𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃
Brynn and her friends have just pulled off an impossible heist-just to be put back in the middle of a war. And with so many things on the line, there's no guarantee that they'll make it out alive, especially Brynn. But s...
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CHAPTER 8
No Matter What
Kaz could tell when Brynn started to feel the aches. Her breathing was labored, her steps short and small. But Brynn walked into the tomb on Black Veil with her head held high, a smile on her face, taking every one of the crew's hugs with minimal wincing.
He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she limped over to Sasha, folding into a hug filled with as much love as possible for the two. Sisters, united at last. But Kaz had more important things to do.
Rapping his cane on the stone floor, he silenced everyone in the tomb. "If everyone is done cuddling, we have a job to do."
"Hold up," said Jesper. "We're not talking about the job until we figure out what those things were on the Stave."
Sasha helped Brynn over to the rest of them. "What things?" the younger Adala asked.
"Did you miss half the Stave blowing up?"
"We saw the bomb at the White Rose go off," said Sasha. "But Inej and I didn't stick around for the rest of it."
Jesper nodded sagely. "That was your mistake. If you'd stuck around, you could have nearly been killed by a Shu guy with wings."
She snorted. "Mistake? Sounds like I made the right decision."
"With wings?" wondered Brynn, her voice raspy. "I ran into a Shu woman on...something. Her skin looked weird, like it'd been tampered with."
"What happened?" demanded Sasha protectively, a wrinkle in between her eyebrows.
"She handled it," Kaz said. "But Brynn couldn't control them. Her power didn't work."
"It worked enough," argued Brynn. "She's dead now, just in case anyone was wondering."
Jesper looked over at her. "You don't look too good, Brynn."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
Sasha elbowed her softly. "Brynn," she said, "you should go lay down."
Brynn looked like she was about to argue again, then sucked in a sharp breath. She nodded, letting Sasha lead her over to the corner of the tomb, where a pile of blankets had been laid out for her. Kaz saw her wince as she sat down on the hard ground, ignoring the conversations around him.
Her lips moved, her voice so quiet that only Sasha would be able to hear. Sasha smiled and nodded, sitting back with Brynn's hand clasped in her own. Then a soft tune escaped her lips, lovely and sad.
