The Devil's in the Wind

Chapter Eighteen

              The fall was impossibly long. Natalia had a weird amount of time to think while she probably plummeted to her death. She didn't really know why her thoughts travelled to Inej's offer. Even though she was almost dead she couldn't come up with an answer for her.

   Suddenly, the cable released from Natalia, and she heard Nina and Matthias let out screams. Natalia just felt a bit freer. She didn't know when to bite into her baleen. So, she waited, and waited, until her anxiety got the best of her, and she bit down hard.

   When she struck the icy water, she feared her heart would stop. The force of the river was terrifying, flowing fast and hard as an avalanche. The noise was deafening, and Natalia let her fear consume her for the first time since she was eleven.

   She didn't know where the water would take them or how long it would take. All she knew was the baleen only lasted ten minutes. She thought of Jesper and Wylan. Of sweet Inej. Natalia didn't know if she was praying or if she was hoping. Was there a difference? Did she just like to tell herself it was hope and not prayer?

   Survive, survive, survive. It was how she lived. How she had lived since she was ten years old. Since the Darkling watched her Squaller lesson for the first time. His words come rushing back to her.

   Only someone very special can do what you do. You are a treasure, Natalia. You are my treasure.

   Natalia couldn't handle hearing his voice in what could be her last minutes. She had never been this cold before. She tried to move her mind away from her past. Away from the darkness he brought her. She remembered Kaz's dark brown eyes. How he let her hand linger on his cheek even though she knows it killed him.

   She remembers how he looked when he was just fourteen. How he acted when he got his cane. She helped him build up his name. They were a team. So, why did she feel like she was going to leave him? Why did she feel like going with Inej was what she was supposed to do?

   The baleen began to bead around her lips. Water was seeping in. How far had the river taken them? How far did they have left to go?

   Bright flashes of memory sparked through Natalia's mind. The first time the Darkling told her how incredible she was, the smile she couldn't shake. Seeing Nikolai again after so long, spending months on his ship, laughing and teasing. Kaz Brekker getting his Venom a new sword after her old one was broken. A sword with a snake on the handle of it, special for his Venom. The first time she had snuck through his window.

   'You can climb?' he had asked.

   'I can throw myself around,' she corrected. 'Inej has been teaching me a few things.'

   Kaz's eyes were dark and curious, looking at her. She almost felt the breath leave her lungs as she kept eye contact with the mysterious Barrel boy.

   'Don't ever sneak through my window again.'

   She laughed and could almost see a spark of something in his eyes. She never agreed to that and continued to sneak in through his window until he started leaving his door open for her.

   Natalia took a last breath as the baleen dissolved and water flooded in. Natalia didn't know why she was fighting against the water. If she was going to die at least she'd die right alongside Kaz. At least Inej and Jesper would make it out. The water pressed at her chest, demanding she part her lips. She did so, almost happily, and the water rushed in.