The Fjerdan hellscape I'd come to know and... tolerate had finally begun to melt away into a more thriving woodland. Trees knelt down from old age, their long, decaying branches filled with maggots and mushrooms. Dead leaves and muck that seeped into the ground became moist with melted snow. The air smelled of wet, dead flowers and pine. The ambiance was not whimsical, but anything was better than harsh cold and witch hunters.
The Crows and I eventually shed the Drüskelle attire as to not alarm any Ravkan commoners- or possible grisha warriors of the armies.
"I can't believe I'm saying this... but I miss Ketterdam," Jesper confessed with a sigh, trudging through the woods with his lanky limbs.
"No," I said with a smirk, "you miss gambling." A few crows let out a laugh, and Jesper stuck his tongue out at me. "It makes sense though, we have been traveling for almost a month," I added with a hint of dismay. My shoulders slumped and my eyelids fell lower than usual, it didn't look seductive... just sleepy.
Eventually the group split up into pairs or trios of those who chattered and those who stiffly stayed silent as we walked on. Jesper and Wylan took the lead, clasping each other's hands together the entire time. However, the couple halted when the little bombmaker halted in his tracks.
"...are there usually mansions in the middle of the Ravkan woods, Nina?" Wylan peeped after assessing the sight before us with a tilted head. Nina scrunched up her nose and lifted her eyebrows.
"Not generally, no. The woods are often barren," Nina's eyes began to sparkle, a quick glint of curiosity that often adorned her pupils shined a bit brighter. "But I won't turn down exploring a possible haunted mansion."
"What if we become ghosts?" Kaz asks dryly with a mocking bliss. Nina huffs with a dramatic eye roll.
"My ghost will not allow you inside the house I haunt," the heartrender responded with a sliver of annoyance.
"If you try to break into Nina's ghost house, Kaz, I'll kill you." Inej responded with a grin as the sunlight spilling through the trees glinted against her many knives.
"I'll pay her to do it," Nina added.
"My ghost will hire Jesper's ghost to kill Inej so I can get into Nina's haunted mansion," Kaz's stone-like voice retorted. Jesper made a grumbly noise that a toddler would make if their babysitter wouldn't let them stay up past 8 pm.
"I did not agree to this. Instead, I'll have my ghost secretly hire Wylan's ghost to kill Kaz's ghost, so Inej and Nina's ghosts will be safe," the sharpshooter babbled.
"I'll hire Y/n to double hire Wylan who will also hire Inej and take out Jesper so I can get into Nina's ghost house," Kaz replied.
"My ghost would rather have ghost sleepovers with all the crows except you, Kaz, and you can sulk outside as we laugh at you through the haunted windows," I schemed with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. A maniacal grin spread across my face, making me look like a mischievous feline.
"My ghost will not associate with any of your ghosts..." Matthias grumbled with the expression of a man at his breaking point.
"Well, I personally think we should go inside... we could use a detour.." Nina proposed with a curious grin. Kaz's dark eyes pointed sharply at the heartrender like one of Inej's knives. He taps his cane a few times on the muddy, dirt path to grab attention.
"That's up to the client," Kaz rasps as he nods in my direction. I turn to look at Kaz— and stare for a little too long- before answering.
"Who's up for a little haunted house detour?" I say with a slanted grin. The Crows reactions all fell somewhere on the spectrum of excited and nervous.
YOU ARE READING
Tainted Opal - Kaz Brekker x Reader
FantasyKaz Brekker may be the unbreakable Bastard of the Barrel, but everyone has a weakness. The only way to get to that weakness is a tell. Y/n, a seductress who hides her skill under her luxury jewelry company in Ketterdam. When her most prized possess...
