𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

ⅰ 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

BREY MADE TO THE FOUNTIN. The blood that splashed on her face cracking each time she moved her skin. Jesper kicked himself off the wall, rushing to her. "Brey? Are you okay?" Jesper asked, brushing her hair back to see if she was bleeding.

"I'm fine," Brey huffed with a small nod. Jesper dropped his hands as she walked closer to Kaz. "It's not my blood. A Heartrender and Inferni chased me, both dead. And..." Brey paused, shifting under Kaz's harsh gaze. "They knew... that I'm Grisha."

"What? How?" Jesper snapped.

"The Black General," Kaz spoke softly, his tone still harsh. "Arken must have sold you out." Brey sighed and brushed her hair back, bits of dried blood sticking her hair together. Inej jumped off the building behind them, grunting as she hit the floor. "Inej," Kaz called in worry.

Inej pressed her hands against her side, a slice on her right, bleeding and staining the purple fabric. "Hey," Jesper called, grabbing under her arm and holding her up.

Brey took her other side, pressing her hand over Inej's and keeping the pressure tight. "Sorry," Brey mumbled as Inej hissed.

"The Inferni, she's dead," Inej relayed, sputtering with each word. Kaz nodded but worry started to break through his mask. "Saints," Inej cursed, leaning into Jesper and Brey's hold slightly.

"Well, you can't manage a horse," Jesper assessed. "Not even riding double. We'll have to come up with another plan."

Kaz looked back, his gaze scanning the courtyard. "That's a pretty nice ride," Kaz spoke up, looking at the Black General's carriage.

"Yes, indeed it is," Jesper agreed with mischief in his tone and a greedy smile.

"Go, I got her," Brey nodded, taking most of Inej's weight. Kaz threw his cane further up, getting a better grip and slammed it across the back of the guard's skull. The guard fell to the floor with a thud, unconscious. Jesper walked around the carriage and flung the doors open. 

"Oh. Hello," Jesper greeted the Grisha sitting inside. He flung his book at Jesper, clambering out the other side of the carriage where Kaz waited. Kaz held the cane tight and smacked his face, knocking him out as well. "He threw a book at me," Jesper complained, holding the book up as he jumped from the carriage.

"Come on," Brey nodded, starting to walk with Inej gripping Brey tighter as her feel slowly shuffled with her.

𓅨

THE BARN WAS OLD, USED FOR HOLDING MACHINERY, IT FELT LIKE THE ILSE. All for except the criminals held inside, Kaz's broken cane, a few maps and whatever spare kruge he had on the abandoned wagon. "Is this all we have left?" Inej questioned, her coat tossed away. Inej pressed her hand to the wood, groaning softly. "Jesper, my bag."

Inej lifted her shirt, tossing the gauze she had pressed to the wound to the side. Jesper held the bag out, gagging softly. "Mother of Saints," Jesper cursed.

Inej sat on the floor, resting against one of the wagons and fully unbuttoned her shirt and setting her bag at her side. "It's not healing on its own. I need to stitch it," Inej explained.

"How long before you can travel?" Kaz questioned.

"Not long," Inej answered quickly. "Where?"

"Ketterdam." The crows settled into silence as they looked up at Kaz, expecting an answer. "Between our dwindling funds, lack of time... and conflicting interests... it's time we cut our losses."

Kaz opened the barn door, leaving the three alone. "I guess the Bastard misses the Barrel," Jesper scoffed softly.

Inej winced as she pressed her skin together, readying the stitching. "Let me," Brey called, taking her coat and weapons off. Inej nodded softly and Brey knelt beside her. "I need to clean, then stitch, then clean again," Brey explained, pulling her bag closer and grabbing a gauze and splitting it down the middle.

Brey held Inej's skin, wiping around the tear making Jesper cough softly. "You can watch a bullet tear through a man, but cleanings a cut too much?" Inej snarked, looking up at Jesper.

"It... Yeah, well, you see, bullets are bam, in and out," Jesper explained, spinning the top half of Kaz's cane in his hand. "That's- That's just-" Jesper gagged, turning away.

"Jesper out," Brey ordered, nodding Jesper away. "I'll call you back when I'm done." Jesper paused but nodded when Brey took the needle.

"I can do it myself," Inej spoke up once Jesper left the barn.

"I know," Brey mumbled, pinching Inej's skin together.

"Brey-"

"Just-" Brey caught herself, stopping from raising her voice too high. "Let me talk first." Brey took a deep breath and slid the needle and thread just deep enough through Inej's skin.

"Back at the Little Palace, when you talked about your Saints," Brey started, pulling through another stitch. "When I said I wasn't your Saint, I never meant that they don't exist." Another stitch. "Maybe once I would have been a Saint," Brey said lowly, the words feeling bitter on her tongue. "But I'm not anymore, not to you, because I'm your friend. I would do things for you Saints wouldn't approve of," Brey explained, pulling through the last stitch. Brey tied off the cotton and looked up at Inej.

Inej nodded and smiled softly and Brey did the same back as she cleared the blood that leaked from the stitching. "Kaz was worried about you," Inej spoke up. Brey laughed softly, a large smile forming on her face. "What?"

"That's funny," Brey chuckled, sealing the stitches with a gauze. "Kaz doesn't worry. Especially not about me. I'm expendable. My skills are useful, but in a give-and-take situation, it's me that's goin'."

"He does, he cares," Inej insisted. "In his own way. He cares about you in a different way he does for me, and Jesper." 

"But at least you know he cares," Brey muttered. "Jes!" Brey called.

"It doesn't feel like it," Inej shook her head. Jesper walked in, still messing with the the top of Kaz's cane. "I can't go back," Inej said softly, but her tone was strong. Jesper sighed softly, looking down at her. "What?"

"Well, I was... I was going to tell you to trust Kaz and that he'd never let you go back, but," Jesper shook his head, looking at Inej with soft eyes. "I don't have the right to tell you what you should do with your shot at freedom."

"You both make this a lot harder, you know," Inej spoke up after a beat of silence.

"I know," Jesper uttered softly, nodding slightly. "I'd miss me, too. I'm fantastic." Jesper smiled teasingly at first before it moved to a genuine one.

𓅨

❝ 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 is a funny thing ❞