𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒅 || 𝐊𝐚𝐳 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐗 𝐎𝐂

𝑵𝒐 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆

Kaz POV

"Take cover!" Wylan yells as he throws a bomb in the air.

I throw myself at the walls of our makeshift cadge. I see Emris flatten herself to the ground a few paces from me. Idiot. I grab her and drag her towards me. Emris seems to understand as she places her hands over her ears and grimaces into my chest. As the bomb explodes I shift myself so I cover her. Shards of ice sting my back but other than that I am unscathed. I look down and see Emris shaking. Out of instinct I reach for her hands and pull them from her face. Her warmth radiates onto me like the sun.

Emris ceases shaking and she pulls her coat tighter around her. She hardly spares me a glance before walking over to a sobbing Zennik. Emris puts her hand on Zennik's shoulder and comforts her as the boy's life drains from his eyes.

It takes me a moment to réalisé. No Jordie. I spare a confused glance at Emris as I look down at my gloved hands. Is he gone? I think. Do I want him gone? I shove the thoughts from my mind as I work.

"Hey Wylan, got another bomb to get us out?" I look over at the boy with red curls and he begins to rummage through his bag.

"Right here."

"Good. Everyone against that far wall. Wylan, blow us a door."

"Yeah demo man." Jesper teases as he nudges the boy. Wylan blushes profusely and moves to blow it up.

Nina still sobs next to the dead boy. Emris puts a comforting hand on her shoulder and Helvar comes over to help. That only sends Zennik into an angry frenzy. Emris tries to calm the girl down with little success.

"Enough. If we are going to go home not in caskets, I suggest you shove it up your ass and get along." I yell at the pair. "Now go get on the damn wall." The two mumble curses and I feel Emris brush my side.

I look down at her and her skin radiates warm honey-like completion. Her eyes are the color of the sun rays surrounding us. Beautiful but deadly. But her eyes have flecks of gold around her iris, like the gold of money. Her brown locks are pulled back in a delicate braid. It's hard to believe she was a drunk, blubbering mess not twenty-four hours ago.

"That's one way to break up a party." Emris grins.

"You too, Arcane," I say getting in her face. "Get your ass on the wall." I point and she stiffens her body. She salutes me before walking away.

"Sir, yes sir." She says with a grin. I can never tell if that girl just almost died or got gifted a puppy.

We line up on the far ice wall and wait for Wylan to set the bomb off. After a few minutes, Emris leans forward. I take her shoulder and pin it against the wall.

"Would you like me to restrain you to the wall?" I ask.

"You would like that wouldn't you?" I am thankful for the freezing temperatures right now. For she cannot see the blush forming on my cheeks. "Wylan when is this thing supposed to go off?" She asks, crossing her arms.

"Give it a second." Wylan pleads. "Get ready."

Moments after Wylan speaks the bomb goes off. Although we are a good distance away the Bomb still sends my head flying into the wall. Shards of ice slice open my cheeks. As the snow clears I see that the wall has come down.

"It got us out, that's for sure," I say, dusting debris off my coat.

"That's a thank you, in Kaz," Jesper says with a grin. I roll my eyes and continue up the path.

Soon the ice turns into a shrubbery-filled forest. We continue in silence except for the occasional burst of songs from Jesper and Emris. The two sing sea shanties and tales of wood sprites as we trudge through the forest.

"Aren't you going to tell them to shut up, Kaz?" Zennik asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I would if it would do anything," I say.

"Exactly," Emris says before beginning another shanty for her and Jesper to sing along to.

The gentle hull of her voice is the only thing that's keeping me sane. The birds chirp their melodies back to them. That makes it a game. Emris has settled for humming the melody while Jesper belts the lyrics. My hands turn to ice around my cane and my leg aches. I grunt as a vine catches my leg and pulls it. Emris spares me a concerned glance before going back to humming.

"I feel like a person for a moment of my life. But you don't know what hell you put me through." I look back at her and she has her eyes on the ground. "To have someone kiss the skin you scarred. To feel your weight in arms Id never use. It's the god that heroine prays to."

She finishes the song and the woods seem to have quieted. The birds have gone silent as they process her lyrics. After a few moments, the birds sing the song back to her. We listen to the birds singing and mixing up Emris's song into the city.

Those birds don't do her voice justice.

Word Count: 910