Drowning (Kaz Brekker)

xiv - Snapped

ASRA MOVED THROUGH SECURITY IN A DAZE. She was stripped, searched, showered in ice cold water, handed a uniform and finally shoved into a cramped little cell in the prison sector. Asra heaved a slow sigh and threaded her arms through the bars, leaning her head against one, eyes closed. She was going to kill Kaz for talking her into this.

She was tiny. She'd always been small. She'd always hated herself for it. Lithe, her mother had told her. Sneaky, like a cat. You'll make an excellent ghost one day. Especially with this watching habit of yours. But Asra wasn't a cat. She was a beast. She didn't watch for others, for secrets. She watched for weaknesses and hoarded them like a dragon gold. She'd refused to be a ghost, a spy. She was a killer, and when she was seven, her mother admitted her mistake. It was the greatest she'd ever felt. You're small, quick, hard to hit. She hated her mother, but she'd made her dangerous, and Asra found herself searching her mind for those rare compliments to remind herself what she was.

But it didn't matter if she was a cat or a dog or a beast or a dragon at heart. In flesh, she was a girl, small and shaking. And the woman behind her was big and had the look of a bully. Asra felt like a seven year old again.

The woman saunted closer. Asra spared her a glance. Her hair was bright red, half shaved, down past her shoulder in waves. Tattoos snaked along her neck. Her nose had been broken at one point, and it hadn't healed right. Her arms were thick with muscle. She'd do.

"Aren't you a cute little thing." The woman crooned in choppy Kerch. She had a Kaelish accent.

Asra looked at her dully, eyes going up and down her slowly, then looked away. Inej and Nina were in the cell opposite hers, watching. Asra didn't look at them.

"You deaf?" The woman snapped.

"You dumb?" Asra snapped back. "Don't wanna talk to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Asra just scoffed a laugh, looking away, the picture of ease and mocking. The woman with red hair growled and went to grab her. Asra let her.

She gripped Asra by the collar and shook her. "What's that supposed to mean?" She repeated.

Asra kicked her in the gut. The woman folded over, dropping Asra as her hands wrapped over her stomach. Asra sent her knee into the woman's face.

The woman fell back against the bars, clutching her rebroken nose. Asra loomed over her, head cocked to the side.

"Means I could kill you right now if I wanted. Means leave me the hell alone." Her voice rose, talking to no one in particular. She returned to her place at the bars, glaring at anyone a little to close for her liking. Fear was her servant, it obeyed her like a dog its master. She'd almost forgotten that since getting to Fjerda. She could feel it now, the fear rolling off her, driving the others away from her. Asra leant against the bars, back to her cell mates, exposed yet shielded in fear, and waited for six bells.

She watched Nina and Inej talk in their own cell. She watched the red-headed woman stand and walk over to the bench against the wall. She growled at the woman sat there, who dutifully moved. She watched the redhead press her shirt to her nose to stop the bleeding, traced the tattoos on her stomach with her eyes. She traced where own tattoo had been, the crow and cup. Asra was bored. She hated waiting. She should've gone to the cell with Nina and Inej.

Finally, the Elderclock chimed six bells. It was distant and loud, just as they'd made Matthias described on the walk to Djerholm. All day they'd made him imitate the different bells chimes. It had been hilarious.

Right on time, a guard stepped in for headcount and to give them fresh water. Asra moved towards the bucket, the others in the cell parting for her. It felt good to be powerful again. She drank deeply, letting it spill onto her shirt. Nina and Inej did the same in their cell, and Nina's hands flickered over her ankle.