• Serpent Among Crows • Kaz Brekker

6

The journey to Black Veil was a rough one.

To Zhen, time had become a whirlwind of numbness and hauntings of old memories she had tried burying deep within for years. But it seemed now she was just digging herself into a ditch.

She passed by tombs and old graves long forgotten, the grounds thick with leafless trees, a chill sweeping through the abandoned graveyard. The only company these lost souls had were the creeping vines and years worth of decay taking over their name stones.

Her shawl had been tied around her waist, long forgotten. Her skin was too hot despite the icy chill in the air and the need to scream had her caught in a chokehold.

Once she made her way to one of the old, long forgotten tombs hidden through a thicket of winding, bone like trees and foliage, her mind slowly kicked back into gear at the sound of faint, familiar voices.

Zhen had been fighting back the heavy limp in her step, but blood had been steadily seeping out of the slash at the back of her knee and soaked into her boot. Perhaps it was stubbornness, perhaps it was a method of some inner workings of her mind to keep her from reacting to the severity of the pain. To keep her from acknowledging what had happened just to keep her going.

Her other hand was wrapped around the back of her other arm at the lower bicep, slick with crimson that kept trickling from a slash all the way from her shoulder down to her elbow. Her hand scarcely covered half of the wound, but it was all she had to work with, and the thought of ruining her mothers wrap for something so silly made her feel as though she would be betraying her memory and in the fragile state she was in - doing that would only destroy her more.

As she neared, Inej was waiting outside the stone entranceway with her arms crossed, looking as though she had been pacing.

When their eyes met, the Suli girl raced to meet her.

"Zhen!"

Her eyes were doe like as she stopped in front of her and went to place a hand on her arm.

Zhen stiffened before she could, shying a way a fraction before lifting her eyes from the floor. There was a glassy glaze across her dark eyes, the fire inside them dim.

"You're bleeding," she noted with a wavering voice, taking note of the slight sway in her step. "I knew I shouldn't have left-"

"-yes," she interjected evenly, closing her eyes at the thought of Inej in her place and knowingly letting that happen. "You should have."

Her voice was worryingly quiet.

Inej looked like she wanted to say a million things and apologise a million times, but she knew if she opened her mouth she would be shut down by the girl.

"Let's get you to Nina, okay?" She murmured, hand hovering by her good arm but not getting close enough to touch.

Zhen felt the weakness in her body, but the fire in her chest was crackling, right up against the papers hidden against her side.

As she entered, eyes flickered straight to her.

Nina stood immediately, eyes widening.

But Zhen's eyes narrowed in on Kaz as he used his cane to stand fully, jaw tightening at the blood on her skin and the pallid sheen across her face.

Pain struck his chest like a knife at the sight.

"I need to speak to you." She told him, trying to keep her voice calm.

He didn't miss a beat, shutting her down coldly. "You need to let Nina fix your arm."

The woman made a gentle move towards her side but she stepped back, face screwing up in barely concealed pain. Amazingly, she managed to keep upright.