the front door behind him. "Don't touch my wife," Nikolai spat, grabbing Natasha by the waist and pulling her beside him.

Kaz Brekker laughed, dry and raspy. "Or what?" He asked, sarcasm beading down the corner of his lip. "You'll kill me? You'd be doing me a favour," Nikolai cocked his gun, pressing it against Kaz's mouth. "However," Kaz continued, his voice muffled by metal. "I'd prefer not to die with outstanding debts to the biggest prick to step foot in Ketterdam,"

"Kaz," Natasha whispered. Nikolai whipped around, striking her on the cheek. Blood rushed to her face, hot tears brimming on her waterline. Without warning, Kaz Brekker lunged forward.

"Don't," Kaz spat, reeling backwards.

"Fucking," His hand formed into a fist.

"Touch," His punch made brutal contact with Nikolai's jaw.

"Her," The king fell painfully on his back.

Nikolai cried out in pain, limbs flying like the legs of an upturned cockroach. Kaz Brekker did not finish there. He leaned over Nikolai's body, holding a gun. His voice dropped to a whisper, only loud enough for Nikolai Lantsov to hear. "I'm going to kill you," He said, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him up. "But not now,"

He kept a firm grip on the back of Nikolai's neck, as he guided her in Natasha's direction. "Apologise," Kaz said, standing impatiently beside Natasha. He watched her cradle her cheek in her palm, the skin - raw.

When Nikolai didn't speak, Kaz gripped his jaw. "Do it while you still have a tongue," Nikolai's eyes betrayed to a woman standing behind Natasha. She quickly spun on her heel, shielding her heart, but Kaz was faster.

Kaz Brekker lost grip on Nikolai, ignorant as the king scampered behind Zoya Nazyalensky. "Natasha," He yelled, shoving her to the side. He fell victim to the point of Zoya's dagger, biting a scream into the collar of his shirt.

A/N

- happy thanksgiving. if you enjoyed please vote and comment.

- rosa <3