𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 || 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘞𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸 (2) ✓

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

Revna's POV:

My body ached and felt stiff, hating me for my choice to rest my head. I sat up slowly, trying to ignore the pain shooting up my back. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ease some of the soreness from where it was crooked up. The pain was replaced by a sudden chill, frost on my breath every time I breathed.

Standing to my feet, I rummaged through my duffel bag and pulled out the thickest coat I could find. I looked over towards Peter, the blankets kicked down at the end of his feet and the poor boy was shivering. I walked over and pulled the covers up under his chin, seeing a small smile curl up his lips.

When everything seemed quiet, I made my way downstairs into the main floor of the inn. The fire in the center of the room was dying. The coals of the wood a burnt orange color and I noticed the innkeeper woman from last night was wiping down the small bar counter.

"Тебе нужно больше древесины? (Do you need more wood?)." I asked the older woman softly, seeing her stiffen before looking up at me. I gestured towards the fire.

"Ты требуешь оплаты? (You request payment?)." She asked.

I shook my head no and the woman grinned, holding up her finger to tell me to stay put. She ducked down behind the counter and when she stood back up, she had a bottle of liquor in her hands. She tossed it to me and I caught it swiftly.

The bottle was clear and there was no label, so it was hard telling when kind of alcohol, or drink this was. The color was brown, a dark caramelized color. Rum? Whiskey? Bourbon? I nodded my head in thanks before leaving the inn.

I kept my head down for the most part, not wanting the bitter winds to freeze my face. My mind started racing the more I walked as I lost myself in my thoughts. How could Natalia just believe that I would cheat on her? I mean did she really think I would kiss another woman? I felt like her being mad was stupid and unnecessary. But she was entitled to feel how she was feeling. Even if I didn't understand why she felt that way.

I kept walking for a while , the bottle becoming heavy in my hand before I stopped, leaning against the railing and looking over the frozen lake. The snow settled upon some of it like a thin blanket, making it even darker underneath. Staring at the bottle, I had an inner debate with myself. Should I? Why not. I had nothing more to lose.

With a sigh I popped off the cork and sucked in a breath, gathering my courage before taking a swig. The liquid settled on my tongue, igniting all of my taste buds before I swallowed. The liquid went down my throat smoothly and warmed my belly. The taste was something I couldn't quite pinpoint. Sometimes I would get hints of cinnamon, other times a faded caramel. Whatever was in here, it was delicious.

I took another sip, the bitter winds blowing past me and I swallowed, pulling my coat closer to my body. Other times I wouldn't mind the cold, I'd welcome it. But today I didn't like the way the frost caressed my skin.

I went to take another sip, tossing my head back, when the glass bottle shattered in my hand. The liquor spilled on me and on the cement, glass shards slicing into my hand as they danced with the drops of my blood onto the ground.

"Motherfucker." I hissed lowly, looking around trying to spot the shooter. I looked to my right, and as soon as I did, I was punched right in the nose. I stumbled back, blood trickling down and I tasted it on my lips.

I wiped the blood from under my nose, glaring at the woman in front of me. She wore warm clothes, a cream fur coat with hints of black fur throughout it, some leather pants with some tall black boots. Strapped to her left thigh was a knife holster, and my suspicions were confirmed when she pulled out a long blade.

The woman charged me and I ducked under one of her swings, punching her in the gut, then leaping back when she advanced. I swung, hitting her across the jaw.

The brunette brought the large knife down upon me and I blocked it with my metal arm. The blade cut through my coat and lodged itself in my arm. I punched her in the face, not wasting anytime. I swung her leg out from under her and followed her momentum until she was on the ground. My hand was around her throat as I slammed her head back against the hard ground, the delicate snow falling around us.

"Кто ты? (Who are you?)." I snarled.

The woman laughed, showing me her blood stained teeth, "Друг детства. (A childhood friend.)."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, tired of the games as I squeezed her throat, "Кто тебя послал? (Who sent you?)."

The woman smirked, "Привари. Страх. Боль. (Instill. Fear. Pain.)."

I growled, slamming her head back down on the ground. Her eyes became low until they fluttered closed. I stood to my feet, ripping the blade from my arm and tossing it far to the side. Why were redroom agents after me? How was anyone from that facility still alive?

I looked back towards the woman to see her charging me, and when she tackled me she sent us both over the railing and on top of the frozen lake. I rolled away from her, standing to my feet when the ice started to crack. The woman didn't care, she lunged for me again and both of us fell into the frozen depths.

All of my air was knocked out of me as the cold seeped into my bones and made the tips of my fingers turn blue. I broke the surface, gasping for air before I was pulled back under, swallowing large amounts of water.

I kicked the woman in the face, hissing when she bit my leg hard. Both of us fought underneath the ice, the air running low and it was only a matter of time before I began drowning. I pulled her into me, and made quick work of snapping her neck, watching her body sink towards the bottom before I broke through the hole on the ice, pulling myself out and laying on the solid ground.

Who was leading the operation now? Who was sending people to kill me and how did they know where I was? Was it the government? I mean they wanted to split Natalia and I up for a reason, but what Coincidence that she was a redroom agent too.

My body was cold and my clothes were sopping wet, my hair sticking to my forehead and I knew I needed to get inside and get warm before I froze.

I sucked in a breath, sitting up quickly when the realization dawned on me, "Peter."

Sprinting back to the inn, the innkeeper stopped me and told me a note had come for me. I grabbed it, sprinting to Peter and my room, sighing in relief when he was still sleeping peacefully. Good. He didn't look harmed.

Looking down at the crumpled note in my hand, I undid it so I could read the words, my heart stopping in my chest.

Congrats. You moved up on the threat list.

You know who.

a/n: apologies for any mistakes. only four chapters left... thoughts? thanks for reading! until next Thursday <3