𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗 — big brother

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 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 a word since Aleksa had stumbled backwards and perched upon a stack of unsteady boxes. Her eyes had glazed over, an unfocused stare settled on a single chip in the wooden floor. Aleksa's fingers were interwoven, knuckles as white as the sunlight Alina had summoned around the skiff.

 Inej had tried to provoke a response, a nudge to her arm, a light kick to her leg; she'd even reached her hand out to smooth over Aleksa's knuckles, yet no response had come. Jesper had cracked a joke here and there, yet no reaction was elicited... From any of them.

 Aleksa was too consumed with the truth. She was drowning. The Fold swirled around them, cracks of harsh thunder rattled the skiff, and the sound of shrieking Volcra grated at their ears; everything she was afraid of was in one place, made by one man. A man she had trusted.

 She had thought the world of Aleksander, looked up to him with stars in her glorious eyes even despite his harsh punishments. Aleksa had seen him exactly as he'd wanted her to; a hero. He had saved her from a life of loneliness and bullying, and he vowed to save the world from the scar dividing it... only, he had been the villain to create it.

 She could feel his power; she always had been closer in tune with the darkness than he. It was a strange thing to know that now. Aleksander was centuries old, and yet he wielded his power like a sword while Aleksa used it as an extension of herself, like it was just another limb attached to her own flesh and bone.

 Aleksa and the darkness around her were old friends, Aleksander saw the shadows as soldiers to do his bidding. She could feel every smattering of darkness that clung to the skiff, the call of the Fold. She could feel it as Aleksander summoned for a certain power that shouldn't have existed.

 "He's expanding the Fold." Those were the first words she spoke and the sound of her voice made Jesper jump almost a foot into the air.

 They all stared at her. None of the Crows questioned her, they never doubted her abilities to call out for the shadows and receive their whispers in turn, but Mal was sceptical. His eyes hadn't moved from her.

 He considered Aleksa after the reveal of her blood ties, or perhaps lack thereof. Brother, she had said; he had wanted to ask if she bent the shadows too, but now he hadn't the need.

 "Expanding the Fold?" Their newcomer repeated, standing to his feet in a flurry of dirtied fabric, "How do you know?"

 "I can feel it. That kind of power can only be used for one thing," A shiver scuttled across her spine as the sensation of billowing shadows multiplied above, "I think he's going to drown Novokribirsk."

 A beat passed. Mal's fingers were curled around his gun and as Aleksa met his gaze she could see his battle; he wasn't sure whether he should shoot her.

 He watched her watch him, both ignoring the looks that the others were giving them. His fingers tightened around the small pistol, yet his arm still lay limp by his side. She could have been up there with the Darkling, she could have chosen to stand by his side and help him. Yet there she was.

 Her eyes snapped away from him, darting to the ceiling that creaked above them. The shadows were building, they were chasing, and they were consuming. The others were made aware when the screaming started.

 "What now?" Jesper risked as his features curled in on themselves. The screaming was grating, like nails on a chalkboard.

 "We wait." Kaz answered.

 Aleksa wanted to argue with him; they could all hear the screams of soldiers and civilians as the Fold grew larger and swallowed them whole. Aleksa could almost feel each and every one. The hair on her neck stood on end, her fingers curling into her palm.

 Inej was the first to open her mouth. It was easy to see the struggle on her face; she might have been the Wraith, a secret stealer with a knack for twirling knives, but she was still, above all, kind, "Kaz, you can hear him slaughtering a city."

 Kaz whirled to face the Wraith, his concern solely on his crew and how they'd make it out alive, "So you understand the scale of his power then? Good."

 Inej recoiled, and had Aleksa possessed the strength she had always convinced herself she had, she'd have pushed her knuckles against those perfect cheekbones of his. He took advantage of Inej's kindness, and her desire to do good.

 Mal finally tore his sights away from Aleksa, a silent resolution inside of him. He didn't trust her, he didn't trust anyone other than himself with Alina's safety, but having a Shadow Summoner on his side was not something he'd squander to fulfil his urge to put a bullet into the darkness itself.

 He readied his gun, "The bold move is to strike now."

 "And the smart one is to get clear of the damned Fold first." Kaz snapped at him, eyes wild.

 Mal hadn't had the misfortune of growing up Ketterdam; the misfortune of inhaling damp smog with every heave of his lungs. He didn't know the boy with the sharp features, he didn't know his reputation. Even if he had, Mal would likely have spoken out anyway for he was a fool... but he was a brave one.

 The tracker shrugged a single shoulder, "Never said I was smart." Then he was off. He breezed past Kaz, skirted around Jesper and disappeared into the darkness of the skiff. His footsteps steadily faded.

 Jesper watched him go before turning to the Crows, "Can you believe him?"

 The sound of fabric being tossed to the floor made Aleksa look up, her eyes widening as she watched her dear Wraith run her fingers over the knives tucked at her waist. Her coat had been shed and was crumpled on the ground in a heap.

 Inej didn't look at the others, she kept her eyes solely on Aleksa. The was an apologetic look on her features, but it was easily overshadowed by her desire to stop the massacre that was happening above them.

 Aleksa said nothing; Inej was just as stubborn as she was.

 "I'm going with him." The Wraith muttered, a glinting knife twirling between her fingers before she too, disappeared into the shadows.

 Aleksa was surprised to find that hesitation didn't keep her planted on the crate she'd been perched upon. Her boots had slammed to the ground as she stood, though somewhat shakily.

 Kaz glared at her, "Don't you dare."

 She offered him a sad smile, one that made her feel like the child Aleksander had plucked from the orphanage. She was scared, that much was evident from the way her stomach flipped with every passing second, and the way her heart hammered within her chest.

 The only desire she had to stay was for them, for Kaz and Jesper. But Aleksa could not watch Inej run into battle alone, especially when their enemy was her own brother; the man she could have at least tried to have taken down had she not been so damn naive and desperate for somebody, anybody to love her.

 Inej had been there from the moment Aleksa's boots had first stomped into the murky puddles that lined the streets of Ketterdam. Inej had been the one to knock on her door late at night after Aleksa's rendezvous with strangers just to be sure everything was alright. Inej had been there through everything.

 But it was more than that.

 Aleksa needed to talk to her brother just one more time. She needed the truth from his mouth; she needed to look him in the eyes when she finally asked him if he had ever really cared about her.

 She moved forwards again, and within a beat the crow's head of Kaz's atrocious golden cane had latched around her front, stilling her in her path. Her fingers curled around the crow, gently prying it away as she twisted to face him, "I have to, Kaz."

 "He'll kill you." Kaz snarled; he needed to be harsh, perhaps to slap some damned sense into her.

 He just couldn't stand to see her walk away from him.

 There were tears in her eyes, he could barely see them beneath the dull light of the swaying oil lamp; but the trail that fell down her cheeks glinted for just a moment.

 "I need to know if everything I know about him... about my life has been a lie." She sniffed, a heavy exhale parting her lips, "He's all I have, Kaz. He's my brother, lies or not, because that's all I've ever known of him."

 Words burned on his tongue, the urge to call her stupid, a naive fool. Those words faded and fizzled out like the dying embers of a fire.

 What if she had been in her place? If he had been reaching out to Jordie? He almost choked as the squeamish image of his floating brother came to the forefront of his mind; he'd have reached out. Poor little Rietveld would have reached out.

 Even after all those years of squashing Kaz Reitvield into the dirt, he still longed for his big brother. So he understood that look in Aleksa's eyes, the one that meant she'd throw herself into the Fold for just one more glance at the brother she knew, the brother she had known. She needed those answers, and no matter how selfish he wanted to be, he couldn't stop her. Aleksa wouldn't let him.

 "Bug..." Jesper whispered, "Just — Be careful, please."

 "I'll try my best," Aleksa spoke, her one as soft as Cas' feathers. She scooped the bird from her shoulder, and perched him high on Jesper's bony ones, "Stay with the tree, you."

 Then she left to face the Darkling once more.

 There were bodies scattered everywhere; Aleksa had no doubt that the delightful Ivan was the one to slow their hearts and send them crashing towards the wooden deck. Just beyond them was a cluster of people, all of whom she recognised. One made her heart leap into her mouth.

 While the sight of a bloodied Mal sprawled on the deck should have had her rushing forth, or perhaps the sight of Alina Starkov — the Sun Summoner — reaching out for her tracker. But no, it was Aleksander.

 He stood as tall and as regal as ever; the backdrop of the Fold made him seem like the man Mal had professed he was. He looked less like a brother, and more like a heretic.

 Her shoes clattered against the floor and all eyes fell upon her frame. She took one step, then another, and then her heart seized. Ivan had his hands before him as he took ahold of her beating organ; Aleksander stopped him by giving him just a look.

 Aleksa shuddered as she sucked in a mouthful of air. A witty remark had bubbled in her throat for Ivan, yet the second her cerulean eyes fell on the dark silhouette of her brother, she stilled entirely.

 "Aleksa." He greeted her in that low voice of his. He tipped his head, looking through his brows, "Sister."

 The word made bile rise in her throat.

 "It's been quite some time." He said, ignoring the whimpers of Alina and the pained groans from Mal. "Perhaps we are overdue for a family reunion... You ran from the last one, I recall."

 A cascade of light surrounded them and Aleksa couldn't help but dip her eyes to Alina. It hadn't been she who had called upon the sun — It was Aleksander.

 The light glittered like a cluster of diamonds resting on a pompous woman's ring; it fell around her in the shape of a bubble. She could feel the heat of the light tearing at her skin already.

 "No interruptions, hm?" Aleksander stated.

 Like he had done so many times before, he beckoned her forth like a scolding mother would to their misbehaving child. Aleksa couldn't help but obey him; it was like muscle memory, something seared into her mind for the remainder of eternity.

 The sun bounced off her shining hair, her wonderful eyes, but she knew no amount of charm would work here because it never had before.

 At last, when she was a mere pace away from him, she found her poor little voice, "You called me —" she almost choked, "— sister. But I'm not, am I? I couldn't be."

 "Ah, so you know."

 She couldn't tell if it was sadness in his voice, resentment, anger. It all seemed to blur together when it was him speaking... he hadn't even tried to deny it. She swallowed and he saw the obvious bob of her throat.

 "You're the Black Heretic," Aleksa whispered.

 He took a step forward, only prompting Aleksa to take a step back like a frightened little animal. Aleksander lifted his hands as though approaching a skittish child huddling in the corner for any means of safety; Aleksa supposed she might look that way. Wide eyes stared at him.

 His voice came out as a rasp, and she'd heard it before, back at the orphanage when his arms had curled around her, "Yes." He made no move to deny as he spread his arms wide, gesturing to the Fold, "I am the Black Heretic, the creator of the Fold... Do you understand why I did it?"

 "I don't care." Aleksa sighed and her shoulders slumped. She was so tired, "I don't care why you made it, I care that you lied to me. All my life you promised me we'd work together to take this damn thing down, to reunite Ravka and finally show the world that the Shadow Summoners, that Grisha aren't —"

 "— Aren't what, Aleksa?" Aleksander finally snapped. All traces of what could have been guilt or regret had vanished into thin air. His quartz eyes had hardened like stone, "To be feared? We are. We're stronger than they are. You and I," He cast a fleeting look towards Alina, "Alina. We're not like the others. We'll live for centuries as the rest of the world crumbles into ashes."

 His voice had clapped throughout the Fold as though carried by the thunder, it made her own words sound meek, "You told me you were my brother, that you'd been searching for me."

 "I needed you to trust me."

 "I was a child!" She snapped, and suddenly her eyes were ablaze, "I was four years old and you came in like a hero to rescue me from people who never wanted me, of course I would have trusted you! You told me we were blood, family —"

 "— We are. That was never a lie." His hand seized her wrist, it looked as though it was out of desperation, "We are blood."

 "But you aren't my brother, are you?"

 He dropped his hold, hand brushing through the air as though her question was a fickle thing, something that simply didn't matter, "No." It was a plain answer, yet it crushed her beneath its weight all the same, "I had a brother, all those years ago. He was ordinary, a boy with nothing at his fingertips. He married an ordinary woman and had an ordinary son; the cycle repeated itself for three generations. A son, another son and another..."

 Aleksander's eyes glinted, "Then came you. I kept an eye on my family —" He spat the word, "I waited, and waited for another Shadow Summoner to be born. But I knew your dear parents would never give you up willingly."

 Aleksa bristled at the mention of her parents, of people she had never known and yet had always craved, "What did you do?"

 He smiled, it was slow and edged with something so very malicious. This wasn't Aleksander, this was the Black Heretic; the man who wanted nothing more than power, "I chased them. Every time a new member of our family came into the world, I'd pay them a visit. But you... You evaded me. Your parents knew the pattern and so they wrapped you up and off they ran. They scuttled like mice until they stood before the Fold."

 Aleksa's face had been drained of all colour. She had thought of her parents for so many sleepless nights as a child; wondering where they were and why they had ever chanced a trip through the fold with a baby. Now it was clear; they had run to save her from those who would look at a shadow summoner with scorn. Had they known that she could move the shadows from that young of an age? Had she really shown signs so early?

 They had run, and they had died, all to ensure that she stayed safe.

 "They died running from you?" Her voice was small, almost swallowed by the thundering cracks that echoed through the fold.

 There were tears in her eyes; Aleksa had always wanted the unconditional love of family. After years of children pointing fingers and uttering harsh words, to hearing the repeated phrase of 'the Fold ate your parents' and 'you are alone, girl', she had thought the longing for her long-since perished parents had been quenched when Aleksander had come close and held her hand.

 But the man that had taken her away that day, the one she had looked to with stars glittering in her eyes... He was the very reason her parents had been taken. If his thirst for power hadn't kept him hunting his own family all in the hopes of another Shadow Summoner popping up, then perhaps Aleksa could have grown up with people who cared for her. Her life might not have been one large and lonely little lie.

 Aleksander crept closer and the light glimmering around them made his features seem softer somehow, approachable like that day they had first met, "Aleksa," his voice was as smooth as luxurious silk, "I only ever wanted to protect our kind from harm. Grisha have been hunted, enslaved and killed for centuries and I've watched it all. The Fold," He started forwards again, hands clamping around her wrists... he didn't even know how harshly he'd done it and Aleksa hadn't the strength to pull away, "Is a weapon. We can hone it and use it to stop the slaughter that began years ago; is that not what you wanted? You left the Palace and found a place in Ketterdam with your thieves... Tell me, have you been able to use your power?"

 Her silence was answer enough. The fear of being sold like cattle or killed by Fjerdans was enough for the Shadows to remain still, only to come out when she was alone or in the presence of her Crows.

 "You hide it out of fear." Aleksander continued, weaving his way within her mind once more, "With the Fold under my command, you'd never have to fear what someone might do to you." His eyes softened then, from sharp edges of glass to something lighter, inviting, "Stay with me, sister, and we can do this together."

 Whatever desperate part of her that still longed for the brother she had once known was tempted to accept his hand. He looked as though he truly believed that what he was doing was good, that seizing control of the billowing wall of darkness around them was what was best for their kind.

 Maybe he was right. Perhaps it was time for the Grisha to take a stand against those who looked at them with scorn. Maybe it was finally time to fight back. But like this? She had heard those screams from the people of Novokribrisk, the terror that had flooded them; could she really be that ruthless?

 Ketterdam had changed her; she found it easier to use her fists and delighted in a fight. She thrived in the chaos of a battle but was this really the same thing?

 Aleksander wanted revenge on the otkazat'sya for everything they had put Grisha through... But not everyone deserved the fate of the Fold. Kaz and Inej were a part of the very group Aleksander wished to tame; they didn't deserve to die in the shadows, not after she'd promised them solace within the darkness.

 She couldn't do it.

 Before she could voice her thoughts, Aleksander made the deciding comment, "You're reluctant because of those thieves of yours, aren't you?" He looked like he wanted to laugh, to point at her as though she was still just a silly little girl, "Aleksa, don't you understand? We're not like the others. Whilst your thieves and rouges will age and wither, you'll have to stand by and watch. You'll stay looking as you do," He cupped her cheek as he had back then, "You'll watch them all die. But I won't age, I won't leave you behind. Stay with me, Aleksa. We are family."

 Aleksa's teeth ground painfully against one another; even after she'd decided that the man in front of her was not the same man he'd pretended to be throughout her life, she still cared. He was right; they were family, they were bound by blood, by power... But it was more than that. She still loved him, and she could see that he truly cared for her. It might have been twisted, a tangled web of lies and deceit, but that still wasn't enough for Aleksa to bury those feelings and the love she held for her big brother.

 But it was enough for her to turn her back on him. No matter how painful it would be, no matter how hard, she had to help stop him... Even if she ended up alone all those years down the line.

 Her eyes fell to Alina. The Sun Summoner still reached out for Mal with such desperation as the bubble of light Aleksander had summoned kept them parted. She would still be there. It would end with two girls watching as ashes surrounded them both. The light and the dark, at the end of all things.

 It would have been easier to accept, to turn her back on Jesper, Inej and Kaz instead of leaving with them. She had the blood of a Morozova running through her veins, even if Jesper decided to finally give in to the power he had, she'd still watch him perish centuries before she ever would.

 "We are family." Aleksa finally whispered, well aware of the horror that flooded within Alina's eyes. Her hands turned in Aleksander's hold, shaking fingers settling around his own wrists as she stared into those impossibly dark eyes, "But I can't do this."

 Aleksander recoiled as though he'd been slapped. The bubble of light that surrounded the pair, the light that kept Mal and Alina apart faded leaving behind only the film of light that surrounded the skiff.

 She could see the hurt in his eyes as plain as day but it didn't last long, for the skiff began to slide forth, carried by the winds of a Squallor that had chosen her side. The dust around them flitted by, the sail erupting as they continued forth.

 Aleksander cast his eyes high, "Zoya!" He bellowed into the darkness and the sound of his voice sent a shiver down Aleksa's spine.

 She was frozen to the spot; what could she possibly do? She might have been one of the most powerful Grisha to have lived, but even she couldn't fight against a man that could stop her heart with the flick of his wrist.

 Still, she couldn't remain unmoving whilst Mal bled out on the ground with Alina reaching for him in utter horro; she couldn't wait for Aleksander to grasp ahold of the Fold again and use it to commit a massacre.

 Aleksander scowled as the skiff continued to plough through the sand, and with a single nod to Ivan, the Heartrender curled his hands and Aleksa steadily began to fold. Her heart was paralysed. The Fold seemed to grow darker as she reached out to steady herself on whatever she could but then it stopped and a shrill whistle shot past her head, and she was certain that she had seen Cas swoop overhead.

 There was hardly time to understand what had happened, for within moments of the sound, Aleksander had brought his hands high. Shadows swirled around him as they rushed forth, creating the cut. His hand slashed through the air and the cut followed ever so obediently. It hurtled towards Aleksa, though slightly askew; he was aiming for somebody behind her.

 Whilst the attack wouldn't have harmed her — perhaps she was a fool for thinking that her brother wouldn't turn his attacks on her even after her betrayal — a hand still clamped around the collar of her coat and pulled her out of the line of fire.

 She slumped to the ground, a slight groan toppling past her lips when somebody fell atop her. She'd recognise that bundle of frizzy curls anywhere, but what had shocked Aleksa most, was the sight of Kaz holding his hand out for her to grasp. He'd been the one to pull them aside, the to save them

 Everything was transpiring in tandem; the moment her fingers had curled around Kaz's leather-bound hand the shrill and familiar sound of a knife hurtling through the air made the pair of thieves snap their eyes towards the sound.

 There was a beat of worry that glossed over Aleksa as she stared at the knife impaling Aleksander's chest; she noted swiftly that it was one of Inej's, though not the ebony blade that Aleksa had gifted her.

 She waited with bated breath as Aleksander slowly curled his fingers around the hilt; she knew for certain that whilst Inej's aim might have been beyond perfect, Aleksander was centuries old, he had tapped into power unlike any other. A mere blade couldn't possibly be enough to eradicate him

 Against her own will, there was a part of her that was almost thankful when he wrenched the blade from his chest without toppling to the ground.

 Black veins spread across his skin, "It will take more than this!" He shouted into the dark, eyes firm on Inej as he tossed the blade aside. He bought his hands before him and the darkness seeped forth.

 Aleksa watched on as the light surrounding herself and Kaz was replaced by the shadows. It didn't take long for the cries of hungry Volcra to call out to them once more. They shrieked and screamed as they surged forwards, no longer kept at bay by the light.

 But if the light had faded from their view... Aleksa rounded on Kaz with wide eyes. All thoughts of her brother perished as a new sense of fear settled in, "Inej is up there."

 Kaz was ready and willing to wack his cane against the side of her skull and set her to the side just as Jesper was, "Don't leave again."

 But he knew that she would. It was Inej, after all. No amount of pleading would stop the Summoner before him from chasing after the Wraith. You come as a pair, he'd said before, and it would already remain true.

 "I'm not leaving her." Aleksa muttered softly, peering at him with eyes that almost begged for him to let her go without an argument; if they were to die, she'd much rather simply remember his pretty face and striking features than end on a bitter note.

 Kaz sighed, his eyes hard, "Then we go together."

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DATE: 16/01/2023

:·ﾟ★ the truth is out. Aleksander is actually... what? her great, great, great, great uncle or smth? and he CHASED HER PARENTS INTO THE FOLD.

i was too excited and had to publish this... y'all aren't ready for the absurd amount of girlbossing next chap

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