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aoibhinnslater04 · 1 month

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 8: Hiding in the shadows

Word count: 2352

Trigger warnings: mind control, kidnapping

Next chapter I'm planning is the parley, and then gonna have an interlude where I reveal the villains- any guesses?

Nina wasn’t happy. First, Kaz woke her up an hour earlier than she planned on getting up, so he already wasn’t off to a good start. Second, he was now late to the very meeting he had demanded she attended.

But most of the time he understood the consequences for disturbing her sleep, so she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt before she nailed his balls to his bed so, one way or another, he wouldn’t wake her again in a hurry. And who knows, that sleep deprived bastard could probably do with being stuck to the bed for a bit.

Just as she was imagining this, the smell of waffles and chocolate drifted over to her. She sniffed the air, her nose high, before she heard, deadpan, “figures you would have your own secret power, Zenik. Only you would smell breakfast before I get here.”

Nina gave a half hearted shrug. “Figures you wouldn’t dare disturb me this early without breakfast, Brekker.”

Jesper nudged her gently. “No one with sense would wake you up without having breakfast, love, if they value their lives. But considering I happen to know both you and Wylan were up late with Kaz, maybe we should get this over with as soon as Inej gets here, hm?”

He directed this last part at Kaz, but Kaz shook his head instantly. “No. No Inej. I think… I think she’s being controlled by Rhysand.”

A few things happened directly after this statement. Nina sunk into the couch behind her, her chewing slowing down, her eyes going wide. Wylan and Matthias started arguing with Kaz, no WAY would Inej be taken over, they would have realised if she had been and fixed it, he’s made a mistake. But Jesper… he just stood there. His face turned pale, and Nina realised, with sudden alarm and a quick check of his pulse, that he was about to have a panic attack and he didn’t even realise it. So she put down her waffles, grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room as his breathing quickened, pulling him into her room and pushing him down on her bed before his legs gave out first.

She then squatted before him, bracing against his legs and started exaggerating her breathing so he would start to follow. At first, she wasn’t sure he would be able to, as he looked like he was struggling to inhale at all. But she persevered, squeezing his legs gently to get him to look at her. And then they sat there, silently, until Jesper’s breathing matched Nina’s tempo, and they had both stopped shaking.

~~~~~

Azriel was pissed. He really did not want to go with Inej to find out information on this new couple. Rhys had seemed to find it curious that Brekker had such an interest in them, especially with all that was going on between both gangs currently. They must appear a risk, then. The only reason he was tolerating Inej right now was because Rhys told her to obey Azriel, and she would.

Otherwise it would make him feel ill, working with a Crow. Everything they had done to his family since they arrived, taking Nyx, taking Truth-Teller, it was all too much. Which reminded him-”When you go back to the Crow Club tonight,” he said, turning to whisper to Inej, “make sure to grab the dagger you stole and bring it back to us tonight.”

The girl nodded, her face calm and blank. Azriel reckoned she was hardly taking in anything, and sighed inwardly before turning back to the house. Great. What was the use in her being here when she was this useless to him?

But he didn’t have time to think about it right now- they needed to get inside and get as much information as possible before he had to make sure Inej got back ok to the Crow Club and that she knew what she could say without giving too much information.

As soon as he was positive that the guards had passed for their rotational shift, he hissed at Inej to follow him and ran. He hated being exposed, amongst ash trees of all things. He couldn’t help a little shudder of dread, although he doubted it meant anything. The only people who probably recognised they were Fae yet were the Crows, and there was practically no information out on what hurt Fae, no matter what was found on the Court of Dreams themselves. It was all oh, iron! Or, Fae can’t lie! The only thing possibly true they could find would be on ash trees, but unless they wanted to go hacking down trees in this garden they would struggle to find ash. And considering they wanted to learn about these people he doubted they would draw attention to themselves.

He told Inej to focus on the downstairs, while he flew up to a balcony and picked the lock on the door. As soon as he got inside he started feeling funny. No doubt a delayed reaction to the ash, he told himself, as he forced his legs to move forward. All he had to do was get information, get Inej, and get out.But when he sank to the ground, he got the strange sense that it mightn’t be that easy after all.

~~~~~

Wylan didn’t know what to expect when he saw the incoming call from Inej. He figured Rhysand had told her to call one of the Crows who mightn’t know her as well, and while he and Inej had a good friendship, it would never be close to what she had with Nina or Jesper, and he doubted anyone would ever know her quite as well as Kaz. So that left her with either Wylan or Matthias, and Matthias was far too suspicious. He was sure Inej knew it too, so that left her with Wylan. The gullible one. Well, she probably wouldn’t phrase it like that, she was too kind, but Wylan was the obvious choice. He called the other Crows into the room quickly, before picking up.

They could hear Inej breathing before anything else, as though she was out of breath. “Wylan?” she said quietly. Wylan gulped when the other Crows looked at him expectantly. “Heyyy Inej,” he choked out, suddenly nervous. “What’s up…girlfriend?” He saw Kaz glower at him, Jesper put his head in his hands, Nina looked away with a hint of laughter on her face. Matthias stood over him, stoic as always.

Well, if she didn’t think they suspected anything, she likely did now. Wylan could act. He knew he could. It had worked at the auction last month. But everything was different without Inej, or a solid plan. They’ve never had to work against her before, and she knew them. If Rhysand decided to get her opinion on anything, it could end really badly. Hopefully he wasn’t the trusting type.

“Wylan I need you to listen, I don’t know how long I have,” she whispered. They all tensed, leaning towards the phone. She didn’t sound possessed.

“I’m being controlled by Rhysand. He got me the other night, when I was going to spy on the new house. I’m here now. Azriel is upstairs, he could come down any second. I need help. I don’t think I will stay free when I leave. So I need you, “she cuts off for a minute with a small sob, before continuing, voice shaking, “I need you to find some way to fix this properly. Nothing feels real anymore. I don’t even know if I’m actually talking to you or if this is a trick to see what I would do. I’m so, so scared.” And here she properly started to cry, each sob making Kaz flinch. Wylan spoke up, the others too in shock to say anything. “We’ve got you Inej, don’t worry. We’ll fix this. One way or another.”

They all looked at each other, coming to some silent agreement. This cat-and-mouse game they had going was at an end. Time for a parley. Let’s see what Rhysand and his gang wanted once and for all.

~~~~~

Inej gave herself a minute to cry before standing up after her phone call with Wylan. And, she assumed, the other Crows. She thought Kaz knew her too well to miss whatever Rhysand had her do, or say. But honestly, at this point, she was just ready to give up. She couldn’t stay here forever, although the thought of leaving and possibly being put under his spell again made her knees buckle in fear. She took in a few breaths, remembering, at least she got through to the Crows. They would help. They wouldn’t leave her with them. But… maybe they would? Maybe it, she, was too much hassle to spend their time on?

No.

That was Rhysand talking, it had to be.

Maybe she was broken. Maybe he had taken what was left of her heart and tore it to shreds, as well as her mind. But she needed to believe in them. She wasn’t sure she could believe in herself anymore.

She heard a soft voice, singing to a crying baby, as well as a few men muttering. More guards, probably. She hadn’t heard anything about them having a baby, she was sure. But clearly the people of the house were close, and she couldn’t let them catch her. Rhysand hadn’t hurt her physically, yet, at least. She wasn’t sure which was the lesser of the two evils yet, but she would rather stick with the devil she knew. Hopefully he wouldn’t realise she had broken free, so she wouldn’t need to tell him. Although she couldn’t deny how much her head and heart were aching, right now. Maybe it would be best… She didn’t hurt so much when he was in control. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand it.

As she was thinking this, disgusted with herself, she was making her way upstairs. Hopefully Azriel didn’t overhear her conversation. Either way…

She gasped before covering her mouth. Azriel was on the floor, his face pale and feverish, his chest hardly moving. She knelt before him, checking his temperature, before pulling off his top. She could see he was awake, but he was really struggling to open his eyes. She didn’t understand what had happened in the ten minutes they had been apart, but she didn’t want to leave him here. Something in here was sickening him, she didn’t know what, and despite their…issues… she couldn’t bring herself to leave him to die. She grabbed his muscular body and heaved, dragging him with her. It was almost impossible, but she persevered, wiping the sweat from her brow. She lugged him to the balcony, barely pausing to consider before she hauled him over it. It wasn’t too far, he would survive, if with a few bruises, she reckoned.

Luckily, by the time she had climbed down a pipe beside it, his eyes were opening and he was conscious. She paused to help him up, about to help him across the lawn, before he put out a hand to stop her. She froze, watching as the shadows came towards them, before Azriel was pulling her against the wall. A second later, two guards rounded a far off corner, guns in hand. Had they gone when she tried to go, they would both have been shot. Once they passed, they both staggered to the gap in the hedge across the garden with trees and through it.

Azriel looked at her, his brain not seeming to comprehend the last few minutes. “You… you shouldn’t have been able to do that. Not without me telling you to. Not that I’m complaining, you saved my ass, but...”

Inej started shaking, she didn’t know what to say, but luckily a wave of calmness came over her then, and she breathed out while she waited for Rhysand to take over. He would explain.

~~~~~

Rhys dragged a hand through his unruly hair. Nothing had worked out during Azriel and Inej’s job today. And, it looked like he couldn’t send either of them back too, because Az blacked out and Inej called her friends for help. So…shit.

He had looked through her mind, but nothing stuck out to him, bar the woman singing to the child. He had no idea what might have affected Az like that either, The ash wouldn’t affect him from inside the house, and the damn thing would have had to be built with Faebane to have such a strong effect. He couldn’t see any of the blue stones either in her memory, and they would have known if there was so much Faebane here anyway. But…

“Feyre!” He called to his mate. She came into the room where he was with Inej, a half finished smoke bomb in her hand. “What Rhys, I’m busy,” she replied, not even looking at Inej. He noticed she had struggled to look towards the girl ever since she had learned about her past, but he ignored it right now. “I’ve looked at her memories from today, but did you hear anything about these women having a child?”

Mor, who happened to be walking past, stuck her head in. “What do you mean? It’s a house with two women, and a shit ton of security. No child. Me or Amren would have discovered it by now.”

“Then I want to show you both what I saw,” he responded. They paused while he showed them Inej’s memory. And Feyre began to sob. “That’s Nyx,” she whispered. “I feel like I know that other voice too, but…That is definitely Nyx’s cry.”

Mor reached forward to hold Feyre’s hand, tears in her own eyes too. “What do you want us to do, Rhys,” she said, her voice cracking a little.

Rhys paused for a second. Inej’s cover had been blown. It was only a matter of time…

“Call Kaz Brekker. Let’s see if we can come to some sort of agreement.”

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aoibhinnslater04 · 1 month

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I adore all interaction sm honestly so nice on rough days reading comments and knowing people like what ur doing is so motivating

No one reblogs on tumblr anymore.

No one leaves comments on Ao3 anymore.

Seriously people the lack of fandom interaction these days makes me genuinely depressed, it never used to be like this, makes me wonder what's the point of coming online to do anything anymore.

Reblog a post so other people can see it.

Leave a comment so the author doesn't feel like giving up.

Fandom cannot live on Likes or Kudos alone.

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aoibhinnslater04 · 2 months

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 7: Who needs to be in control?

NGL, this was a hard chapter to write. But I'm dropping a few hints now about the *real* villains, so any guesses?!

(I'll give another hint; there are two villains, and we don't really get to see them together, even though they are in the same series)

(Also some bad guys from the other series making a little gang)

Also planning a little interlude maybe in a couple of chapters to get the villains' side, if that sounds interesting?

Anyways: enjoy!

Word count:1665

TW: just rlly a bit of Kaz adoring Inej, fights, dark!Rhys and mind control

Wylan couldn’t focus. Inej was still not back, and he’d finally gotten Jesper asleep. He knew both of them were struggling. Hell, he couldn’t even be surprised. He had noticed the way Inej had flinched from him earlier when they were talking on the roof. He heard Inej and Jesper wake from nightmares with a shout from Jespers room, where they had both taken to sleeping on the floor, as though the soft beds would suffocate them. He also noticed that the two of them had almost distanced themselves from anyone else, as if they were scared it was an illusion and they would wake up to still be stuck, with Rhysand a puppet master, holding their strings and making them dance. It almost made him scarier that he didn’t have a last name, or at least none they knew of. And Wylan, who with the help of Nina, now knew plenty, about the entire Inner Circle. Of the Night Court. From Prythian.

It had infuriated them all for a while, that no information could be found at all their usual sources. But Wylan had realised as they were taping up the Scarred One, Azriel (spymaster shadowsinger to at least two High Lords of the Night Court- no wonder he could sneak up on Kaz and Inej) that there were only so many kinds of mythic humanoids that had bat wings. So research was done, and now he was just getting ready to tell Kaz. Nina was joining them, to point out specific areas in the books and articles they had found, each more vague than the last, but it was something.

They even had newer articles, posted by some very mistrusting human Queens, who had explained how Rhysand and Feyre Archeron (once human, now High Lady, deceased parents-although reports about her mother’s death were very vague- and Fae sisters) had tried to manipulate them into handing over a Book that could bring down the wall between Prythian and the human lands(across the ocean- far beyond where Zoya ruled). The Queens had also posted a letter sent to them by Rhysand pleading with them for help. Wylan wasn’t sure how much of this was true though, as apparently these Queens then joined forces with another Fae, the King of Hybern, as they wanted to be young and beautiful forever. How come authority figures could never fully be trusted? He knew his own father had done some work with these Queens too, so everything they said was taken with a pinch of salt.

The Inner Circle of Rhysand’s court thought themselves better because they had information on the Crows. Well, two can play at this game.

~~~~~

Kaz couldn’t figure out where Inej had gone. It had been hours and she still wasn’t back. He kept thinking he heard a noise at the window when Wylan and Nina were presenting, but of course Inej would never make a noise on entry. She may have only been able to sneak up on him once, but it never stopped her from trying. He may only see her when she wanted him to, but he always knew when she was there. Always. Let her keep herself in shadows, if it was what she wished for. Inej wore it best, like a custom made outfit. But he just wished she would let him know she had made it home safely.

He had known, when he sent Wylan to her, that maybe this was pushing her too quickly, maybe it was too soon, especially after what they had done to the shadowsinger, of course it made sense for Rhysand to push back quickly. But this new couple- two women- they also seemed like they would be an issue. They had moved in barely after the Night Court had, and by all accounts they were unpleasant, but very mysterious. No one knew who they were or why they had come, so he sent the person he trusted most to figure some of that out. To him, it didn’t really matter why Inej hadn’t come back to him yet, only that she HAD come back. They were just two more people that he wanted his Wraith to avoid, two more people on a long list of people he was prepared to call an enemy. He was keeping the rest of the Dregs out of this current business, he only wanted those he was closest to involved. If anyone else got involved, he would never realise if they were being controlled.With his Crows… he stood a chance.

He felt a sudden shift behind him and whirled around, using his cane for support. “Inej!” he exclaimed, trying to stop himself from stepping forward, from scanning her head to toe for injury. She had two knives drawn where she stood, as though contemplating stabbing him through. Oh she was definitely mad. He found himself almost ok with that thought, because at least she got back alive. Just as he was thinking that, she sheathed them and turned away, as though not able to face him, before speaking.

“There was more security than I was prepared for tonight. I’m planning on going back tomorrow night, I got a good sense of the rotations while I was observing. Does that work with whenever our next move against Rhysand will be?”

“Of course,” he responded, his voice rough, as though something was stuck in his throat.”I just want to get some information on them first, so we can decide what kind of people these are. No reason to get stuck in two wars at once. What, are you looking for an excuse to go back after Rhysand? I think we hit him pretty hard with the last one, let’s see how he reacts first. No reason to keep going at him without first knowing his capabilities.”

She turned to face him, her face filled with anger. “And what if he just keeps turning up with more weapons?! We should attack while he’s down, get him off this chessboard for good!”

That was… an odd way to phrase it. He had tried to teach her chess before, but she never really got into it. “It’s so much to remember!” she had said then, laughing as the sun kissed her face, her head tilted back. “And you cheat, Kaz!” Kaz had denied it, of course, keeping his hat over his face to hide his small smile. Just because she knew him better than anyone else didn’t mean she had to know all his secrets. What others called cheating, he called winning. Especially when he was taking their kruge as a trophy.

He shook his head slightly as if to brush away the memory. “Inej,” he said slowly. “They are stronger, and have better abilities than we do. Our strength,” and here, he moved slightly closer, as her head tilted to meet his gaze,”is in waiting. Lions don’t catch prey by moving aimlessly. They watch, and they prepare, and only when the prey is at it’s most vulnerable do they lunge. That’s why they are the kings. And we, Inej, are kings in our own right. This Barrel? It’s ours. And we do what we have to to exile those that scorn us.”

He thought he spotted another flash of rage, before she turned swiftly. “Rhysand basically IS a king, Kaz. He’s a High Lord, the MOST powerful High Lord. We don’t stand a chance unless we act soon.”

And as she walked out, all Kaz could think about was where on earth Inej heard that about Rhysand. Because Wylan and Nina went to bed hours ago, and he was the only other person who knew this yet. A feeling of dread started to settle in his stomach as he shut the door behind her and turned the key.

~~~~~

Rhys sighed as Inej finally closed her eyes and he could relax his grip on her a little. Clearly he had overestimated how much sway she held over Brekker, but if he pushed any further, he might have realised that Rhys was controlling her. He needed to think of the long game. They both knew Inej after all (even though Rhys arguably knew her better after spending so much time in her head) and if Brekker realised, well, they lost another advantage. Bad enough losing the hostages the first time, but this time he had linked himself so firmly to Inej she mightn’t be able to get rid of him until he let her go. He wouldn’t make the same mistake of underestimating Brekker again.

It was quite infuriating to know that Brekker had put Inej back working though. He would have to waste time letting her do her Wraith-work before going back to the Crow Club, or he would suspect something. But he had already assigned Azriel to go with her. They were two sides of the same coin, and hopefully their work would compliment each others. He had to admit, he was curious about this new couple too. They seemed quite elusive, none of his Circle had even caught sight of them yet. Mor couldn’t find any information online about them either, which was also unusual. But he had faith in Azriel, and even a bit in Inej too. He might feel generous enough to give Brekker some correct facts too… if Rhys felt it would benefit himself too, of course. The couple certainly seemed aware of the Fae, though, if the ash trees were any indication. They might be a problem. But…one issue at a time.

He settled down beside Feyre, who was tossing and turning, still struggling to sleep without Nyx being home. He wrapped his wing around her and sent a wave of soothing darkness over her to calm her mind. He needed everyone to be at their top form if they were going to bring down hellfire over Brekker to get their son back, of course…

#acotar #feysand #acomaf #feyre #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #six of crows #azriel #netflix shadow and bone #azriel shadowsinger #cassian #rhysand #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #nesta archeron #nesta x cassian

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aoibhinnslater04 · 2 months

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SOC x ACOTAR Chapter list

#acotar #feysand #feyre #acomaf #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #six of crows #azriel #netflix shadow and bone #azriel shadowsinger #cassian #nesta #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar

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aoibhinnslater04 · 2 months

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 6: Let it all burn

Word count: 2524

OK so I know it's been a while again, but this is a long chapter so hopefully ye enjoy!

I wanted a bit of dark Rhys, so...

Trigger warnings: mind control, talks of su!c!de, self h@rm, talk of t0rture

Cassian was ready to kill someone. This wasn’t just an attack on Az, who was still sitting with a face of stone in front of Mor as she tried to gently peel away the duct tape from his wings. He hadn’t said a word since they got back home, and no one seemed to know how to comfort him. It wasn’t an attack just on Rhys or Feyre either, the latter on her knees, the ingredients for strong explosives in front of her as she mindlessly kept mixing. She was so torn up about where Nyx was it was all Rhys could do to keep her from storming out there and attacking the Crow Club without a plan.

Cass was already wishing he had never heard about Ketterdam, and he suspected most of his family felt the same. It was all too much. This gang was made up of kids, for fucks sake! And somehow they were still running rings around Rhys, despite all of his careful planning with Amren, who was still glaring at the floor. She had been the one who convinced Rhys that they didn’t need a load of guards to watch two kids, and so they lost their leverage. They still haven’t found out how Brekker got in, let alone how he found Nyx, and he knew Feyre and Rhys were ripping themselves apart with guilt.

He had never seen Rhys look so…defeated…before. He had tried to get into Jesper and Inejs’ heads before they escaped, but there seemed to be something blocking him out, not mental shields, as there were never any Fae before in Ketterdam, no one needed shields before. But something was making Rhys weaker.

And as he gazed around at his shell of a family, he realised that someone needed to say something, someone needed to be a voice of reason. So Cassian cleared his throat, and said “First order of business. We need to find out what’s affecting Rhys’ powers. And then?” He forced himself to step forward, to speak, as heads turned towards him and he tried to pretend he wasn’t every bit as broken as the rest of them. “We bring the party to Brekker. Game on is right! He’ll regret taking Nyx and Az”.

And as every pair of fierce eyes nodded, he tried not to feel worse.

~~~~~

Inej sat on her favourite ledge, gazing forward as the sun set over the rippling waves in the harbour, and cursed silently as she realised that Rhysand had even made her feel unsafe there. She didn’t feel good about what they had done to the winged male with scars, it was the equivalent to what it would feel like for her. But when people saw Kaz, they knew that his Wraith wasn’t far behind him. They knew they should feel fear. With Rhysand… Well, they SHOULD be afraid of him. With his beauty, she knew that he would be pleasing for strangers on the street to look at. They wouldn’t see the shadow behind him until it was too late. This way, at least they knew he was associated with a gang. It was up to them now to decide how scared they should be.

She had sent a letter to Queen Zoya, coded, of course, to see if she knew about anyone with his kind of powers and how to defend herself against him, but it would likely be a while until she heard back. While she did have Zoya’s number, and Nikolai’s for that matter, she worried that Rhysand had a hacker on his side. At least the letter was likely to reach Zoya, as she had entrusted it to Tamar and Tolya, who she knew had been nearby. Now all she could do was wait.

She turned quickly at the sound of soft footsteps, drawing her knives as she rose to her feet. Wylan’s hands rose quickly in a gesture of peace as she slowly lowered them again, turning to watch as the red sky faded to night. She knew Wylan was either coming to tell her about Jesper needing her or about a job Kaz needed done. She didn’t move as Wylan lowered himself beside her. He was hurting too, she knew. It’s always hard when you don’t know how to help those you love.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, before he cleared his throat.

“Inej…I’m sorry. Kaz needs you back on the streets again.”

Inej just nodded, even though tears were filling her eyes. Wylan’s hands brushed against hers, a soft steadying touch as she cleared her throat and stood up. He jumped up with her, wobbling slightly as she grabbed his arm to steady him. He breathed out slightly, his face seeming just slightly paler, before blurting out,”I want to help. Can you tell me again what you can remember about these people? No detail is too small!”

She brushed away a tear still glistening on her cheek and nodded. She could trust Wylan. Although… If Rhysand could control anyone’s mind, how could she trust anyone? She tried to ignore that thought, her heart sinking, as she casually stepped further from the roof ledge, letting Wylan’s arm go.

~~~~~

Feyre didn’t know how to go on. The first night after Nyx was taken, she had found herself in Nesta’s room with Gwyn, Emerie and Elain. They had taken one look at her face before Emerie and Gwyn left silently, Elain pulling her forward towards the bed that Nesta was on. She lay down facing Nesta, who just pulled her forward into her chest and held her. When Elain lay down behind her and started stroking her hair, Feyre broke down. Her sisters held her tightly as she sobbed, struggling to take a breath. Until she felt Rhys enter the room and sent a wave of gentle soothing night over her. She didn’t need to ask had Nyx been found. He wasn’t saying a word, which said more than enough. But she allowed that darkness to wash over her, giving in to the relief of sleep as her sisters kept her safe between their arms.

When she woke up, the only person in the room with her was Cassian, sitting on the edge of the bed. He offered over some wrappings, silently, more silence! Feyre needed noise now, or she would scream. But she snatched them from his hands and grabbed his arm, winnowing them to the training grounds, turning away as she started wrapping up her wrists and fingers. Rhys had left again, to search around town while Az focused on the Crows. She knew the only reason Cassian was still here was look after her, which almost made her angrier, she wasn’t the child, her child was gone-

Cassian almost didn’t have time to duck as she whirled around, swinging at him, red rage hot behind the stinging in her eyes. He grabbed her wrist gently and tapped her left shoulder, but there was no force behind the motion. And maybe that was worse than if she had been shoved to the ground, because she could hardly think as she swung, again, and again, towards Cass, who was being forced to step back every time as her brutal attacks didn’t give him a chance to fight back, just like Nyx couldn’t fight back-

She faltered slightly, and Cass grabbed her wrist harder this time, twisting her body around and pulling her back against his chest.

“Are we going to play fair now, or are you going to keep trying to punch me with no technique whatsoever?” he hissed into her ear, his heavy breathing warm on her cheek.

And maybe it was the thought of playing fair, when nothing in this sick world was fair, but she stamped on his foot. As he leapt back with a shout and lifted up his hands, ready to take her punches, Feyre screamed, and screamed. She only stopped when everything around her, bar Cassian, was burnt to the ground.

She was breathing heavily too now, and there was a soft roaring filling her head as she staggered forward before falling to the ground. Cassian caught her before her bare knees could land on the still smoking ground, but she found herself wishing that she would take that pain, take all the pain, just so her baby could be safe in her arms again.

~~~~~

Rhys glared up at the rooftop overlooking the harbour, at the small girl facing a small boy with red hair and freckles. He wasn’t controlling either of their minds currently, but the girl was thinking so loud she might have been screaming her thoughts towards the dying sun. He was almost appeased by fear she had of him; if there was something blocking his powers it definitely wasn’t her doing. But the boy- he had somehow figured out what they were from Inej’s description. All it would take would be some research into figuring out how to cripple him and his family fully, if not kill them altogether. He was almost tempted to go into both of their minds and make them do a nice little walk off the roof. But no- They were children too. Just like his Nyx. And Rhys knew that Nyx was still alive. He could feel his heartbeat. So he wouldn’t do something unforgivable. Not straight away anyway. He still needed to find his boy. And killing Inej and this boy- Wylan- would likely antagonise Brekker enough to kill his child.

But as he watched Wylan clamber carefully back to the skylight on the roof, and Inej gracefully slide down a pipe on the side of the building, before blending once more into the shadows, he couldn’t help masking himself with shadows too as he followed the Wraith. This girl knew too much. It was time she became useful to him.

~~~~~

Inej couldn’t help but keep glancing over her shoulder. There was no sight of anyone, but she still felt some kind of presence. Maybe it was her fears taking form in the shadows, or maybe she was right. Either way, she started running. Wylan had told her Kaz’s mission for her, and she glanced down briefly to the address in Kaz’s handwriting. Something about the people in this place had him nervous enough to send her here in the middle of war with another gang.

Her thoughts were so busy she missed the little gap in the hedges beside her that would get her inside, so she had to backtrack, before running into a hard chest. She gave a small cry as she stumbled back, but the person behind her grabbed her wrists tight, holding her still despite all her struggling. Her heart almost stopped when she dared to look up, hoping to all her Saints that this was the owner of the house, rather than the person she feared it would be. But it seemed like no Saint heard her prayers, as she gazed into the violet eyes above her, and Rhysand purred, “Hello Inej, darling.”

He didn’t hold her mind like before, although that wasn’t much comfort. She knew he could at any point, and she couldn’t concentrate on escaping with the terror holding her mind instead. He had teleported them away from the new target, and Inej couldn’t help but curse herself for missing that gap. Rhysand had seemed content to follow until she ran into him, and she could have hid around the vast mass of ash trees she knew lay behind the hedges. But she had, and now she sat before the 3 winged males: Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel, who was glaring at her with such hate she could almost feel a hole being burned into her head. She couldn’t read Cassian’s expression, although she thought she could feel some pity. Rhysand though, he was staring at her, eyes glinting, his head tilted: a predator observing his prey. Inej was remembering her early words to Jesper: ‘let’s become predators again.’ she almost started crying then. How could she ever believe they could be predators? These men in front of her, they were definitely not prey. She couldn’t believe how stupid she was, how stupid all the Crows were, if they thought for a second they could beat Rhysand and his gang. They could never win. They never stood a chance.

~~~~~

Cassian looked at the small girl with pity, as Rhys rooted himself in her mind and pulled forward all her fears without her realising. Tears were rolling down her cheeks once more as she stared blankly ahead at Rhys, who was holding her chin up so she could keep looking forward to him. He wanted to weaken her trust in herself before he used her against Brekker. Cass didn’t think this was torture: at least, Rhys had assured him it wasn’t. But he couldn’t help but wonder if Rhys was the most reliable source right now. Judging from Feyre’s attack this morning, neither of them were in the most stable mindset right now.

Either way, Inej was here and Nyx was not. So he hardened himself as Rhys let go of the Wraith, who slumped forward as if she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. Poor kid.

“Well?” he made himself ask.

Rhys stood with a sigh, grabbing a bottle of wine that materialised in front of him, taking a long swig before answering, as Nesta and Feyre walked in too.

“How about I just show you instead?”

Cassian had to force back his own tears once Rhys shared her past with him. Feyre and Nesta couldn’t, as they gazed down at her in horror. Feyre seemed to lose the anger that had been in her earlier, and Nesta stared forward, glaring at the wall. He knew she was thinking about her own past.

“Do we have to use her like this?” he asked, as he saw the girl straighten, Rhys back in control. He had made sure that Inej would struggle to trust herself, had basically broken her down from the inside out, so that even if he did struggle with his powers, she would obey any kind of gentle whisper in her head. He also made sure she would return every night, so he could do it again and again, as well as discover Brekker’s latest scheme. While she didn’t seem to know where Nyx was currently, she could still be a double agent for them once she found out.

Rhys nodded, still focused on the girl. He may be being gentle currently, but Cassian had to wonder how far that courtesy would extend to.

“When does it end, Rhys?” he snapped. “Let’s just use her as a hostage, get Brekker to give Nyx back right now!”

Rhys glanced over at him then. Chills rippled down Cassian at the cruel glint in his eyes, and he knew then Rhys wasn’t planning on letting Inej go for a long time.

“It ends,” Rhys purred, putting his hand on Inej’s head, like a mark of ownership, “When Brekker’s home is torn to the ground. "

"Brick by brick.”

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aoibhinnslater04 · 3 months

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The gods' quest- Percy Jackson AU

********SPOILER WARNING-DON'T READ IF YOU HAVENT READ THE PERCY JACKSON BOOKS*******

Percy slashed wildly forward with Riptide, Annabeth watching his back as the monsters surrounded them. They were on another quest, given to them by Zeus this time, which Percy had never understood. The King of the gods hated him and Annabeth so why would he trust them to save Olympus yet again? However, quickly he and Annabeth had realised that this quest was impossible, and that the reason Zeus had sent them was probably because of their low chance of survival. However, they had to make it out alive, even if it was just so that he could punch Zeus in the face. “Percy?” Annabeth whispered. He turned to her, his face tight with worry. “Don’t worry, Wise Girl, we've almost got through them all,” he assured her. “Percy,” she whispered again.. And only then did Percy notice the thin line of red spreading across her chest. Horrified, Percy grabbed her as she fell forward, her breathing quickening as she gasped for breath. Her eyes were losing focus. Percy turned around, desperately trying to find a way out of the crowds of monsters, but everywhere he looked the gaps were closing until there was no way out. Percy glanced down at Annabeth and saw how pale her face was. She didn’t have long. He screamed with rage and all the monsters exploded, their blood desperate to obey the son of the sea god. He sank down to his knees, and lay Annabeth gently in front of him. “Hang on Wise Girl,” he said, his voice filled with worry. “I’m not giving up on you just yet.” Annabeth’s hand pulled weakly on his, pulling him closer to her. “It’s ok. I love you Seaweed Brain,” she pulled his hand up to her lips and kissed him gently. Then her hand dropped to her stomach and her stare was empty. She was gone. Percy screamed again, a harsh sound of agonised pain. He sobbed, his shoulders heaving with grief. Annabeth was dead.

Two weeks later, he was back at camp for Annabeth’s funeral. Her cabin had decorated a shroud to wrap her body in, a beautiful grey shroud, the colour of her eyes. Thalia came and stood beside him, her eyes red from crying. Percy hadn’t talked to anyone all week, but Thalia shared his grief. She had loved Annabeth too almost as much as him. They didn’t say anything, just stood beside each other as Annabeth’s shroud went up in flames. After the funeral, Thalia pulled him away from the crowd. “How?” she demanded, her voice cracking. He told her the story of their quest. Her eyes glowed with rage when she heard that her father had given them that impossible quest. “We have to make them pay,” she whispered. Without hesitation, Percy agreed.

So this was how it came to be, Percy, son of Poseidon and Thalia, daughter of Zeus. The worst enemies of the gods. They had gone from praised to feared in a matter of days. Without mercy, they tore apart the world as the gods had made it. They renounced the gods. What had they ever done for them, except get them to do their dirty work? As the saying goes, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Percy and Thalia stood over the small trembling demigod who was kneeling in front of them. They glanced at each other then softened. She had put up a good fight, this demigod. And in the end, she too was a pawn of the gods. Percy stepped over her fallen knife. A sentence came to his head, something Luke had said to Annabeth long ago. “Only the fastest and cleverest of warriors could wield the weapon”. This girl was a child of Athena. Annabeth’s sister. He laughed to himself at the irony. He and Annabeth had spent so long fighting Luke who had given up on the gods, and judged him for it. And 10 years later, here they were. The child glanced up at him, her eyes wide and scared, and exhausted. She had the same grey eyes as Annabeth, and the same look on her face that said she knew she was about to die. “It’s ok,” Percy told her, his voice soothing her, “You’ve done so well. But you can’t beat us. It’s not your fault. They shouldn’t have made you come here.” Tears started streaming down her face as she slumped forward, the weight of the gods pushing down on her. “He leaned forward and steadied her. “What’s your name?” he asked, trying to calm her. “Hayley,” she said softly. “Ok Hayley. I’m Percy and this is Thalia, but you probably already knew that. They sent you to kill us didn't they? The gods I mean.” Hayley nodded, her face forlorn. Percy could see how hard she was trying to stay conscious. He glanced at Thalia, and could see the sadness etched in her face. Percy let go of Hayley’s shoulder and she fell forward into his arms. He picked her up and carried her over to a couch in the corner of the room where she passed out instantly. Tenderly he covered her in a blanket.

He turned back to Thalia and reached out to her. Without hesitation she crossed the room and hugged him. “She looks so like her,” Thalia whispered shakily. He nodded. What else could he say? Suddenly, a crack of lightning split the ceiling open. They both pulled out their weapons and glared at… Athena, not Zeus. “Perseus,” she acknowledged. He waited for her to say something else. “She looked over at the couch where Hayley lay, and then glanced back at Percy, with only the slightest hint of confusion. “I see my daughter is still alive. Care to explain why?” Percy looked at her with tears in his eyes, and said, his voice hoarse, “She’s innocent.” Athena stared haughtily at him for a moment then crossed the room and embraced him. “She loved you,” she whispered in his ear. Percy didn’t say anything as tears rolled down his face. Athena stepped back. “Why do you still fight?” she questioned. “Because I will not be your slave anymore. No more demigods being sent to do your dirty work. No more sending people you hate on impossible quests where you mean for them to die. NO MORE KILLING YOUR CHILDREN!” and he screamed that last line. Athena flinched slightly. It felt good, being in a position of power. But that was never what Percy wanted, not really. Athena nodded, her face forlorn. “She was my daughter Perseus Jackson. I have never forgiven Zeus for that day. You will have your wish, I swear.”

Athena vanished and Percy and Thalia waited for something else to happen. But nothing did. Until they heard the sound of feet coming towards them. “Percy!” a voice called. He knew that voice. “Estelle!” he yelled back. His little sister. She burst into the room, her face lit up with excitement. “This just appeared in front of me when I was on my way to see you,” she said, breathlessly. In her hands was a blue envelope, addressed to Perseus Jackson.

It doesn’t matter what the letter from his father said, only that an oath had been sworn on the river Styx that demigods would no longer be forced to do quests from the gods. All the little ones, like Hayley, would be safe. Percy brought her back to Camp Half-Blood, where he was greeted by Chiron. They said nothing. There was nothing to say. Percy and Thalia knew they would never go to Elysium, but that didn’t matter. All the living children would never have to live in fear of the gods' quests again.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #thalia grace #pjo #pjo series #athena #zeus #poseidon

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aoibhinnslater04 · 3 months

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 5: The devil doesn't bargain

SORRY FOR BEING LATE AGAIN!!

Just a quick disclaimer before starting, when CC3 comes out, I will 100% be reading it. While I'm currently happy with just ACOTAR (there might be characters from TOG and CC1&2 appearing at some point, but I haven't thought that far ahead lol), depending on dynamics and how I feel about them when reading CC3, they might feature. BUT I will add a spoiler warning if they feature, so you can look later :)

Enjoy chapter 5!

Word count: 1295

Warnings: scheming face, more kind of kidnapping, embarrassment and bombings

Kaz stood, fuming, as Jesper and Inej explained what they had learnt, both from Vassa’s notes and from being prisoners to Rhysand himself. All six of the crows were finally reunited, with Wylan leaning against a still damp Jesper, and Nina gripping Inej’s hand, as she had been since they came ashore. Matthias stood behind them, his arms crossed, his bulking figure looking like an angel that promised death, should anyone threaten the people he cared so deeply about.

Kaz didn’t care about any of that.

Not Wylan’s eyes fluttering closed as he breathed deeply, as if to remind himself Jesper was alive.

Not Nina making Inej feel safer, with her silent promise of never letting go.

Not the way Inej and Jesper kept gently touching the people around them, to remind themselves that their minds were their own again.

And definitely not Matthias acting as a huge safety bubble, allowing Inej and Jesper to relax in his shadow.

No.

All he cared about was getting even, despite the strange ache in his chest at each of these sights.

He turned to the window, staring out, plotting.

“Scheming face?” he heard Wylan whispering.

He didn’t need to turn around to know that the other crows were nodding, silently, but he whirled around anyway, meeting each of their eyes before announcing…

“I have a plan.”

~~~~~

Matthias hated the plan.

He didn’t know what the agonised scream Jesper and Inej heard before their leap to freedom, but it didn’t sound like these newcomers scared easily. And whatever had made them react like that… Well, it wasn’t likely to end well for any of them. Especially with a third of them not at their best. He didn’t know the full extent of what Inej and Jesper had been through, only brief explanations, but though there wasn’t a mark on either of them, neither seemed fully recovered from their ordeal. They seemed to have started sleeping in the same room, although he doubted in the same bed. Jesper was fully committed to Wylan, and Inej… Although she never spoke about anyone, every brief glance towards Kaz when she thought he wasn’t looking gave her away.

He didn’t care, she was entitled to love whoever her heart led her towards, but he was half inclined to give the little Suli girl a few words of warning. He didn’t want to see her heartbroken, and Kaz always only seemed to have eyes for the kruge that he was hoarding like a jealous dragon. Matthias was sure he wouldn’t mind having to give out one less paycheck to his crew, if it suited him. That being said, he did seem to have a certain fondness for the Wraith, although whether it was true feelings or needing her for her abilities, Matthias hadn’t decided yet.

Either way, neither of them seemed ready to face their captors once again. But Kaz had never been good at letting sleeping dogs lie. Matthias knew that he would want to enact his plan as soon as possible, and leave as much devastation as possible on his way. It almost made him feel bad for the Court of Dreams. Once Kaz got an idea, it was almost impossible to stop him. Nothing would stand in his way.

~~~~~

Azriel was fuming as he flew through the night, quiet as a whisper. Not only was Nyx taken, but to add insult to injury, they had taken Truth-Teller too! Any shred of sympathy he had had for the teenage gang had long since vanished. They would get no mercy, not until they gave Nyx back (and hopefully Truth-Teller too- he did NOT share it with anyone outside of Elain, even with his brothers). He figured they would give Nyx back quickly enough, Jesper and Inej knew of the Inner Circle’s powers so he doubted they would want the hellfire he knew would rain down on them. Neither Mor or Amren had met them though, so they still had a few tricks up their sleeves even if the Crows wanted to do this the hard way. He was so deep in thought, he didn’t see the dark figures step out from the shadows below him, or the one in the middle raise her hands as though she was casting a spell… no, the first time he realised they were there was when he was falling from the sky, clutching his chest as though his heart was failing him.

He had no idea what was going on, but as his vision was blurring and darkening at the edges, he realised that he, for the first time in a long time, had been outsmarted. If he survived this, he would never live this humiliation down.

~~~~~

Rhys stared at the pole on the stage in the middle of Ketterdam, where large crowds had gathered. Of all the things he expected Brekker to do, this wasn’t on his list. A flushed, angry Azriel glared out at him, his mouth gagged, his legs tied tightly to the bottom of the pole, and his wrists tied with a pretty bow above his head, giving Az an almost angelic crown. His dark wings had a large amount of boating tarp and duct tape wrapped around them, probably feeling like cement with the weight, and there were many stage lights directed up at him. Some of the jeering crowd likely thought this was just a prank, an embarrassment for the winged male, but Rhys knew it was far more than that. They had taken away Azriel’s anonymity, what made him such a great spy. This was what Rhys got, for kidnapping Inej and Jesper and searching their minds. Something equally as violating and cruel. Azriel looked near tears as people had started climbing onto the stage, touching his wings and taking selfies in front of him.

He almost couldn’t stop the shadows that spread from him, scaring the crowd who ran from Azriel like they had been burned. Wings spread from his own back, wide as with one flap they lifted him onto the stage, where his shadows protected them from the public view although he knew Az could still see them, as well as the rest of the Inner Circle, who had come with him. Feyre’s eyes were wide, and her hand covered her mouth in shock. Mor looked devastated, one hand reaching out as though she could comfort him. Amren looked like she was ready to kill someone. Cassian was holding Nesta back, although both of their eyes almost glowed with anger. And Elain… the tears that left her eyes vanished from view as she turned her back and walked back to their house.

Rhysand would have murdered the whole gang for the devastation on Az’s face alone.

But Az was shaking his head violently as Rhys moved to unbind the gag around his face, and a second later, he found out why.

Loud explosions started going off around them, sending any curious stragglers away with a scream, and leaving his family to duck and cover themselves as best they could. Rhys got a blast of pink glitter in his face, and while he attempted to wipe his eyes, he heard fireworks going off around him. He gave up on the glitter, and cut Azriel free, leaving his wings to fix more delicately at home. As they both turned to look at their family, they started to cough, as black clouds threatened to choke them. The fireworks that had been set off each formed a crow.

Azriel tapped Rhys on the shoulder, and silently handed him an envelope, before walking back to their house, his wings dropped low. Rhys opened the envelope, and read out loud;

“Game on assholes.

XOXO The Dregs”

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aoibhinnslater04 · 3 months

Note

Loving the SOC x ACOTAR so much!!!! My two favs combined!!!!

Thank u!!! 😭😭 I'm loving writing it so it makes me so happy seeing people like it, this absolutely made my day 😭🩷🩷

I also feel like these characters have a lot of similarities, so mixing them together just makes sense, especially when they're enemies (just referring to first 4 chapters-no spoilers for rest of series!!) Cause they have to figure out how to fight people with similar minds to themselves, and really, who wants to look into themselves that much? I don't think most people would like what they find...

#acotar #feysand #feyre #acomaf #inej ghafa #six of crows #kaz brekker #azriel #netflix shadow and bone #azriel shadowsinger #rhysand #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #cassian

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aoibhinnslater04 · 4 months

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 4: Nothing left to lose

Ok, so I know I'm late but I had exams, a severe hangover and work, so this took a bit and isn't my best work.

Don't hate me!! :)

Word count: 1408

Trigger warnings, kidnapping, grief, mind control

Inej leaned against Jesper with her eyes closed, her mind whirring. She knew they had to get out, knew Kaz wouldn’t accept the insult of a negotiation where he was at a disadvantage, and knew they had to escape. Now.

Kaz didn’t know of their abilities, he would do something stupid that would end up with them being in a hell of a lot more danger than they were in now, and would likely drag Wylan, Nina and Matthias into this mess too.

Inej had been trying to come up with a plan for ages now, since she woke up, but she kept remembering the disturbing and violating feeling of Rhysand’s power over her. At least at the menagerie she had some semblance of control of her body, but this? This was a whole new level of being out of control. It was like he had stripped her naked. She didn’t know how much he had seen of her memories, but either way it was too much. No one knew as much as he did now, and that was just as disturbing a thought as the power that achieved it. Even Nina, her best friend, who had helped her through her worst moments, calmed her heart when she awoke from panicked nightmares and held her while she cried, didn’t know all her thoughts like he did now.

Jesper shifted slightly, and she looked up at him. She knew he likely felt just as violated, as well as betrayed. He had told her all about his new friend Cassian on their way to Vassa’s, and she felt a slight pang of sympathy. Her friend had such a good heart, and he didn’t deserve this. But she sat up, and tried to push every thought out of her head, and turn her mind towards escape.

“We have to get out of here”, she said, her voice still shaking slightly. “Kaz doesn’t know what these people are capable of, so any kind of retaliation isn’t going to work. And they'll likely take it out on us, then.”

“Cassian won’t let them hurt us”, Jesper interjected.

“Jesper, Cassian is the one who told them how to find us and helped them take us! He’s not your friend. He’s not someone we can count on! Sitting here, we’re prey. We’ve been prey long enough.”

She softened slightly at the sadness in his eyes, and took his hand.

“Let’s get out of here so we can become the predators again.”

~~~~~

Jesper glanced back as the tortured scream echoed down the hall, and he grabbed Inej’s hand again to tug her along with him as he ran faster. Not that the Wraith was slow, but she didn’t have the long legs he did, and by the sounds of it, they needed to be out of here like an hour ago, and neither of them wanted to test the limits of Rhysand’s powers, especially when they were this close to freedom. And whatever had caused that scream, he knew they were running out of time.

Suddenly, he stopped short. He felt a tug in the corner of his mind, the smallest part of him that he had allowed himself to search for their weapons with his Durast abilities, pulling him towards a room down another hall. He pulled Inej, despite her furious, whispered protests before opening the door of a small office, one with the most beautiful view over a fast-moving river. He shook his head slightly to stop himself from getting distracted, and grabbed the two pistols and pouch of bullets from the desk. He pulled open a bag beside them to discover Inej’s collection of knives. He goes to pass them to her, but notices her staring at an obsidian hilted knife, protected by a dark scabbard with silver runes. “We can take that too”, he told her, grabbing it and turning back to the door, ready to rush out again, until he hears loud yells nearby. They weren’t going to make it. Their escape had been discovered.

He didn’t hear Inej move until her hand was grabbing his once more. This time, he could feel it shaking. Inej wasn’t one to show fear, so this scared him almost more than the threat of the angry mob coming towards them. But her voice was strong as she whispered, “the window. We’re directly over the river, we can both swim, and we’re desperate. If he gets his clutches in our minds again, we’ll never be able to leave.”

He looked at her, and saw the determined look in her dark eyes. So he squeezed her hand. And pulled the trigger. And glass showered all over them.

~~~~~

Cassian heard glass shatter down one of the many halls and ran down to Azriel’s office, where the prisoner’s weapons were currently being stored. He pulled open the door just quickly enough to see Inej leap gracefully from the windowsill, and to see Jesper make a vulgar gesture towards him before following the Wraith. He ran to the window, and saw them being pulled with the tide in a direction he knew led to the Harbour. Oh shit. Rhys had just lost his leverage.

The Inner Circle were all sitting in their living room, a stunned silence hanging over them all. Even Feyre had stopped sobbing, only the occasional tear trickling down her pale face. They had gone so quickly from being in control to being left with less than before, with Nyx missing as well as the prisoners. Rhys stood up, his face going from the picture of devastation to uncontrolled rage, and Cassian almost shivered, like the room had changed temperature.

“The Dregs have no idea who they’re messing with. They thought we were dangerous before? They haven’t seen anything”, he snarled, the promise of violent death clear in his voice. “We have nothing left to lose. Game on.”

The pained silence that followed their nodding was only broken by Azriel’s gloomy tone.”I still can’t believe they took Truth-Teller.”

~~~~~

Nina ran to the deck of the boat she was travelling on when she heard the cries of “man overboard!” She had been travelling with this crew for weeks now, between her journey to Ravka, her quest for Zoya and the journey back, and while she would never exchange her life with the Crows for a life at sea, she had grown fond of them, so she wanted to help however she could. However, when she reached the surface, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the new level of light, she saw Jesper and Inej in front of her, shivering and pale. She blinked again as though the light was deceiving her, showing her who she wanted to see when they landed, but no, Inej and Jesper were really there.

Nina squealed and ran towards them, throwing her arms around them and nearly knocking them to the floor. She thought maybe Jesper was dripping sea water onto her face as she felt coldness fall down her rosy cheeks, but realised she was crying as they gripped her tightly back, as if they were scared to let go. She had been so worried when Kaz had told her they were missing, presumably captured by this mysterious Rhysand, and she had convinced the crew to stop at a dodgy island marketplace on their way back to Ketterdam to pick up supplies for Wylan. But here they were, whole and safe in front of her.

She released them, but kept gripping Inej’s hand tightly, as though the Wraith would float away on the breeze, and she turned to Jesper, saying “I have some spare towels in my room. Follow me.”

Nina kept glancing worriedly back at the pair behind her, looking so pale and scared. When they got to her cabin, she threw them a towel each, before collapsing on her bed and saying “spill”. Her face fell more and more with each word they spoke, pressing tightly against one another as if they were the only thing they could be sure of. Which, Nina supposed, was probably pretty accurate based on what she had just heard. She had never heard of any Grisha having the powers Rhysand was supposed to have, unless they were on jurda parem, although it didn’t sound like that was the case. And now they were after the Crows? Oh no, this wasn’t going to end well at all….

#acotar #feysand #feyre #acomaf #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #six of crows #azriel #netflix shadow and bone #azriel shadowsinger #nina zenik #matthias helvar #kanej #cassian #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #rhysand #grishaverse

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aoibhinnslater04 · 4 months

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SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 3: One mistake too many

Chapter 4 will be out on the 15th Jan!

Word count: 1745

Trigger warnings: kidnapping, mind control

Kaz glared at his phone, willing it to light up with a text from Inej. He would even have settled for Jesper at this point, but all was quiet. Something had gone wrong, he was sure of it. Whether they had been caught by Vassa’s guards, or…. No. He shoved his unease down at the thought that the mysterious Rhysand had managed to intercept his Wraith or Sharpshooter. But then… when Kaz was attacked by the shadow, it sounded like he moved on wings, and even after knowing someone was there, it seemed invisible. But no Grisha could fly, or turn invisible. Only the Darkling could control shadows, and he was dead. Kaz had watched his body burn. He had heard rumours of other kinds of powered people, but none around Ketterdam, and no support to back up the outlandish theories, but-

BZZZZZZ

Kaz grabbed his phone and answered it without looking- “Inej?”

He heard a sultry, smooth laugh.

“Kaz, I know you’re still not used to phones, but most people check the name of the caller before picking up, you know that, right?”

Nina.

Kaz almost hung up on her there and then, but took a deep breath and refrained. Nina was with Queen Zoya in Ravkian on a secret mission, but she was supposed to be on her way back. About time, considering Matthias had been sulking for the last week without her. He supposed even the most honourable people got sexually frustrated sometimes after all.

“What can I do for you, Heartrender?”

“Well, I was looking to speak with Inej, but apparently you’re also waiting on a call from her. She texted me last night to let me know about a job, but she assured me she would be able to talk around now, and that it wouldn’t take that long.”

Her tone changed to one more of concern.

“Wait, is Inej still not back?”

Kaz’s face tightened. “I don’t suppose you’ll be stopping at the markets on the way back, will you, Zenik?”

“Why?”

“Because Wylan is going to send you a list. I have a feeling you won’t get a break after your last job before this next one.”

~~~~~

Cassian glanced down at the Wraith’s phone before powering it down. It seemed like her absence was affecting quite a few people, which only made him feel even worse about this situation. The girl in one of the beds he was guarding didn’t seem like a bad person, and clearly she inspired plenty of loyalty from those around her. He saw how Jesper had ran in when he thought she was in trouble. This was a girl who was cared for.

He glanced at the other bed in the room, where Jesper lay, and felt like the worst person to ever exist. When they were drinking together he seemed like a good person, cheerful and humorous, comfortable in himself. Cauldron, he was leaving the spying and infiltration to Az from now on. It affected him way too much.

He heard a gentle rustle of sheets and looked quickly back towards Jesper’s bed, where the boy was lifting his head and glancing around drowsily. He started moving a lot quicker when he noticed his arms and legs were tied down, and began thrashing when he saw the Wraith in the bed beside him. When he lifted his eyes to meet Cassian’s, the ice in his glare made him take a step back, before feeling foolish and crossing his arms to glare right back.

“What did you do to her?” Jesper rasped.

“The Wraith is fine, Jesper, she just got a bit of a bigger dose than you did, and she’s a lot smaller, it’s to be expected.”

“Inej.”

“What?”

“You’re calling her the Wraith. Her name is Inej so don’t act like she’s just some nameless soldier!”

Cassian held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, but it only seemed to make Jesper angrier.

“And what the hell is with these beds? You trying to butter us up so we turn on Kaz? What could two Barrel rats like us want more than a soft bed, right?! Or…” his face paled with a dark thought that he didn’t seem inclined to share.

Kaz, Cassian noticed. It seemed that not only had they caught two of Brekker’s crew, but two members that were comfortable enough to call him by his first name, despite his cruel, ruthless reputation. Brekker’s Inner Circle. The thought made him weirdly uncomfortable, like he was looking at himself in a different font.

A voice from behind him made Cassian look up, but didn’t make him jump the way it made Jesper, like he had seen a ghost. Az stepped out from the shadows, where he had been waiting for the pair to wake up, allowing Cass the joy of being the one who got the anger directed at him. How lovely.

“Don’t be so suspicious, Jesper Fahey. The only reason that you’re both in beds is because we haven’t got cells yet.”

“Budgets, you know, especially after moving to a new place,” Cassian cut in, ignoring the ghost of a smile on the shadowsinger’s face as he shook his head towards his brother.

“Now brothers, don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten my warnings about young Ms Ghafa here,” Rhys’s voice caused both Cassian and Azriel to look up in surprise. Neither had heard him enter, but they saw him crouched by the Wraith’s- Inej’s- side, pinning her gently back to the bed, where apparently, in the minute where Jesper had been speaking to them, she had managed to untie her bonds and slide off the bed unnoticed.

Cassian softened at the scene in front of him. Inej had tears in her eyes, he could feel the fear rolling off of her, her breath quickening and getting heavier, as though Rhys’s light touch was cutting off her oxygen supply. He had no doubt it was real, especially with Jesper tensing on the bed next to her, as though he was going to try to reach over and comfort her. Rhys had mentioned memories he had seen in her head, but he hadn’t told them specifics yet. Clearly though, the memories held a great deal of power over her, as Rhys leaned in and gazed into her eyes, he saw her twist her head away, but obviously that wasn’t going to help against Rhys’s daemati powers. Cassian saw her breathing slow as she turned her head back to look towards Rhys, her body going limp once more, as he touched her forehead, as though checking for a temperature.

Jesper was staring at her, flickering between Rhys, who’s concentration hadn’t wavered from Inej, and her face, with her glazed dark eyes making her look like she was hypnotised. Which she kind of was, he supposed.

“What did you do to her?!” he cried, his voice half full of anger, half of fear. “Let her go!”

Rhys shifted his gaze towards Jesper, who didn’t seem to have the sense to back down from the threat in front of him. But Rhys just smiled, keeping a hold on Inej as he stared down the Zemini boy. “She’s safe,” he reassured him. “Just…sleeping.”

“I know what sleeping looks like, and that isn’t it. Let her go, you asshole!”

“Fine,” Rhys shrugged, and a second later, Inej’s eyes cleared. She seemed to take in everything at once, before bolting from the bed, quicker than Rhysand expected, as he lunged to catch her before she reached the open door. Luckily, Cassian and Azriel were in her way, and they both grabbed her around the waist before pulling her back, struggling and kicking.

“Enough!” Cassian heard from the door, as another figure- no wait, figure and a half- entered the already crowded room. He smiled widely as Feyre walked in with his nephew, passing the giggling babe into Rhysand’s waiting arms.

“How about you diplomats let me do the talking for a bit, hm?”

~~~~~

Feyre looked down at the two prisoners, her face sad. They were so young, younger than she was when she became Fae. She briefly wondered about their parents, but decided to leave that conversation for a while. Inej had relaxed slightly, with the mug of hot cocoa Feyre had given her, warming her hands, although they were still shaking a bit. Jesper was sitting slightly in front of her,as a protective older brother would. They were currently sitting in her new office, which she was planning on converting into an art studio, but the dull walls definitely added to the whole ‘prisoner’ effect.

She had been talking for a while, explaining their need for ‘hostages’, to convince Dirtyhands that they were not the gang to be messed with, and to see if they could come to some kind of agreement where they left each other alone. The Dregs were one of the most feared gangs, especially after what they did to the Dime Lions’ leader, Pekka Rollins. She had no doubt that if they were seen avoiding her Inner Circle, that they would mostly be avoided by the other gangs too. It wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan, but what was?

Inej and Jesper weren’t budging, their faces set in stone. She knew they wouldn't ever agree with her, but she had accepted that. It didn’t matter either way, as they were still stuck. It would be near impossible for them to escape unless her or Rhys wanted them to. She sighed and got up, wanting to go back to her mate and spend some time with him before her beautiful boy woke up from his nap. There was nothing left for her to say, and besides, what could they do while locked in a room surrounded by Fae?

~~~~~

Rhys sighed as his mate went to wake up their child after an unusually long nap. It was fair enough, he supposed, as the entire Inner Circle was exhausted after all their planning and action. It was only fair that Nyx felt tired too, especially if it gave them a chance to rest. But then he heard his mate screaming, a sharp, tortured sound. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they had made a mistake moving, the only thought in his head as he raced towards his love, who was on her knees, clutching the empty blanket that was still warm from Nyx’s small body.

#acotar #feysand #feyre #acomaf #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #six of crows #azriel #netflix shadow and bone #azriel shadowsinger #cassian #matthias helvar #nina zenik #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #rhysand

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aoibhinnslater04 · 4 months

Text

SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 2: Who needs enemies?

Chapter 3 out 8th January

I don't think Kaz is planning on not retaliating... the real question should how does a teenager beat a 500 year old Fae?

word count: 1135

Trigger warnings: mention of trauma, kidnapping, injuries

Jesper groaned as he saw the text from Inej to tell him about the early start the next morning. It was still only 10pm, but Jesper had big plans of just drinking and gambling all of his hard earned kruge away before dawn. The man sitting beside him chuckled softly. He wasn’t someone who Jesper recognised, which was odd considering he knew almost everyone at the Crow Club at this stage. He was tall and muscular, like Matthias, but where Matthias was all orderly and fair, this guy was chaos and dark, his black hair long with a bun to keep the ends out of his face. He had a wicked glint in his laughing eyes, and Jesper liked him immediately.

“Let me guess,” the stranger said, tilting his head towards him, “someone called out sick from work and now you have to cover the 5am shift?” Jesper groaned, putting his head in his hands to cover his smile. “You have no idea how close to being right you are,” he responded, laughing. “There goes my plans for tonight.”

The stranger reached out a hand towards him. It reminded Jesper of Inej’s hand, tough, with calluses formed below his fingers. He was a fighter too. “I’m Cassian,” the stranger told him, his eyes bright.”You don’t have to go just yet, do you?”

~~~~~

Cassian groaned as he finally was able to haul himself up to bed. He had had fun with Jesper alright, but he was almost disgusted with himself for manipulating him. Az was better at stuff like that, he was good at asking the right answers without getting attached. Cassian always made it personal. He hated himself a little for it. The cheery sharpshooter had opened up to him over the night, and he heard about how Kaz Brekker was looking for information on whoever had attacked him. His Wraith was going hunting the next morning, and she had asked Jesper to watch her back. But now Cassian knew….

“Any luck?” Cassian jumped at the sudden deep voice behind him, and turned to find Rhysand there, Mor following anxiously behind. She didn’t like all this sitting and waiting, but until someone attempted to break into their files, she couldn’t help.Her job was yet to come. Cassian sighed, and told Rhys everything.

~~~~~

Inej whistled softly, a gentle noise that was met with a responding whistle. So far so good. She was at the window ledge of Vassa, the local realtor. If anyone had any information on the new gang, it would be her. Vassa had a computer with files on everyone in Ketterdam, and a lot of the rest of Ravkian too. It had been easy getting past the security, and although the wall between Vassa’s house and the guards was high, Jesper was tall enough that Inej only had to climb onto his shoulders to reach the top. Honestly, she was a bit disappointed, given Vassa’s reputation, but better too easy than too hard, she reckoned.

She hacked quickly to unlock the laptop and was rewarded when the screen lit up. She quickly started scrolling through files labelled ‘Rhysand’. Saints. This man was the leader of a TOP gang. He was a real threat, then. But why had he come here, of all places? Why start at the bottom of the Barrel instead of staying where he was a king? She kept scrolling, until…Saints. Her eyes widened. Here was a weakness, but she wasn’t sure she would even be able to tell Kaz. Because Rhysand…had a family. He had people worth protecting. He wasn’t going to try to make peace with Kaz, because it would make him look weak. No, he needed to be in control.

Inej started to tread back towards the window, her thoughts whirring. It was probably because of this that a hidden man managed to sneak up on her, and grab her from behind. Her reflexes kicked in quickly, and she shoved a knife into his side. She was rewarded when he let her go with a small grunt, and she rolled away from him quickly, turning to face him. But then there was another at her side, and another facing her. Three of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. Beautiful, but terrifying.

And then suddenly, she was no longer in control of her own mind. The violet eyes of the man in the middle flashed, and her limbs moved of their own accord, calling her like a siren towards them. Inej fought with all her might, but she had never had to fight someone like that. All of her worst memories were flooding through her, and she was sobbing as she collapsed onto the ground in front of them. The violet eyed male -Rhysand- crouched down in front of her, and gently tilted her head up towards him, to meet his gaze. The strange sense of not being in control of her own body was gone, but it was like she was hypnotised still, his eyes telling her she could relax, she was safe. And when the man with the hazel, kind eyes knelt beside her, and pressed something with an overpowering scent over her mouth and nose, Inej was almost relieved to fall back, limp, against him as she shut her eyes and breathed in.

~~~~~

Jesper was pacing back and forth now, his head imagining all the worst case scenarios that could have happened to Inej. It didn’t usually take her this long to find information and leave, something must have gone wrong. He turned to the wall and jumped, grabbing the small ledge that Inej had climbed earlier, and hauled himself up, before squeezing through the small window in front of him.

His breathing quickened as he saw what was in front of him; three men standing over an unconscious Inej. He knew he couldn’t fire his gun, knew it was stupid, he was crazy, the guards would hear and all their carefully laid out plans would fall apart, but he aimed at the nearest one to Inej and fired anyway. The man turned towards him with a cry, his hand coming off the wound covered in blood, and to Jesper’s dismay, he recognised the face. Cassian! Oh saints, this was all his fault, Inej-

And then suddenly it was as if he couldn’t think, an unfamiliar voice in his head, taking control. And the small cloth he had seen over Inej’s mouth was then over his, and as he faded into unconsciousness, all he could think about was how he failed her.

~~~~~

Rhys stared at the two unconscious bodies at his feet. They were hardly more than kids. They didn’t deserve this. And then he cursed himself because, no, he was getting soft, they were a part of another gang, they were dangerous too- but he couldn’t help but feel slightly ashamed of himself anyway. He turned towards Azriel. “Go down to the crow club and see if Brekker does anything. And blend in!” Az nodded and leapt out the window, as stealthy as the girl who had snuck in. Rhys had to admit, he was impressed with her. He had set up cameras in every realtor office in town, and she found the correct office the first time. Not to mention it was pure chance he had seen her! The livefeed streaming back from the cameras didn’t even detect motion from her. And she fought well. Unfortunately, Rhys wasn’t interested in fighting fair today. And gods, what she had been through-

And then the other boy, Jesper. He came in, guns blazing, even though he was outnumbered and out-weaponed. He would’ve done anything he could’ve to protect the Wraith. Luckily, Cassian’s bulletwound was already healing, thanks to the lack of faebane. Rhys turned to Cassian, then, and told him to grab the boy. Rhys collected the girl gently in his arms, turned to Cassian, and winnowed them away, just as Vassa’s guards burst through the door.

#acotar #feysand #feyre #acomaf #inej ghafa #cassian #acotar fanfic #kaz brekker #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #azriel shadowsinger #azriel #six of crows #shadow and bone season 2 #netflix shadow and bone #shadow and bone #save shadow and bone

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aoibhinnslater04 · 4 months

Text

SOC x ACOTAR

Chapter 1: When we met

Chapter 2 out New Year's day!!

Word count: 979

What happens when the most powerful gang in Ketterdam crosses paths with the newest gang in town who just moved from the night court?

Trigger warnings: gangs, mentions of death, injury

Kaz grimaced as he staggered to his feet. He’d been knocked over by a shadowed figure who seemed to come from the sky. No doubt a blasted squaller who was powerful enough to carry themself through the air. He glared into the dark corners of the alleyway he was pushed into, and the shadows seemed to glare back. He wasn’t concerned however. He was a leader, a leader of the most feared gang in the city, and no one would ever dare mess with him. It was probably just a prank pulled by Jesper.

Kaz limped out of the alley, feeling a pair of eyes watching. Inej would appear only if she wanted to, so he didn’t bother calling out. Perhaps she was who pranked him, even though it wasn’t her style. She did seem particularly annoyed this morning when he called her an “investment”. But he kept moving forward, ignoring the panging in his heart, more distracted than he usually allowed himself to get. Kept moving, until he felt a gust of wind brush past him, a rustling flapping sound accompanying. Kaz halted, pushing hard against his thoughts of Inej, to figure out what was happening. A piece of paper fluttered down from the sky, a note, addressed to Kaz Rietveld of the Crows.

Kaz froze, his gaze flickering back and forth as he lifted up his cane in a fighting position. No one, NO ONE knew that name. It had died with Jordie. There was no one left to remember it apart from Kaz himself, and he sure as hell didn’t mention it to anyone. “Who the hell are you”, he yelled, his voice cracking at the memories that were now taking the place of Inej in his head. “Come out you coward!”

Another shadow appeared, or rather a figure with shadows curling around his muscular body. “Rhysand sends his best”, the shadow said, his voice as cold as the river Kaz had almost died in. The memories threatened to overwhelm him as the shadow rushed towards him, knocking him to the ground once again as his vision went black.

~ ~ ~ ~

Rhys was striding back and forth across the floor of the bedroom he shared with Feyre in their river house. “Calm down”, Feyre told him, her voice like rippling waves, as she nursed the baby on her lap. Nyx was cooing softly at his mother, his gaze wholly fixed on her. Rhys supposed he usually looked at her like that too, like she was the only person he could see. He couldn’t imagine a life without her, and was just relieved that she had fought against the lies and destruction told to her by that prick Tamlin. He knew that technically Tamlin had been part of the reason he was alive today, but he still held nothing but anger and disgust against him. He had almost killed his mate, HIS MATE, who he loved so dearly, who meant EVERYTHING to him, before he had even got to share much time with her, because Tamlin wanted to be comforted by the fact that Feyre was safe, and always would be, trapped in his home like a pretty trophy wife, who he absolutely deserved after all the trauma HE had gone through. Rhys knew if they hadn’t moved when they did that he would have killed Tamlin, and he wouldn’t have regretted it in the slightest.

“Rhys?” Feyre inquired, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Sorry,” he told her, “just thinking about whether that was the right thing to do”. Feyre hummed as she contemplated. “Well,” she said, “We need to establish our strength here, especially with Nyx. Ravkian is known for the brutality of its gangs. Kaz Brekker is known for being the most dangerous out of all the criminals and gang leaders here. If we get him to stay away from us, no one else will even try to come close. We need to be safe. For Nyx.” Rhys flopped onto the bed with his mate and son, his eyes soft, the movement so un-High-Lord-like that Feyre let out a startled laugh. “We will be safe,” he promised her. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

A moment later, Rhys leaning over Nyx towards his mate’s lips, he heard footsteps. Cassian was getting dinner and the girls were still unpacking in their own places. No one else had arrived yet, so he knew it must be Azriel, returning from his mission. Rhys looked towards the door, and indeed, there was Az, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. “Mission success,” he said, his face expressionless. Feyre sighed in relief, and Rhys echoed it. “Hopefully,” he said, standing up and walking over to clap a hand on his spymaster’s shoulder, “he’s a smart lad who won’t attempt to retaliate if he knows what’s good for him”.

~ ~ ~ ~

Scheming face. That was all Inej saw in Kaz’s expression after he had come back with a face like thunder, his limp more pronounced, and a big bruise on his forehead. Nina would fix it in just a moment, she knew, but she still didn’t know what had happened. Just that Kaz was definitely planning revenge against whoever had done this to him. But there was something more in his expression. A darker, haunted look. Something that hurt him more than the bruise that had knocked him out. All of the gangs feared him too much to attempt anything against him, or for that matter the rest of the crows too. They had a reputation. Only someone new and desperate would try anything against them, she knew that. So who was it? And what were they trying to protect?

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aoibhinnslater04 · 11 months

Text

Kanej AU

The scene (specifically from the series rather than the books but basically the bathroom scene) where Nina doesn’t interrupt them and Kaz doesn’t decide to sabotage himself

Basically a whole load of Kanej angst!!

Word count: 1697

Requested by @arany-studio

TW: mentions of rape, trauma, injuries

Kaz walked into the small room to find Inej packing her knives. He saw her pause at the sound of his steps, her head tilting slightly towards him, before she resumed sorting her knives.

"You've been lying low?" he asked, his voice rough.

"I've been gathering Intel on Pekka's assassin. I've discovered my bladesmith supplies him with bone-cutters and fillet knives," she responded, still not looking at him.

"Taxidermy tools," Kaz choked out.

"His name's Mogens. I've got his address,"

"That must have cost you."

Inej cut him off. "A new set of blades." She paused before continuing. "He intends on taking me alive, so he can put me back in the Menagerie."

"I won't let that happen," Kaz said gruffly.

"And why should I believe you?" Inej asked, sharply, turning to face him at last. "We were ambushed, Kaz. Whatever this is, this blood feud you have with Pekka Rollins, I don't believe it's about some Saints-forsaken club! You are gambling with our lives and I deserve to know the reason! You owe me that much," she spat out, the first time Kaz had truly seen her angry. She always managed to find something positive about every situation, even being taken by slavers, sold to a Menagerie where she was abused and raped nearly every day, because her parents and brother weren’t there with her, they were safe, they were alive. Suddenly a bright red staining her sleeve caught Kaz's eye.

"Inej, your arm," he whispered, his eyes fixed on the blood spilling out of her. She paused and glanced down, before sighing and rolling her eyes. She seemed to whisper a silent prayer for patience before removing her shirt, leaving her with just a vest on. She checked the bandage, before removing it, wincing. Kaz looked away, unable to bear it, before finally answering her question.

"Pekka Rollins killed my brother."

He felt Inej stiffen slightly, and heard her turn to face him. There was a long moment of silence, as she searched his half-hidden face, before finding whatever it was she was looking for.

"Then we destroy him."

Kaz turned his head quickly up to face her, and saw the openness and anger in her face. She meant it, too. They shared a look, a brief moment where they were both just two people in pain, where they could get comfort from each other, before Inej winced again, and the moment shattered. She glanced once more at her arm, before turning away from Kaz again, reaching for the alcohol to disinfect the wound. She poured some on a piece of linen, and started dabbing at it, twisting her neck to make sure she was reaching every bit of the exposed cut. Kaz, hardly even aware of his own body, moved towards her. She glanced up at him, her beautiful doe eyes searching his face, before she turned to the cut again. Kaz reached out his hand silently, an offer. With her eyes now again on his face, not moving, as if hypnotised, she handed him the cloth. He wasn't able to remove his gloves, not yet, but he hadn't been so close to another human being since Jordie had died.

Inej saw his momentary hesitation, and turned away from him, allowing him to move at his own rate. He reached towards her, dabbing at the wound with the cloth. He heard her breathing hitch slightly, and kept dabbing, not wanting to break the spell by speaking. But then Inej spoke, her words soft and hesitant.

"Is there anyone to protect you?"

You, Inej. You.

But instead he responded, slightly harsh, "Was there no one to protect you?"

Inej turned to look at him, her face soft and vulnerable. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could say a word.

"Look for Mogens' tells. Signs of an old injury that point to a weakness or a repeating action that tells you what he's going to do next."

He saw her face turn contemplative, before she asked hesitantly, "Do I have one?"

He turned his head back to her soft brown skin, before responding "you shift your weight onto your back leg before you lunge. "

She turned fully, facing him again. He stepped back slightly, cursing himself inwardly. She whispered, so softly he could barely hear her. "What's yours?"

Kaz paused, before looking her in the eye. "The limp. The cane. No one's ever smart enough to look for the real one."

Inej moved slightly, just an inch towards her. It was as though his senses were heightened. He smelt her gentle jasmine scent, saw her lips slightly parted, heard her soft breathing, felt her gentle touch as she recovered the cloth he forgot he still held, and all he could think about was her nearness. He hadn't so much as removed a single glove, but he felt as vulnerable as though she had stripped him naked.

Kaz cleared his throat before stepping back, grabbing the fresh roll of bandages off the bench. Inej obediently turned away again, allowing him to take a deep breath. The silence was killing him, and he spoke without thinking.

“You know, I don’t find this part easy. The cutting, the slicing, causing pain is the easy part. Repairing the damage afterwards is far more difficult.”

He wondered if she knew that he wasn’t talking about her wound, then, not really. He was trying to explain that although he was broken, he was trying to repair himself, trying to fix the cracks to become the sort of man she would be proud of, that Jordie would be proud of.

Inej let out a deep breath, sending strands of her dark hair fluttering outwards. Kaz reached out automatically, smoothing her hair down against her head. She stiffened, and so did Kaz, that brief moment of automatic affection an oddity to both. But Kaz then again, feeling almost dizzy with desire, allowed himself to gently stroke her hair. His gloves were still on, a barrier that separated them, but as he felt Inej relax at his touch, he allowed himself to want more, to want Inej. Perhaps one day she might want him too.

Inej cleared her throat, bringing back reality. “Once, when I was much younger, the first time that I tried to walk across the tightrope, I fell. Not when I was on the wire, but at the end, can you imagine? I fell, and hadn’t yet learned how to fall properly. My parents ran to me, but I didn’t feel the pain. I think I was in shock.”

Kaz waited, sure she had a point to this story.She hesitated, before continuing.

“I broke my leg in three different places. My mother thought I might never walk again. My leg healed, but some scars still remained. I couldn’t walk on the tightrope for months, fearing what would happen when I reached the end.”

She turned to face him now, causing him to step back.

“Finally I decided enough was enough. I had been afraid for too long. So everyday for three weeks, instead of walking across the tightrope, I would climb the ladder and just stand at the end. I stood there for an hour that first day, until I had calmed enough to climb down. The second day, I stood there for forty five minutes. Finally, I was only standing there for a few seconds. It took a long time, and the end is still my least favourite part, but I fought against my fears and won.”

She stepped closer to him, and this time he didn’t move back.

“You will fight your fears Kaz Brekker, and then one day you will live without the same fear. It might still hurt occasionally, but you are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Kaz looked down at her, his face soft, open and vulnerable. Inej looked straight back up at him, her eyes wide and searching, waiting. Kaz bent down slightly towards her, and brushed his lips slightly against her forehead in the gentlest kiss. Her eyes shuttered closed briefly, the softest sound escaping her throat, but she didn’t move. She allowed Kaz to tell her without words what he was capable of, what was too far and yet not enough. She allowed the broken man before her to fix a small, fractured piece of himself, before she stepped back, quivering slightly. She was feeling everything all at once, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. But she stayed steady, and breathed, like she was at the end of the wire once again. Kaz gazed at her, his expression full of wonder, like a young boy, his future full of possibilities.

She turned, so he wouldn’t see the tears that had filled her eyes, and grabbed a hairbrush, unpinning her plait to rebraid it. But he held out his hand, and said, softly, gruffly, as if he, too, was fighting back unshed tears, “Let me.”

Inej handed him the brush, and climbed onto the small bench in front of him, and as Kaz began to gently brush her hair, untangling the knots with such care it was as though he thought she might break at the slightest tug. Inej allowed, then, the tears to fall. She didn’t see that Kaz, too, had tears trickling down his cheeks.

She let out a deep breath, she didn’t realise she had been holding, shuddering slightly, and allowed her eyes to shut for a moment. It had been so long since she had slept, and she had never felt so tired, as if her emotions had drained her more than usual. Her body swayed slightly, but then felt Kaz steady her. He gently laid her back onto the bench, and she felt him move away. She thought he had gone, but then heard his uneven steps return. She felt the softness and warmth of a blanket cover her, and felt him gently lift her head to put a pillow underneath.

“I thought you had left me,” she whispered, her voice heavy with sleep.

“Never,” he vowed. “I will never leave you.”

And then Inej fell asleep, guarded by the healing man above her, his dark eyes keeping watch, protecting her from anything that meant her harm.

#kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows #crooked kingdom #bathroom scene #angst #kanejedit #kanej angst #netflix shadow and bone #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone season 2

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