Blood In The Water ~ Shadow & Bone

13

Marina sighed as she ducked into Nikolai's quarters, going straight to the cabinet to pull out a towel. Her next stop was the table at the side of the room, where she grabbed a bottle of wine as Nikolai ducked in and closed the door behind him. He glanced at the items in her hands and sighed.

"Love..," he muttered. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "There was something wrong, what happened?" She sighed and set the bottle down on the desk, shaking her head.

"It's not bad, just a scratch."

"Show me." She stopped as she met his eye. For a moment the two were both still, staring at one another, each daring the other to back down. In the end, the pleading in his eyes caused her to give in, as she always did. She sighed and sat on the edge of the desk, pulling her sleeve up her arm and extending her hand to him. He stepped forward, stopping in front of her as his eyes trailed across the long scratch that cascaded off of her palm and down part of her forearm. He sighed and met her eye again.

"Why didn't you say earlier?" he asked. "I can find Aurelie, she can fix it." She shook her head quickly, furrowing her brows as she picked up the bottle of wine and pulled off the cap.

"I don't want her to fix it," she told him. "It's nothing major, but it is deep enough to scar. At least a bit." She took a quick sip of the drink and smiled, placing the towel atop the bottle as she wet it. "Scars are only stories. This one's about the bleeding Sea Whip, I'd like to keep it." He arched a brow with a small smile.

"You'd like to keep it?" he repeated. She grinned and nodded, focusing her eyes on the wound as she dabbed at it with the wine-soaked towel.

"It's an old mindset I shared with someone."

"Someone from home?" She paused but shook her head.

"From the Little Palace." As he watched her quick and half-efforted movements, he shook his head, taking the towel from her hands.

"You're horrible at this. If you won't let Aurelie help you, at least let me." She dropped her hands to her sides without a second thought, knowing fully there was no point in arguing with him. With gentle hands, slow in contrast to her rushed motions, he brushed the towel over her arm, carefully wiping the dried blood from her skin. For only a moment, he stepped away, returning quickly with a roll of carefully wrapped bandages, something she distinctly remembered doing for him when she found that he couldn't roll bandages for the life of him.

While his eyes remained fixed on her wound as he precisely wrapped it, her eyes were fixed on him. On his face, on the way his brow furrowed slightly, and the way he chewed on the corner of his lip when he focused.

As he tied off the bandage, he looked up at her, smiling when he realized she was already watching him. She removed one of her hands from the edge of the desk, brushing a gold curl out of his eyes that had fallen while he focused. She smiled before pecking his lips lightly and resting her forehead against his. Her eyes fell closed as she allowed herself to sit in that moment of tranquility, alone with her prince.

"Thank you," she murmured. He nodded gently, careful not to move her.

"Of course. This is what I'm here for."

🜄

The deck was silent and somber as the crew and their guests stood in the darkness. They all felt the loss of their crewmates. Even Mal and Alina were withdrawn as their hands lay clasped in front of them. Though they didn't know the people lost, they knew loss, and that was enough for them to understand the emotionalism of the moment.

"We hold ourselves bound to this mission," Nikolai said softly, stepping forward. "To ensure that our fallen crew did not die in vain. And we honor the ultimate sacrifice that they made in our quest to find the Sea Whip. Let us bow our heads for the crew lost today." As a group, their heads were lowered, and Marina felt Aurelie take her hand gently. She wound their fingers together, wordlessly squeezing her hand gently. After a brief pause, Nikolai spoke again. "Let the sea carry them to a safe harbor, and may the Saints receive them on a brighter shore." Marina nodded slowly, and the crew echoed his words back. As he lifted his head, his eyes found Alina, and he nodded. "Alina, we're ready."

He stepped back next to Marina as Miradi moved up to meet Alina. Nikolai glanced down at Aurelie and Marina's conjoined hands and sighed, rubbing his lover's back gently. His touch made her relax only slightly, and he leaned down a bit to speak quietly.

"Do you believe this will work?" he inquired softly. She sighed, and she was quiet for a moment.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know what else we can do if it doesn't." He nodded, and the two of them turned their attention to the Sun Summoner as the first scale was welded into her arm.

Alina gasped as the amplifier was fused. From the distance, Marina could just see her eyes darting around anxiously before she settled back down. Miradi looked up at her with worried eyes.

"Are you all right?" Alina didn't answer for a moment but eventually nodded.

"I'm fine," she breathed. "Second scale, please." Miradi hesitated but gently lowered the second scale onto her arm, fusing it with her as she had done with the first. Alina's entire body tensed, and light drifted off of her for everyone to see. It was gentle for a moment before rushing off of her in violent beams.

Nikolai stepped forward slightly, shielding his eyes as his body shielding Marina and Aurelie. Marina's hand found the back of his coat as she faintly heard Mal calling out for Alina. As the light died down, Marina averted her eyes from the pair, not wanting to see them kissing (both because she believed it to be private and also was slightly uncomfortable).

Nikolai cleared his throat, stepping away from the girls.

"Well then," he muttered. He shrugged his shoulders. "Where to now, Summoner?" She glanced up at Mal, then back at Nikolai, nodding.

"East Ravka," she instructed. "Then the Fold."

Marina smiled, meeting Nikolai's mischievous gaze as he glanced her way.