Natasha Van Doren is a shadow summoner. She bides her time and resides in darkness, feared and esteemed by Ketterdam's civilians, a ghost . She cons Kaz Brekker into joining a heist he can't refuse and with thirty million kruge on the line, the crow...
" The only thing we will ever share is our hatred for one another. "
- N.V.D
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WHEN THE SCREAMING BEGAN, Natasha Van Doren couldn't help but jump.
Shrieks erupted from the corridor and floors below. For a horrible moment, she had thought she could hear Alessia's sobs. "You opened the gates," Nina said hollowly, sweaty hands cupped around her red cheeks.
All Kaz needed to do was smirk for Zenic to receive her answer.
Natasha scowled, kicking Helvar square in the back with the heel of her barefoot. "Keep moving," she hissed, jerking the door open. She watched them all file out in neat lines, shutting the door lightly and jogging to catch up with the others.
Her silks shifted painfully across her body, the sequins digging into the layers of her flesh. They felt like worms trying to dig underneath her skin - not that she truly knew the feeling. Her bare feet stuck to the sticky floor, tar inking her feet a dark blue.
"What's with the frown, princess?" Kaz smirked, pulling his warm fleece jacket closer around his shoulders. Once again, he had dropped the pair of orange glasses across his nose, looking exceptionally stupid in the disguise.
"You look like Adrian," Natasha said nonchalantly, shouldering her way through the crowd. Kaz and Natasha had fallen into step, their heads up watching the chaotic crowd, in front of them. Fallen silks were trampled beneath heels, shredded costumes adorning the floor like a colourful carpet.
"As in the blonde fool, Adrian?" Kaz snorted, picking off a scrap of silk that had fallen on his shoulder. "That boy couldn't differ right from left,"
"He was cute," Natasha shrugged, lifting her arm above the rows of head and signalling to the far-right archway. She scoffed at Kaz's annoyed look. "He had soft hair and a nice smile," she said innocently.
"He was an absolute idiot." They barged through the crowd, Kaz knocking the door open with the head of his cane. "All pretty boys have the intelligence of a toddler,"
"And I thought the only reason you didn't get girls was for those damned gloves of yours," Natasha chuckled, grabbing another shawl of silk off Kaz's shoulder and draping them across her collar.
Ignoring the sour half of her insult he laughed. "So you think I'm smart?"
"Not at all," Natasha said, jumping down the staircase two steps at a time. "But what I do think red is absolutely your colour," Kaz looked down at his front, more so the red shawl she had wrapped around his neck.
He wrenched it off, screwing the scarf in a single fist. "The only time I'll wear red is when it's your blood on my hands."
Natasha hardly blinked at the threat, more so grinning at the fury she had kindled within him. "Rietveld, if you weren't a bastard you'd make quite the poet." she grinned, jumping the last few steps and pulling the door open. "To my beloved murderer," she said, donning him a low bow.
Natasha didn't look up until he was several strides in front of her.
The sand was warm beneath her feet, the grains beading across her skin like droplets of water. She was tempted to lay in the sand and make angels. "Are you coming?" Nina called out, jumping up and down on the dunes.
Natasha jogged forth. "What's a pretty girl like you doing on a boat like ours?" A tall man stepped forth, pearl-studded guns resting on his belt. He was Zemeni, dark skin shining in low bobbing lights in the water.
"Your boat is rather pretty," Natasha grinned, flashing the boy a bright smile.
"Jesper," he said, stretching out a hand.
"Natasha."
"Are you done there?" Kaz said, walking between the two. He rested his cane between his knees, sitting down between Jesper and Natasha. He had pulled his hat across his chest, drumming his gloved fingertips along the velvet rim.
"Where's Inej and Alessia?" Natasha said voice laced with concern. She fiddled with the dials of a stolen silver watch, the metal gleaming. She jumped from her seat beside Kaz, pacing the length of the boat. Her bare feet scraped the wood panels, splinters digging into her skin.
"Guys," Inej's voice croaked. She pushed the door open - Alessia draped across her shoulder. The Suli limped forth, the Shu beside her mumbling.
Natasha swung her feet across the prow, rolling down onto the sand. "She's running a fever," Inej panted, folding onto her knees. She ran her hands through the sand, letting them drain between her fingers. After a few moments, she sprung to her feet, alert and ready.
"Thank you," Natasha said weakly, climbing up the planks with a hand from Jesper. She gently laid Alessia at the boat's bosom, stripping another layer of her silks and stretching them across her body. They were thin and practically useless but Alessia smiled between her pain, curling in the little warmth they provided.
"We need to get her to a healer," Jesper said, squatting down beside Natasha. His curls were messy, peaking out between the brim of a tall hat. She reminded him of the Mad Hatter, his smile bright, but also intimidating.
"Nina's got a few friends by The Exchange," Natasha said, eyes still not meeting his. She cupped her hands around a tin can full of water, edging it near Alessia's raw lips.
The Shu girl moaned. She complained. She wept. But in the end, she coughed down half a tin, crumbling a dry biscuit in her palm and licking off the crumbs.
Nina was sat by the girl's side, healing the minor injuries. Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa sat cross-legged atop a stack of crates, head bowed and hands across their lips. An unknown feeling bulleted through Natasha's chest as she turned back around.
Nina Zenic was surprisingly good.
Her ribs had been cracked into place, her chest no longer resembling the broken walls of a labyrinth. Alessia's limp were plump, scars stretching across the tissue.
Natasha Van Doren had remembered Alessia Ivanov as the prettiest girl in Noyvi Zem. Even though the blistered skin and ropes of scars her beauty bled through: that's all scars were, reminders of where we had been.
She traced gentle fingers across Alessia's jaw, tilting her head back to help Nina fix the minor nicks in her alabaster skin.
The waves washed calmly against the wooden planks of the ship, Jesper trailing between manning the ship and the bedside of Ivanov.
"She'll make it," he said, resting a large hand on her shoulder. She reached up to rest a small delicate hand on his, smiling at him sadly.
"I hope so."
"Jesper, get back to your station," Kaz Brekker snapped. He was on his feet in an instant, his wraith faithfully by his side. The words of Nina washed through her mind -They should just shut up and make out,"
They were made for each other, Natasha thought darkly. She twisted a roll of cotton around Alessia's foot roughly, knotting the dressing tighter than she should.
"Careful there," Kaz said, looming across her shoulder. "You're hurting our little Shu friend."
"Our?" Natasha mocked, dripping an awful smelling essence onto a large cut on Ivanov's back. She watched the skin hiss and crackle like thunder coolly, not allowing Kaz satisfaction. "The only thing we will ever share is our hatred for one another."
Kaz Brekker nodded, pursing his lips. "The first truth you've spoken in a long time, darkling," he rasped coldly, turning back to Inej.
His voice made her want to cry.
A/N
- Here's an early chapter for you guys! If you enjoyed please vote and comment <3
