Fragments *KANEJ*

Not Him.

Fear runs through Inej's core as the fireball comes burning towards her. She braces herself for the pain but it never comes. Instead she is pushed to the ground as Kaz leaps in front of her to take the fire. His face twists in pain and he screams as his back is hit with the fire and burns through his clothes.

His eyes shut and he collapses to the ground.

"NOO!!!!!" Inej screams and crawls over to him. His burnt back is dark red and blistering horribly. She looks up furiously at the man, but he is gone. She carefully lifts him up on her own, because Nina and Wylan have to carry Matthias and Jesper. Together they crawl out a window and limp as quick as they can to a nearby wagon.

They get in and as a man yells that it's his, but Nina whips the horses and drives away. They hurry through the streets as fast as possible to Crow Manor. Inej cries in the back of the wagon, holding Kaz's ungloved hand. Matthias begins to stir.

"What... what the hell happened??" He asks once he gains most of his conciousness and realizes his surroundings.

"We got played. There was an attack, and an inferni... and-" Inej pauses and takes a deep breath, collecting herself. "Kaz got hit with a fireball attempting to save me." Matthias tries to say something, but she looks away and focuses her attention back onto the burnt man.

They finally reach Crow Manor, and Nina, Matthias, and Inej help get the wounded inside.
They set Jesper on the couch since he's only unconcious and not horribly wounded, and Wylan stumbles into a chair. Then Kaz is placed on a pile of pillows on the ground.

"Nina, go grab me some ice cold wet towels and antibiotics. Matthias, tend to Wylan's head. Jesper should wake up soon.

Right as she says that, he starts to stir. "What..." he looks around groggily. "Holy shit, is everyone okay?? What happened?" he sits up quickly and goes to help Wylan.

"We were ambushed. It was a set up. Kaz got burnt and Wylan hit his head really hard." Inej explains as Wylan groans.

"It's okay my love... I got this." Jesper sucks in a breath as he takes in the damage. "Your skulls cracked. I have to seal it together. Take a deep breath honey... this might hurt a bit. Wylan whimpers as Jesper gently uses his Durist abilities to seal the crack in his head with metal. Then he bandages it up and cleans the blood. "Better?" Jesper smiles at his boyfriend.

"Better..." Wylan responds quietly with a small smile. Then Jesper carries him over to the couch to rest.

Inej returns her attention to Kaz. He seems to be slipping in and out of conciousness, occasionally twisting his face in pain and then going back to having no expression.

Nina returns with healing supplies and the Inej gently presses cold cloths to his back, as Nina does her best to heal his other wounds. Unfortunately, the burn is out of her abilities, so she focuses on other wounds. "We- we have to get him out of these clothes. He's too warm..." Inej nods and the women carry him to his room. They lay him on a table and Inej nods to leave them alone, assuring Nina that she can handle it. She gently cuts his shirt with her knife hesitantly and apologizes to him in her mind for this violation. But she needs him to be okay. She presses the cold cloths to his back and once it seems to be less red and burnt, she rubs antibiotics on it and lays bandages over the wounds. Then she leaves him alone to rest.

Inej walks into her room and prays that he will be okay. Saints, he has to live. She can't lose him, and if he dies, it would be her fault. She let him leap in front of her like that... she'll never forgive herself if he dies because of her. Inej breaks down into tears. There's a knock on her door, and she hears Jesper's voice from behind it.

"Inej... can I come in?" He asks politely. She takes a deep breath and says he can. He walks over to her, as she sits on her bed, eyes closed. She opens them as he sits down next to her. They look at each other, and she bursts into another crying fit. He hugs her close and speaks to her softly.

"Hey, hey, he'll be okay. The man is as stubborn as he is cunning, and he'll make it through this." He soothed. "He's Kaz Brekker, he survives."

Inej nods and lays down on her bed. Jesper kisses her on the forehead and then leaves her be. She tries sleeping, but she can't. So about halfway through the night she goes into Kaz's room and falls asleep there, on the floor below him, wishing it would have been her and not him.