SHE'D NEVER FELT LIKE THIS. She'd never known terror like this.
Asra loved her Crows, there was no denying it anymore. They were a family she'd never known and never wanted to let go of. But sometimes, most the time, she hated them for what they did to her.
Things were so much easier when she was selfish. With no one to look out for but herself, Asra had thrived. She was made to be alone. She learned to enjoy the solitude that came with her blood red crown. Then the Crows came along. Her Crows.
Seeing her sister stood beside Nina was terrifying like nothing she'd ever admit to. One sister beside another, one cruel and known and looking for every excuse to hurt her, the other made of nothing but kindness.
She'd never wanted this. Asra had spent her whole life, ever since she'd made herself exist like this, making sure the two chapters of her life would remain separate. They were never supposed to meet. She was never supposed to watch the Witch smile at her Wraith and watch Inej cringe away. She was never supposed to watch Jesper mock her sister behind her back. She never supposed to stand helpless and the Harbinger and Dirtyhands stared the other down with enough malice to make a real human drop dead.
The chaos below was nothing compared to the torment of her mind. It was hard to worry about a mob of Kerch criminals when her sister stood beside her like lightning in her veins.
She willed herself to focus. She wasn't the Butcher anymore, wasn't the girl who could tear down an army with her bare hands. She wasn't a nameless terror for hire. She was a Kerch barmaid who was so incredibly out of her depth.
It was almost laughable, really. The irony of it all. She'd turned tale and ran like the coward she'd never been. She'd run from all she'd known in favour of the streets that had always called to her like a gull the sea. The city of depravity and greed, the most fun she'd ever had. All in the name of her newfound sobriety. Her reasons were selfish and stupid and childish, all she'd been at heart. She'd come looking for fun. She'd leave beyond her own recognition.
When had the page turned? When had the shift from other to human occured? When had the colleagues become family? When had the hole in her heart been filled with Inej's small smile, Jesper's loud laugh, Nina's insatiable kindness and Wylan's ceaseless blushing, even Matthias' subtle respect had become a comfort to rely on. To say nothing of Kaz. She refused to think of Kaz.
The mob was loud and inelegant. They swarmed the street, over Zelverbridge and past the hotel. They sang and chanted to a drumbeat just audible over their cheers and excited screams.
Jesper blew out a breath. "All the Saints and your aunt Eva."
"What is it?" Wylan asked.
"Is it a mob?" Inej asked.
"More like a parade." Kaz said.
"It's a search." Asra said. Her voice didn't sound right, too flat, too distant.
"Why aren't the Stadwatch stopping them?" Wylan asked as the crowd poured through the barricaded streets. "Why are they letting them through?"
"Probably because your father told them to." Kaz said.
As they grew closer, the people could be made out. The man at the lead wore a lion's skin and fake golden crown. No one pointed out Pekka Rollins and his Dime Lions. Instead Inej pointed just behind them.
"Razorgulls. And there are the Liddies."
"Harley's pointers." Jesper pointed too.
"Black Tips." Asra jerked her chin towards them.
STAI LEGGENDO
Drowning (Kaz Brekker)
FanfictionThey were twisted and broken. They were haunted and hollow. And they were bloody, oh so bloody. But maybe, just maybe, they could drown in that blood together. Dreams, however pitiful, were always sweet. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _...
