#inej ghafa x grisha reader

[gabbyshere]

Kaz: You were mugged? Why would you keep this from me?

Inej: Because they're injured.

Y/n: I wasn't injured. I was lightly stabbed.

Kaz: I'm sorry, you were stabbed?

Y/n: Lightly stabbed.

[narcissisticmf]

jumped | kaz brekker x fem!reader

description: y/n is out one night getting supplies for the black veil and on her way back, she gets mugged. when she returns to the tomb, everyone is concerned.

trigger warnings: graphic violence, assault, descriptions of minor injuries, blood, angst, seductive behavior, etc. read at your own risk.

word count: 2.6k

Rain tapped against the cobblestones as you made your way back to the gondel. Its rope was tied to the docks, securing its place. A cloak was draped over your shoulders as the hood was pulled over your head, concealing your face from potential threats.

In your grasp, you carried a large paper bag that was filled with canned goods and other essentials the tomb was lacking. Each week, you rotated with the other Crows who would go out and retrieve supplies. You didn't mind going out, but it was dangerous to do so under the circumstances.

As you placed the filled bag gently into the gondel, you stood up straight and reached for the rope that was tied to the dock. Your hand froze as you heard several heavy footsteps coming from behind you.

You swore under your breath and reached inside your cloak to the bow and arrows that were concealed perfectly. You made haste with pulling your weapons out. You drew an arrow into your bow and pulled back with precision as you turned your whole body in the sound of the direction of the footsteps.

The rain continued to fall and the subtle haze that formed across the docks blurred your vision. The sun was already setting and the torches that lit the town were burning out from the rapid fall of rain.

Your lips parted just slightly as you controlled your breath. Your eyes flickered to the left as you heard the footsteps approach closer. Your heartbeat was steady, unafraid and unyielding.

A dark shadow was casted in front of you on the docks. You couldn't make out the face, but you had a gut feeling that whomever the person had been was not approaching for casual conversation.

As a way of warning, you released your grip onto the bow and shot an arrow clean past the person's right ear. To your dismay, they did not slow down nor turn around. You released a soft grunt of frustration and drew back another arrow.

"Whomever you are, leave now," You spoke with pure authority, not once did your voice waver. They continued stepping forward and reached into their jacket to pull out a freshly sharpened knife. Your eyes glanced at the weapon. You swallowed thickly and aimed your arrow, not at them, but at their hand which held a tight grip on the knife. "Leave now," You spoke through gritted teeth. "I promise I won't miss this time.. if you choose not to walk away."

Your threats didn't seem to make much of a difference to the body before you. You lifted your gaze to their dark hooded eyes. The haze from the rain didn't make it easy to tell who they were, but it didn't seem to matter in the moment.

Swiftly, the person before you charged forth with the knife gripped tightly in their hand. You dodged the strike by bending forward and getting behind them. You held your arrow out and shot at their leg. It struck them in the calf as you smirked at the grunt that left their lips. It sounded like a man, but you weren't too sure.

They reached down their left and ripped the arrow from their fresh, bloody wound. Snapping the arrow in half, they stood and rushed towards you again, pinning you to the slick, wet ground. Shocked by the sudden drop, you breathed quickly for a few moments before reaching up with a free hand to punch them square in the nose. They staggered off of you and held their gushing, bloody nose.

You quickly went for the gondel as they were distracted, and hopefully a little delirious. You untied the ropes and hopped into the boat, ready to make your way back to the tomb. You let out a harsh, guttural scream as a wave of sharp pain filled your right shoulder. You looked back to see the person standing there with empty hands. You lowered your gaze to the knife that was lodged into your shoulder, deep and painful.

You winced and made a horrible attempt at rowing with your non-dominant arm. Blood was seeping from your shoulder and soaking your cloak. The metallic smell filled your nostrils. Stains of the thick red liquid soaked into the bottom of the boat and on the paper bag that was filled with supplies for the tomb.

.

Grunting in pain, you pulled the gondel up onto the wet ground and tied it with your left hand to a tree nearby the water. You winced as you leaned into the boat to grab the paper bag and stumbled towards the tomb. Your vision blurred with black dots as you walked through the cemetery, the rain still pouring ferociously.

Eventually, you made it to the tomb (you weren't even sure how you managed it, but you did). You carelessly dropped the bag onto the table and grunted. Your breathing was harsh. Wylan, Jesper and Matthias were seated on the couch as you made your way in. You removed your hood off your head and turned to see a trail of blood you left behind stepping inside. The three of them stood up and walked towards you.

"What the hell happened?" Jesper asked, dragging out each word.

"Are you okay?" Matthias asked.

"Sit down, Y/N," Wylan suggested as he pulled a chair out for you.

They didn't seem to have noticed the knife protruding from your shoulder until the moment you sat down. You winced in pain, tightening your jaw.

"Oh shit," Jesper murmured.

"Can one of you three idiots get Nina?!" You hadn't meant to raise your voice, but you were in such pain you weren't in full control over your actions.

"Right!" Wylan left to find Nina somewhere in the tomb.

Eventually, Kaz appeared with a locked jaw and sharp eyes. If he was concerned, he didn't appear to be. He was good at concealing his emotions.

"What happened?" He questioned as he came around the table to look at you directly.

"Well, I went into town to get supplies," You replied and held your arm tightly, starting to see more and more black dots in your vision.

"I got her!" Wylan pronounced as he came back to the room with both Nina and Inej.

"Oh Saints.." Nina whispered and stared at you in the chair with the knife through your shoulder.

"Hello to you too," You gritted as Nina pulled a chair to sit before you. She got to work quickly, but kept careful with every motion she made.

"I'm still waiting for a legitimate answer," Kaz stated with an irritant tone.

"Okay," You exhaled, "I was on my way back to the gondel when someone was coming from behind me." You explained, "I shot a warning at them, but they didn't stop. At one point, they pinned me down so I think I broke their nose and then I made a run for it to get to the boat and as I was making my miserable getaway, they threw the knife at me."

Nina successfully removed the knife and wasted no time in covering it. You hissed when she cleaned the wound with aged whiskey. You sighed after the wound was clothed in the protectant guaze.

"Thanks, Nina," You whispered.

"You lost a lot of blood, you should rest," She pulled her lips into a tight, thin smile.

"From now on, we get supplies in pairs," Kaz announced to no one in particular. "I don't want anything like this to happen again." And then, he was gone.

.

Inside a small room, you attempted to fill a copper tub with boiled water to wash away the dirt and blood that coated your body. Your cloak had nearly been ruined, but Inej reassured you that she would try and patch it up. As you used your uninjured arm to pour the water into the tub, you hissed feeling the strain against your right shoulder.

"Need help?" Kaz entered the room, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. His cane was nowhere in sight.

"Uhm, yeah," You whispered. You almost didn't hear yourself speak.

Kaz pushed himself off the wall and helped you pour the water into the copper tub. It took a bit more time to fill the tub than you would've liked. You stared at Kaz's profile as he continued pouring in the water.

"Enjoying the view?" Kaz questioned without breaking into a smile. You didn't respond, instead you merely continued gazing. "I charge twenty kruge for a show, but I can give you a minor discount," He finally met your gaze and swallowed thickly.

"Kaz Brekker making flirtatious jokes? Somebody must write this down," Your lips formed a small grin.

Kaz's lips curved upward into a slight smile. With the others, he was always stoic but around you there were moments when Kaz could relax. His shoulders eased just a bit and his furrowed brows released the tension.

"Are you well?" You asked in the comfortable stillness.

"You just got knifed in the shoulder and you're asking me if I'm well?" Kaz questioned, staring at you intently.

"I believe that was my question, yes," You nodded.

Kaz broke the eye contact and went to pour more water into the tub when it was finished boiling. He didn't entertain your question with a response, instead he continued filling the tub.

"I'm still waiting for a legitimate answer," You stood slightly up on your tiptoes to whisper into his ear the same thing he said to you not too long ago.

"I'm well," He replied with amusement in his gaze as he looked at you.

"Good," You whispered and stepped back away from him for a moment. The tub was nearly full so you started to unbutton your pants. Kaz wasn't looking, but you got the sense that he could see everything from where he stood. He had his jaw clenched, almost as if he were fighting his inner thoughts.

"Can I help?" He didn't look at you when he asked. He could see you struggling due to your injured arm.

Your breath caught in your throat as you blinked and looked up to him. "Sure," You nodded and then added, "Please."

Kaz placed the pot of water back down and walked towards you. You gazed at him as your palms began to produce a thin layer of sweat. He removed his gloves and placed them on the small table beside you. You looked up to his face, but his gaze was locked downward, as his hands moved to the button of your pants. He unclasped it effortlessly and, only then, did he raise his eyes to look into yours.

There was silence for a long while. At least, it felt like a long while.

"Thank you," You whispered.

Kaz didn't respond to your gratitude and inside nodded once with a mere dip of his chin. You weren't sure if it was because of how close the two of you stood, but you could almost hear the rapid thumping of his heart.. or maybe it was your heart.

He stepped back one step and swallowed, "Is that enough water?"

You turned your eyes to the copper tub and nodded mindlessly, completely forgetting about the bath you planned to take.

"Yes," You nodded.

"Okay," Kaz bowed his head once. "Then, I'll be on my way. You'll rest afterwards?"

You nodded softly, not trusting your own voice.

"Good," He turned and headed for the doorway, but you reached out to grasp his wrist. Kaz met your eyes again with a question in them that needed no words.

"Stay," You exhaled. "Stay with me, please." You weren't sure if your voice was shaking or if your body was shaking, but frankly you didn't seem to care in the moment. "I don't want to be alone," You stated once you trusted your voice again.

Kaz looked as though he might've been contemplating and, eventually, he slowly nodded. You sighed contently and began to remove your clothing. It didn't seem to phase either of you, but something in the room was different. You looked up to Kaz when you couldn't quite shimmy out of your top.

He stepped forward and assisted you in removing the top. You swallowed the lump in your throat and looked at Kaz. His gaze was hard, yet soft. He looked as though he could devour you in that very moment, but something had a strong grip on him. His pride, perhaps, you thought.

Kaz helped you out of the rest of you garments and assisted you into the bubbly and soapy tub. The water was warm against your greasy and dirt-covered skin. Kaz pulled a chair out to sit beside the tub, letting his bad leg stretch out. It must've felt relieving to be able to take the weight off it for a while, since he hadn't come in with his cane.

"Thank you," You whispered and leaned your head back against the tub.

He nodded again, gazing at you with both admiration and hunger. You couldn't quite differentiate the two; not that they were all that much different anyway.

You made sure not to get your wrapped arm wet as you reached for a bar of soap to clean your hair with.

"Allow me," Kaz spoke softly as he reached for the soap. You nodded with a small smile and turned so that he could easily wash your hair. His hands were perfectly pale and they felt nice as he massaged your scalp and scrubbed the soap in between the strands.

"Perhaps, if the thug life doesn't suit you forever, you might think of becoming a barber," You smiled as you head was leaned back against the tub.

"I will take it into consideration," Kaz grinned, you could hear it in his voice as your eyes were closed.

Silence stirred in the room. The only sound came from Kaz rinsing your hair after washing it. You sat there for a while, until the water ran cold.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Kaz whispered. "I should've been there."

"What?" You turned to face him, your chest covered by all the bubbles. Kaz looked at you with a nervous and uneasy gaze. "Kaz, there isn't anything you or anyone else could've done."

"I could've helped you," He replied, almost sadly.

"I'm alive, aren't I?" You asked and reached your good arm over to gently grasp his ungloved hand. They were warm and soft. You stared at your hands for a moment and breathed deeply. Kaz must've been feeling the same way because his chest rose and fell rapidly.

"I don't want anything like this to happen again," He repeated his words from earlier, but this time it was in a whisper. Kaz leaned closer to you as you stared at him with a beautiful gaze.

You gently squeezed his hand as his lips found yours. It was a kiss filled with longing and passion, but it was soft. He tasted of smoke and pinewood. You leaned your head back gently a little bit as his other hand cupped your face.

Slowly, you pulled back and felt your cheeks warm with heat. Kaz stared at you lovingly.

"So," You whispered, "are you gonna come join me?" Your eyes were filled with mischief as you gently grazed your fingers across the surface of the water.

Kaz smiled, coyly, in response and shrugged off his coat.

.

a/n: SO i just started reading six of crows, i'm half way through crooked kingdom and i'm in LOVE dude. i need to watch the show when i finish with the book. i hope you guys like this and that was okayish?? i'm kinda proud of it! if you want more six of crows stuff, PLEASE let me know!! ily guys so much!! mwah! <3 — angelina.

[notelcol]

The Getaway🐦‍⬛

That Kaz x reader hurt/comfort that was voted in by some lovely people❤️

Mildly edited, apologies for mistakes🫶

The wind blew harshly against your body as you ran through Ketterdam with a stolen scroll in your hand. You felt like you were flying. Grinning, you turned towards the man who ran a step behind you. His face matched yours. A wicked joy had you both feeling more alive than ever. You had just pulled a small heist, now it was your favourite part. The getaway.

A few more turnings through the winding streets and you would be at the switch point. There, you would meet Inej and she would disappear with the loot, while Jesper appears and shoots the men chasing you. That was the plan at least…When you and Kaz finally skidded to a halt at your location, you both looked up at the rooftops for Inej.

“Where is she?” Kaz hissed. You looked back down the road you had come from.

“Where’s the men?” You realised they should have caught up by now. Slow footsteps began to echo, coming from a nearby turning. You whipped your head around to see the man you just stole from. He grinned menacingly before pulling out a gun. Kaz clocked it before you did but before he could even take a step towards you, the shot rang out. The scroll fell from your hand and rolled down the street, towards the shooter.

“I’ll have that back now, thank you.” He said, all too politely. Then, he simply walked away while whistling a jaunty tune.

The shock wore off, as the whistling became quieter. Then came the pain. You held your hand against your stomach, only to be met with a wet warmth. Reality truly hit you when you looked down at your hand and saw the blood. All of a sudden you could feel it trickling down from your stomach until it fell in a pool on the floor. You looked to Kaz for reassurance, only to see him white as a sheet inching towards you terror.

“You need to apply pressure.” He instructed. You complied, but each second you felt as though you were fading. Until, you dropped.

“HEY!” Kaz shouted desperately poking you with his cane. “Stay awake and keep applying pressure. Inej and Jesper will be here…they’re just held up.” He hoped they would make it. A situation like this is the only time Kaz feels useless.

Your eyes started to roll as your vision became blurry. You tried to keep pressing on your wound, but your hands wouldn’t listen to you anymore. As your fingers fell beside you once again, you felt a hard pressure against your stomach. You knew you were delirious when you saw Kaz kneeling at your side, keeping your blood inside your body, allowing you to close your eyes at last. Kaz himself was beginning to feel like he was dreaming too. But his dream was a memory. The last time he had pushed his hair out of his face, your blood on his gloves ran up his arm beneath his sleeve. The wet sensation combined with the coldness of your body under his hands was all too familiar. He could almost feel the water choking him once more.

Kaz wanted nothing more than to sink his memories forever. But they kept surfacing to matter how hard he tried to focus on you. A scream ripped from his throat as he punched himself in the head, as if trying to evict the distraction of his childhood trauma. His eyes fell upon your face as he told himself this isn’t Jordie. You were still alive, at least you would be as long as he could keep himself together. He pressed more confidently against the wound at he thought of losing you, his partner in crime. He never expected to trust someone enough to call them that. He had his Crows, but never a partner. Not until you. Not since Jordie. A tear fell from his cheek onto yours as he stared down at your paling features.

He barely even noticed Inej’s arrival. It was shortly followed by Jesper’s much louder one.

“Sorry! We got held up by-“ Jesper froze when he saw the scene before him, then released a breath when he saw your chest rising.

“Shit. We need to get them back home.” Jesper jumped straight into action, less cautious to approach Kaz than Inej was. He took over Kaz’ position at your side and picked you up.

You woke up to a deep ache, causing you to groan and roll over. The movement changed the pain to a searing stab.

“FUCKING HELL!!!” You screamed.

“Good morning to you too.” Kaz’ made his presence in the room known to you. He was sat at the side of your bed smirking at you.

“I take it the men who were supposed to be chasing us are why Inej and Jesper were late?” You asked. Kaz answered you with only a nod, leaving you still concerned for your friends. Your rolled your eyes as sat up, this time sure to move slower. It did not help much, still feeling like you were being ripped open. You felt Kaz’ cane press against your chest gently.

“Lay down.” He sternly told you. You looked up at him in defiance but stopped when you saw his eyes. “Please.” His tone was more vulnerable this time, small like a whisper. You allowed his cane to push you back down, not missing the sadness in his eyes as a groan escaped you.

“I’m okay.” You sent him a comforting smile, which he returned.

“So are Inej and Jesper.”

Kaz had been in and out of your room all day in between handling business.

“I just came to say goodnight.” He said, though he seemed as though he was holding back. You decided not to pry, since you did not have the energy to get blood from a stone tonight.

“Goodnight Kaz.” You smiled. He turned to leave, looking almost disappointed. Then out of nowhere, he rushed back in and stopped when he reached your bedside. He looked deep into your eyes. The intensity woke your drowsy mind as your heart skipped a beat. “You are very special to me. Today was…” He trailed off and looked away. You thought he was about to turn around and leave again, but instead he sucked in a deep breath and quickly pressed a kiss to your forehead. As his lips met your skin, he lingered for a second. This was the closest you had ever felt to him. Not because of the physical contact though. It was rare for Kaz let someone see him feel. It felt intimate. But it was over as fast as it began.

“Goodnight.” He said once more, but this time he was breathless and shaking in a mix of fear and something else that he was finally ready to name.

“I love you.” He spoke. Before you could process the interaction, he was gone.

——-

Thank you for reading 🌹

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Eye of The Storm ⛈| Six of Crows Imagine

Takes place during the events of Shadow & Bone S2

My Masterlists

Characters & Pairings: Crows x Squaller/Saint!Reader (platonic), Kaz Brekker x reader (slight/eventual)

Content Warnings: fighting, blood, profanity, cannon divergence | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 4.9k

Requested 📨: yes/no

Premise: As the Crows make their way back to the Slate following their climatic dethronement of Pekka Rollins, they are ambushed by his supporters with no plan of action to escape. As they slowly accept their fate, what was once a clear night is rained upon with lightning and thunder in its wake. Having beat the odds of meeting one living Saint in their lifetime, the Crows are stunned when their savior, a player in the ever unfolding drama in Ravka, is the legend in stories of restoring life in the world when all hope was lost.

Note: although the Saint name I give is not Y/n, it’s still a reader insert and explains more at the end (it’s not an OC) also I know Zoya is called Sankta Zoya of the Storm but I have yet to get to her arc so for this the reader has powers equivalent to her

————————

The sirens had finally seized, concluding the hysteria in the streets of Ketterdam once it was revealed the Firebox outbreak was a hoax. Constructed by none other than the Bastard of the Barrel and his thieves amongst men, the Crows. After years of heated tension, and guided vengeance, against Pekka Rollins, Kaz Brekker succeeded in his plans of putting down the Lion that had ruined his life. Constant mental torture as he manuevered his players on their chestboard now able to rest.

“Where were you?” His voice was raspy, face still painted with his blood from the beating as he addressed Inej when she appeared from the shadows. They had been making their way back to the Slat. Nina, Wylan, and Jesper were flanked beside him, the dimly lit street light shining down on the group. Inej had been the only one not accounted for, flooding Kaz with anxiety mixed with anger that she strayed from the plan.

“I--.”

A gloved hand came up, stopping her. “Actually, I’d rather not hear what you have to say.” he wanted to shout. Reprimand her for being so foolish. Voice how her actions could’ve gotten her or one of them hurt because they had no idea where she was.

Despite these desires, the pain in Kaz’s body was too much and he was in need of a strong drink. Inej narrowed her eyes, but the man brushed past her leaving the others to send her looks of sympathy. Falling in step, the group followed behind Kaz, making note of how empty the streets were at that time of night. It was eerie. Yeah they may have caused an uproar with their little stunt, but they assumed there’d still be people out and about.

Dance halls and clubs are empty. The markets closed for business. Not a soul in sight. Wylan was the first to speak, “I’ve never seen it this quiet.”

“Very odd if I must say,” Jesper agreed, unconsciously letting his hands fall to where his guns strapped to his belt. His intuition was picking at his brain at the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s plotting now that Pekka is gone,” Inej made note of their surroundings. They were only a block from the Slat. Soon they’d be in the comfort of their home, able to bask in the relief they pulled their task off. A warm cup of tea by the fireplace before it came time for bed. Inej was looking forward to it.

But unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Nina suddenly froze, “Stop,” all movement seized, heads turning to the heartrender. Unease consumed them as they took in the sudden paleness of her appearance. “I hear heartbeats.” There was a subtle gulp, the woman adding in a low tone, “a lot of heartbeats.”

Tensing, they were met with the sounds of footsteps approaching from every angle. Inej pulled out her knives, as did Jesper with his guns. Wylan clutched his satchel to his chest, thinking of what he could use to help them out of this situation, though the odds were not looking good. Meanwhile, Kaz reversed his steps while the others spun around, the Crows forming a circle with their backs to one another, Kaz keeping space between him and Jesper. Allowing them a full view of the square.

They watched the herd of men step into the light. Revealing themselves with menacing eyes filled with vengeance. Kaz tensed, recognizing them as Pekka’s men.

Well the ones still loyal to the King of the Barrel. Several had already pledged their support to Kaz or took the chance to ditch town while they had the opportunity. Yet, here was a group of at least twelve, likely part of Pekka’s inner circle who’ve taken the actions of Kaz more personally. Those who refused to kneel. The young criminal should’ve known better than to expect a sudden shift in power would come easily to him.

“We have no business with you, gentlemen,” Kaz spoke with a level of calm that surprised even him. Deep down he was consumed with nerves seeing he and the Crows were severely outnumbered.

“Oh, but we do,” a gruff voice replied. Kaz’s eyes drifted to the owner, who’s hand mavuevered over his gun. “See, some of us are not too pleased with your little show tonight, Brekker. And we’ll be damned before claiming you as the King of the city.”

Jesper tilts his head slightly, whispering under his breath, “What do we do, boss?” Beside him Wylan was visibly freaking out. Nina raised her hands, ready to counter any attacks while Inej tightened the grip of her knives.

“This is it,” Kaz thought, clutching onto his cane. No ideas surfaced to help them escape. Accepting his time was up. Though he was going to fight for his Crows, the Bastard of the Barrel was ready to come to terms with his fate.

But before anyone could make the first room, a crack of lightning followed by its booming thunder shook the ground. Several flinched, including the crows, some of the Dime Lions stumbling by how close and sudden the element was to them. Rainfall began to pour down the once clear sky. Dark clouds covering the stars and skies.

The rain was thick, drenching everyone from head to toe. Their clothes became heavy. Had it not been for the skewing of their visibility, making them struggle to see where they were, they’d be annoyed by their state. But there were more important things at stake.

The storm made it hard to see. Only getting a glimpse of shapes and figures when flashes of lightning in the near distance hit the earth. Coupled with its thunder. Kaz barely could make out the enemy, bringing his cane up for any sudden attacks.

“What’s happening?” Wylan shouted, gurgling when the water hit mouth. “What do we do?”

“I-I--,” Kaz stuttered, the feeling of nausea swarming him at the cold, wet, rain hitting his face. It brought him back to the worst days of his life. Floating on top of cold, wet, bodies in the harbour, begging the Saints to save him. The man wanted to crawl away and hide. Yet the fear of not knowing what waited for them when the rain stopped kept him from falling to his knees in a panic.

“Hey! You there!” the same man from before shouted, Kaz squinting his eyes to see him raise his gun only to be thrown back by an invisible force of wind. His partner beside him went down next, though what hit him appeared to be a beam of light.

Kinda like a lightning bolt.

“What the hell was that?!” Inej shouted over the thunder.

‘A Squaller?’ Kaz thought to himself, watching another bout of wind sweep his oncoming attacker off their feet. He had not heard of another Grisha roaming the streets of Ketterdam. Surely if a squaller were inhabiting the area he’d know.

Using the butt of his cane Kaz knocked him out unconsious. When he glanced back up, his eyes landed on a cloaked figure standing on the roof of a nearby building. The rain made it impossible to make out their face. But judging by the way they moved their hands, and the fact his enemies were being bombarded by gusts of air, their savior was in fact an Ethereaki.

But what kind exactly?

At first Kaz believed they had to be a Squaller due to the wind. Yet, he then witnessed the rain shift direction, and water from a puddle shoot up to hit a man about to attack Wylan. A Tidemaker would better fit that description, however Kaz wasn’t aware of a Grisha able to control both air and water.

“I don’t know,” Jesper responded, shooting at an assailant he saw racing toward them, “But I’ve never been so happy for a thunderstorm as I am now.” At that moment Kaz realized nobody else noticed the mysterious person on the roof. His attention turned to Jesper beside him, oblivious to the help he was getting from a fellow Grisha. Turning back to the roof, expecting to see the cloaked individual, but they were gone.

As the fight commenced the storm ensued. Thunder overpowering the sound of pelting rain and gunshots. The Crows fought for their lives as the number of Dime Lions against them decreased. Nina managed to incapacitate several as did Jesper and Inej. The fight came to a climatic end with the last one standing was, quite, literally, hit with a lightning bolt causing the Crows to freeze where they stood.

Smoke filled the space, and when it cleared they were met with the mysterious being. Rain pelting down on them, however they seemed to pay no mind. As though it were a natural occurrence. It was still hard to see them. The streetlight candles had been blown out from the rain and wind, and the moon was covered by the clouds. Both those combinations obscured the face of their savior.

Nina raised her hands, ready to defend the group but Kaz motioned for her to stop, causing confusion amongst the rest. Who was this person and what did they want? And why was Kaz not doing anything?

“Well,” their voice, a feminine one at that, breached the once silent square. “That was entertaining if I’m being honest. Been a while since I’ve squabbled with angsty men,” she chucked, “but I was in dire need of practice.” Now hearing the woman speak clearly, they were able to identify her Ravkan accent. For Nina, her heart nearly stopped.

“I know that voice.” she felt the eyes of everyone, including the woman, on her. Hands lowering to her side, Nina's face etched into pure astonishment. Adding more confusion to the group who were at a loss of who this woman was.

“Oh!” The woman chuckled, not commenting on Nina’s words, “Apologies for the storm, let me just--,” they watched in stunned silence as her right hand rose, displaying a motion before the rain slowed and stopped altogether. Then with two fingers, she waved them around causing the clouds above to dissaperate, allowing the moon to shine down.

“Did she just--.” Jesper whispered to Inej, who’s expression resembled that of witnessing a miracle. “Can squallers summon thunderstorms? I thought that was a myth.”

Inej blinked rapidly, voice so low the others barely made out her reply. Tone in absolute awe, “Only one can.”

“One?” Kaz repeated, feeling a wave of unease beneath his skin.

Water from puddles splashed as the woman walked forward, stepping into the ray of light. The Crows, now able to see her fully, were greeted with her (y/h/c) hair and bearing dazzling grey eyes like the storm clouds she’d summoned. She appeared to be slightly older than the group, possibly by a few years. Then again Grisha were known to age slower than regular folk. For all they know she could be in her 50s. Look at the Darkling, who passed as a man in his early 40s to the naked eye but had lived for nearly 400 years.

Adorned in a deep grey kefta, the white and blue embroidery etched on resembled lightning bolts along with tiny drops of rain. It was unlike any kefta the Grisha wore. Those in the Ravka’s Second Army, with the exception of the Darkling, wore certain colored keftas and embroideries to signify their order. But to the knowledge of the Crows, no Grisha wore grey.

“Saints,” Nina gasped, jaw dropping slightly, causing the woman to smirk.

“Now, now,” she playfully tsked, “I’m not above swearing, but considering that applies to me….” her smirk never faltered, “I’m sure you can understand.”

Jesper’s head spun, looking between his comrades to see they were reacting the same way, “I’m sorry, are you saying that you’re--.”

Nina beat him to it, “Sankta Imber of the Drought.” Inej gasped, as did Wylan. The former repeated the name in wonder, falling to her knees in respect, “Sankta Imber….”

Kaz tightened his grip on his cane, mind racing to remember the tale behind the name. Who’s story was passed down from generation to generation for centuries. Who, like the Darkling and the Sun Summoner, was said to be either myth or once lived but suspected of perishing long ago.

Legends say that Sankta Imber of the Drought had been born in the century following the creation of the Fold. A farmer's daughter in the region of East Ravka, her family lived through the period where the country was stricken with a severe drought lasting over a hundred years, beginning not long after the Black Heretic disappeared. With no rain bringing water to the crops came a deadly famine. Hundreds of people and animals were lost, not only due to starvation and dehydration, but also illness. The economy in all of Ravka crumbled. Both States were fighting against each other for resources, as the food supply from East Ravka to West was now scarce. An increase in fires and dust bowls destroyed a lot of ecosystems, further deteriorating the country.

What was left of it that is.

There was little to no hope, with even prayers to the Saints to help them becoming meaningless words. Those still worshiping begged for a savior. The one who would bring the rain and storm. Ending the drought. Releasing them from the famine.

The idea a Squaller could summon a powerful storm was unheard of. Being able to bring forth powerful winds, rain, and possibly lightning and Thunder? Surely a Grisha of sorts would be only known by folklore. Especially given Tidemakers were the ones to control water.

Yet, it all changed one day as the 104th year of the drought approached.

“You’re more powerful than you think, Imber,” Baghra's stern voice echoed in the cave. Sitting opposite of her, with her head down and tear stains painting her cheeks, 15-year-old Imber Egorova made a sound Baghra could only assume was a whimper. “Denying it will do you no good. It will do this country no good.”

“How do you know?” The girl whispered, voice hoarse from crying following another gruesome 12 hour training day. “What makes me different from any other Squaller here?” She referred to the 20 other Squallers residing on the Little Palace grounds. Though some trained with the renowned Gisha teacher, none experienced the level of intensity Imber did.

“No Squaller here has shot someone 80 yards by their power during an exercise,” Baghra rebutted, causing Imber to wince at the memory. The reason why she was suddenly called to Baghra’s cave in the first place. From then on Imber barely got a lick of sleep or time to eat a proper meal.

The older woman gave a pointed look, “nor have they been able to summon electricity.” Ignoring Imbers stunned expression, she continued, “yes, girl, I know what you did when your sister’s heart stopped before you came here. Why your family was so willing to let you go after the testers proved you were Grisha,” Baghra leaned back in her chair, face void of emotion. “Ravka has not seen more than a few inches of rain since this drought began. No storms. And with the famine,” there was a light pause, “It’s claimed more lives than the Fold.”

Imber shuddered at the mention of Ravka’s darkened entity. Not wanting to think about its black abyss swimming with volcra.

“The point is, child,” Baghra captured her attention once more, “Besides the Sun Summoner, you could be the one to end part of Ravka’s suffering. But that will not happen if you cannot believe it yourself.”

Weeks shy of her 16th birthday, Imber received a letter from her father, which would change not only her world, but the one around. After contracting a bacteria from contaminated pond water, her mother and sister succumbed to a deadly illness after only a week. Her father had buried them on their land by the dead oak tree where they used to have picnics before Imber was taken to the Little Palace.

Distraught and riddled with unbearable pain, Imber collapsed to her knees in the middle of the courtyard, crumbling the letter in her hands. Her peers were silent, staring at her with sympathy. Unsure of what to say to the grieving teen, despite many knowing the exact feeling Imber was feeling.

Sorrow, anguish, regret. Never having the chance to correct wrongs or make memories with the loved onces they longed for. The cries of the Grisha filled the otherwise silent courtyard.

Suddenly, a rumble came from the sky..

Imber didn’t hear it over the sound of her sobs. Her companions, however, drew their attention upward, where they were greeted by a sight unimaginable. What once was a clear blue canvas, barely any clouds to begin with, transformed to that of a dark shadow. Wind, so powerful they thought a Squaller was responsible, nearly sent them off their feet.

“What’s happening?” A girl shouted, though they had difficulty hearing her due to the mix of rumbling overhead and breeze of wind.

“I don’t know!” the boy, a Tidemaker, beside her squinted, “Imber!” He lifted a hand to protect his eyes while focusing his view on the kneeled Grisha. A flash of light where her hands were plaed on the ground had him flinching. ‘What in the---.’ The spark occured once more. Chills filled his entire being as his eyes became saucers, falling to a whisper. “Saints above.”

Witnessing the sparks, an Inferni moved closer, ignoring the warning sent by the Tidemaker. “What is she doing?” His answer came by being blasted back by a gust of wind.

Imber let out a broken scream, head tilting back toward the sky as bolts of lightning released from her hands, igniting bouts of thunder in its wake. Gasps and shouts echoed around the Squaller from fellow Grisha and palace guards. The group behind her ran to find cover as the wind became too much, sending barrels and crates flying. Lightning and thunder, the duo reuniting as lost friends.

A sight to behold.

As the tears rolled down Imber’s cheeks, heavy rain soon replaced them. Drenching the lands of East Ravka for the first time in a hundred years.

For hours the girl remained kneeling on the grounds of the courtyard. Alone as everyone had seeked shelter within the Palace walls, letting the water from above coat her. The kefta she bore grew heavy. She paid no mind to it.

It wasn’t until she began to shiver from the freezing atmosphere that Imber retreated inside. Coming face to face with the reality of what transpired. As two guards escorted her to the throne room, Imber barely took notice of her peers watching the storm draw on from the windowsills. Some glanced at her in a mix of wonder, awe, and fear. Fear at the unknown, but wonder at what will be known.

Entering the throne room Imber was greeted by the King, Queen, Baghra, and the General of Ravka’s Second Army. Whereas the country’s monarchs were visibily bewildered at Imber, Baghra appeared impressed in comparison to the General’s excitement. Nerves consumed her on top of the immense grief Imber was experincing. Rain continued pelting the windows and roof of the Little Palace. Every once in a while, the occupants in the room flinched at the crack of thunder.

Upon making eye contact with the King, Imber bowed her head, curtseying as best she could with the weight of her soaked kefta. From there she underwent an hour of intense interrogation at the hands of the King and General. Baghra was questioned as well. Admitting she suspected the scale of Imber’s power but decided to stay quiet until the time came. The General, while pleased to know the world’s most powerful Squaller was among his ranks, voiced concern at the possibility of their enemies discovering her.

“Ravka has been praying for the day storms finally wash over her,” his tone was calm, almost haunting. Imber couldn’t look away as he moved toward her, tear stains painting her cheeks. “To save them from this wretching drought. Bring an end to this famine that has wiped away countless lives. Rain has touched grounds for the first time in over a century, Miss. Egorova. The people of Ravka are going to celebrate you. Erect statues on your name for being the hope they prayed for all these years.” he halted directly in front of her, keeping hold of her gaze it sent another wave of chills not relating to the cold clothes Imber wore.

“You are now the symbol of this dark period coming to its end. You are Sankta Imber of the Drought.”

“The storm lasted a fortnight, dispersing across Ravka’s lands until every inch had been touched by lightning. Yet the rain continued for months on end after the winds disappeared,” Nina recited the story etched into her brain. The crows silent as they took in her words. “Many say it was the raw grief of Imber losing her family that the storms were so strong. The constant rain marked as a symbol of her time in mourning.” The crows familiar with loss could relate. Kaz, Jesper, and Inej looking elsewhere than the Grisha.

Nina let out a breath, “Now whenever a powerful storm appears in Ravka, locals believe it to be Sankta Imber reminding them they will never experience a drought again. Famine will never touch their lands so long as she remains. Rain will be their protector, and she will be its champion.”

At the end of the Heartrender’s tale, Imber clasped her hands behind her back. “Nice to see my reputation still precedes me after all these years.” Chuckling, she took another step toward the group, “Still odd to hear myself spoken like a myth when I still live and breathe the same air as you.”

Again, no words could describe what the Crows were feeling at that moment. No one however was more shocked than Nina herself. And her reasons were far more than just being in the presence of a living Saint. “But you…”

Imber’s smirk turned to a soft smile, “Been some time since our last acquaintance, Nina Zenik.”

All eyes turned to the brunette, Kaz the first to speak, “What?” Not only was his mind racing, but now it was full of questions and doubts. They knew each other? But judging by Nina’s reaction, it was not all that meets the eye. She was stunned beyond belief like they were. “Care to explain, Zenik?”

Tensing by the tone of his voice, Nina sent him a light glare, “I don’t know her as Sankta Imber,” her eyes returned to the Grisha, this time showcasing betrayal as the memory of the woman in a blue kefta like her fellow Squallers appeared in her mind. “But as Commander Y/n Tempestasov of the Second Army.” Everyone felt the shift in the air at the mention of the Darkling’s army.

Why was one of the Darkling’s soldiers, a Saint at that, coming to them in the middle of the night? Traveling across the sea and saving them from Pekka’s men. There had to be a reason.

Kaz tightened the grip he had on his cane. Thinking back to events of the past several months. He would’ve recognized Imber, or Y/n, whatever she wanted to be called--at the Winter’s Fete. The kefta was unique; it would've captured anyone’s attention. As a powerful Squaller, Kirigan surely wanted her close to his side. Yet the Grisha had not been present on the skiff nor did Alina mention anything of meeting another living Saint.

Then there was the fact that the legends of Sankta Imber of the Drought were from nearly 300 years ago. It was believed she had died or dissapeared roughtly 20 years after she brought the storm to Ravka.

Meaning she’s been hiding in plain sight for centuries. A ghost among the living. Playing the role of a Second Army soldier under a false name to preserve her identity.

Another chuckle brought Kaz out of his thoughts, “Allow me to fill in the blanks, Crows,” Imber smirked at their reaction, “yes I know who you are. Do not doubt Nina’s loyalty--the last time we saw each other I was a different person. Roughly eight years if I’m correct,” bringing a hand to her chin, the Saint acted like she was deep in thought, “You’d only just arrived at the Little Palace before I escaped.”

“Escaped?”

Imber retained her posture, more serious than the initial laid back she had presented, “You’ve witnessed the evil General Kirigan is capabale of first hand.” they stayed silent, but each of their expressions faltered. “I discovered the scale of it a long time ago, after he made me a prisoner of the Little Palace under the guise of a trainer.” Nina bowed her head, the memory of Commander Y/n paroling the grounds where the Etherealki trained. She always appeared detached, but was kind to the young Grisha who had not yet succumbed to the corruption of the Darkling. “He was responsible for everyone believing I had died or dissapeared. After instilling fear in me at the thought of being captured by enemies, he had me locked in the caves of the Little Palace.” Inej let out a gasp, face consorting with sadness.

Imber shrugged, “sooner or later people stopped searching for me. Unaware I was close the entire time despire my storms becoming a blanket over Ravka for years. I was all but the myth you’ve heard.” Turning her head to Nina, Imber offered a soft smile, “It was years before he let me out. When he did I was named Commander under a false name and trained Grisha for centuries. Changing my name each time he did because someone asked too many questions and we had to clean up his mess. Y/n Tempestasov is the recent name of the many I’ve gone by. Frankly it’s my favorite if I’m being honest.”

“Would you prefer it if we called you that?” Wylan raised his hand, resulting in a side eye from Kaz at his formality. The Saint, however, smiled at him, “I’d like that. Imber Egorova…” she trailed off, connecting her gaze with Kaz as though she read him like a book. “She is of the past.”

Ignoring the weight on his chest, knowing damn well what the Saint was refering to, Kaz changed the subject. “Enough sentiment. You still haven’t said why you’re here.” The sound of his cane echoed on the pavement when he moved closer to her. “The Darkling might be dead but how are we to trust you’re not doing his bidding.”

The woman scoffed, obviously offended by the assumption, “Believe me, I hate the man more than anyone. Probably more than you and Alina combined.”

Jesper made a face of shock, voicing what they all thought, “You know Alina?”

“She sent me,” Y/n mused, shocking them more when she added, “And Kirigan is alive.”

“How is that possible?” Inej wondered aloud, unable to grasp the news.

“Turns out his own creation did not kill him after all. Instead he used merzost to create shadow monsters. Monsters that can only be destroyed with a certain blade that, like me, is also a legend.”

“Neshyenyer,” Kaz narrowed his eyes, waiting for her to call bluff. Y/n smirked in response.

“That is where you come in. We have some mutual friends, and they sent me to retrieve you lot to find the sword. Said you were the best of the best.” Hand going into her pocket, she removes a rolled parchment tied with a ribbon. “For your cooperation, the King of Ravka plans to generously compensate you.” She held it out to Kaz, “For you, Dirtyhands.”

He ignored the name, deciding not to question the depth of her knowledge on him and the Crows, and instead took the parchment. Once unfolded, he read the message inked onto its surface, detailing the extent of the mission and amount of kruge to be paid. He stopped at the name signed at the very end, ‘Nikolai Lantsov.’

‘Mutual friends,’ he remembered she said. Intuition telling him it was not only Alina and Mal the Saint referred to. Only person Kaz recalled that could likely be said aquaintance was a certain privateer.

Footsteps wandering away had the man look up, finding Y/n to take her leave. Kaz and Jesper flanked to his sides, the whole group watching her depart. “Come along, Crows,” she called out, the playfulness returning. “A storm is approaching.” light rain began to fall once more, followed by the sound of thunder in the distance. Kaz pictured the smile on her face by the tone of her voice. “And we’ve got work to do.”

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Kaz Brekker x male! Reader - Infinite

A/n: I think I kinda trauma dumped onto this fic a little so whoops-

Request (by anon): Hii! I found your blog not long ago and I LOVE YOUR WRITING AHHHH 🫶🫶

I was wondering if you could write a gn or male shadow summoner!reader x Kaz Brekker where they're Darklings kid but ran away due to him being a bad father. The reader lived in Ketterdam for quite some time now and met Kaz in his early days there. They trust eachother and know alot about other but reader hides who his father is. then one day reader has a worse day remembering all the good – and bad – memories with The Darkling and in The Small Palace and is overwhelmed, so he helps reader and that's how he finds out about why they ran away and all, but Kaz understands and doesn't push the reader away and it just brings them closer??

Sort of a hurt/comfort. If you won't write it that's fine, I'd just really wanna see you do this! (￣ω￣)

Warnings: child abuse, trauma (10X but not in the way you think), the darkling, death, canon? we don't know her, there is a bit of inej slander but it's a trauma reponse and gets fixed later on in the fic, I think that's it? You have been warned!

The 3 P's:

[pov: 3rd person] [pronouns used: he/him] [pairings: (past! parental!) darkling x reader, (romantic!) kaz x reader, (platonic! mentioned!) kaz x inej]

Finite.

That's what would happen, if he did something wrong, or truly let him in. Kaz could only see so deep into him before he would stop him, send him away or make it seem like everything was okay.

His shaking hands gripped the sink as tears ran down his face.

How could he do that to him? How could Kaz chose Inej, over himself when he knew, he knew that he was a shadow summoner, that if he was found out he would be killed, or worse. Taken back to the little palace.

He couldn't, he can't, he-

He would never go back.

But Kaz had made him go back, on a job, to get that stupid sun summoner, then he chose Inej over him, by asking if she was okay. He never asked, he never looked, he just had to make sure that his little Wraith was alive. His greatest investment.

A scream tore through his throat and shadows were ripped from him as the cut went around the room.

How could he. He was a fool, he trusted him, why couldn't he-

Why couldn't he just care?

Though, he doesn't care for him, he tells himself over and over again, he doesn't care for Kaz Brekker, not when they were children and certainly not now. He can't care, because love can't be given that easily, he has to work for it and he has certainly not worked, or given Kaz enough.

His love would always be restricted.

The sound of a cane coming into contact with the broken in floor boards made him laugh, it was a mean sound, it was cruel and broken but so right.

He sounded like him.

That didn't matter, just like how Kaz was nothing.

A hand was placed beside his, and his breath caught in his throat, he couldn't do this, because as soon as this was over Kaz wouldn't even look his way. He wouldn't ask if he was okay, he wouldn't ask how he was holding up, he wouldn't be of value to him.

Abruptly he pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest, his shadows dancing in the distance, mocking him. Another reminder of what he cannot escape.

"I shouldn't have brought you on that job."

Something in him snaps at those words, no he never wanted to go, but he was enough- no he deserved to go and get that money. He didn't need Kaz to tell him things he couldn't change, he needed Kaz to tell him things he could. Like his love wasn't limited, please say it isn't.

It is though, isn't it? All things have limits.

Scoffing, he turns around to face him and he's not prepared for the emotion, the boy with the cane presents him with.

Sorrow, incredible sorrow.

Has he seen how he's been spiraling? Is all he truly feels is pity?

He doesn't want Kaz's pity, he didn't when he handpicked him off the streets only weeks after Jordie had died. He doesn't need any more pity, he got lots of it from certain members of the little palace, from Baghra.

"Leave me alone Kaz. I don't want to talk to you."

His words are a juxtaposition to what he's really feeling, it's the irony in it all. The greatest joke of all time, because he does want Kaz to talk to him, and he doesn't want Kaz to leave him alone. To leave him, to find someone better, someone more worth his time.

"No." Kaz speaks softly. "I saw how you reacted when you saw the darkling that day, I knew that you were a shadow summoner and I was a fool to think that man could be a good father."

He blinks at Brekker, once, twice, three times, before everything releases.

Oh.

The shadows in the distance stop dancing, as his shoulders fall down, so do his shadows. They stop dancing, then they fall, only to be left with the occasionally swirl now that his emotions aren't everywhere at once. Now that he understands Kaz's intentions, now that he's slowly realizing Kaz understands him.

"The darkling isn't my biological father." Is where he starts, and simultaneously's pauses to see if he would stop him. Walk out at the mere mention of his sob story. He doesn't.

"But my parents left me the moment they found out I was a shadow summoner, then he took me."

He squeezed his eyes shut, he didn't remember much about his biological parents, but he remembers his mother's smile, and his father's hands. Often he wonders what would have happened if they had stayed, if they would have loved a monster child enough so he could love them back. Enough so he wouldn't become one later, or that one would never find him. The world isn't fair though, and it is made up of monsters. He just so happened to be raised by one, and perhaps even became one.

It's feasibly disturbing that he doesn't back away and retch at the thought.

"I don't know if he wasn't ever not, bad, if he was I don't remember him as such. He only treated me cruelly, as a-"

Mirror to himself.

Was that all he was? A mirror to the terrible black heretic? A mirror to the monster who killed, to try and make things better? Was he destined to become him?

Then, a hand without the familiar leather clasps that enclosed them, brush against his face and his eyes shot open.

It's Kaz, it's always been Kaz.

"You are not their mistake, you are not him." He whispers in his ear. "You valued and safe."

He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to tell Kaz the true extent of everything the black heretic put him through, if he'll ever even tell him why he's like this. So dependent, but pushing away the moment they connect.

But he knows he can't be a reflection of the darkling, because he would still be at the little palace then. He would still be training with that man he used to call his father, he would have not run away to meet his faithful one in Ketterdam.

They were both broken, and bruised, and hurt beyond what anyone could ever comprehend. For now though, they have each other, and he has to remind himself that it makes it all worth it. That it's enough.

Kaz lets his hand slide but he understands, he always will.

Kaz may ask his Wraith if she's okay because she's a valuable investment, his friend. However Kaz will come back to him after, and they'll be the one brushing hands, skin to skin. Kaz will be the one to show him his inside, without his armor, and he'll desperately try to do the same.

Love can come easy, people can be redeemed if the person who's forgiving them so wishes it. He's done terrible things under the command of a man he called his father, things he can never take back. Lives he can never get back.

His father would get no redemption, but he would make sure that shadow summoners would, that he would not be just a reflection of his father.

He does that by staying in Ketterdam, staying with Kaz.

"Thank you." He murmurs back to the bastard.

Kaz just gives him the barest of smiles. "Always."

Love isn't finite, love is infinite.

Words 1236

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Grishaverse taglist: @kaqua @rika90 @thefandomplace @musical-theatre-obsessed-dumbass @gallysonegoodlung @navs-bhat @sumsebien @dontjudgeabookbythecover @brekker-zenik @alohastitch0626 @brekkers-desigirl @emmsamultifan06

[simpingcorner]

Daughter of the Shadows

Word Count: ~1.3k Warnings: mild violence (stabbing, mentions of gunshots, physical fighting), blood, alcohol, gambling,mention of human tr*****, Pekka Rollins,not proofread, let me know if I forgot something. 

Author's Note: First chapter to my Grishaverse fanfic. A reminder this is insipred by my SoC DR so it’ll follow both the books and the show plotlines, there will be changes to the canon characters and their storylines, it’s also a Kaz Brekker x OC. | English isn’t my first language so please bear with me and tell me if there’s something wrong. I hope you like it.

all rights to leigh bardugo, i only owny liith and her backstory (other ocs will be introduced later)

Read part 2 here - Ch.3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6

CHAPTER 1

LILITH

The starless night sky, the waves breaking on the rocks, the muffled sounds coming from the city, the briny autumn air surrounded her, it happened before she could even think of enjoying the moment a voice broke the night silence, the girl jumped to her feet, knives drawn, eyes locked on the darkness in front of her as her legs moved independently, silent movements, invisible to the inexperienced eyes allowed her to move closer to the noise source, as she’d expected a crowd had formed on the pier of the fourth harbour. Their guns reflected the dim street lamps’ light, red rubies shone under the moonlight, “This wasn’t the deal.” said a merchant’s voice, “The deal was you’d bring me fresh meat and I’d set you free.” Pekka Rollins’ hoarse voice echoed in her ears, she watched and studied the scene in front of her, hidden by the shadows, disgusted at the ideas of even more lives ruined by Pekka Rollins.

The smell of blood came before she could even realize what was going on, the pier’s shadows hid her making her even more dangerous than in the daylight, her knives handles now an extension to her hands, her leather gloves blood stained, her legs silents and fast followed a now too familiar pattern, the men surrounded her, guns at her head ready to fire, the girl’s eyes studied the scene as in a book, reviewing every possible outcome, she was surrounded, the men much bigger than her, she gripped the handles of her knives, the material seemed to heat up under the pressure, the lights of the street lamps trembled ready to go out at any given moment, the salty air now corrupted by the smell of blood and gunpowder. “I don’t want to kill you Mrak.” Said the merchant stopping in front of the brunette, a grin forming on his face studying her. “I wish I could say the same.” The girl replied wiping blood from her cheek with the back of her hand, her eyes full of anger, hatred, revenge, but her face was impassive, the scar on her righ cheek illuminated by the lamp post, her lips and jaw tight, her feet and hands ready to attack or defend, the faded tattoo of Emerald Palace was still too visible on her left forearm. “I thought you’d be happy to hear another slaver dead.” The man continued staring at her, “Wasn’t it one of them who brought you here? Who ruined your life?” the brunette knew if she’d attacked the rest of the Dime Lions would open fire to save their leader, “My life was over before I even got to Ketterdam.” she said closing her fists and inhaling before attacking, their moves were draw in her brain like the project of a house on paper, predictable and obvious, during each fight the Dime Lions’d forgot they had guns in their hands, finding themselves fighting hand to hand with their rivals.

The girl’s eyes became watery, a sudden burning sensation invaded her right forearm, the gray sleeve darkened, soaked in blood, but before she could assimilate what happened, the dagger disappeared from her hand finding a new home in the skull of one of the men surrounding her, some had fled, others were on the ground gasping for air or passed out. Her eyes found Pekka Rollins’, her face covered in blood, her left hand gripping her right arm, “Next time I won’t let you free.” said the man turning on his heels and disappearing into the shadows of the pier, the girl inhaled trying not to think about the pain in her arm, the burning had given way to cold and numbness, the brunette put her knives back in their places before walking back towards the Barrel.

Ketterdam was the place to go if you wanted to disappear, a city run by criminals, thieves, crooks, murderers; a city where authorities were nearly as corrupted, if not more, than the citizens; tourists from all over the world came to live without rules, to enjoy the freedom of a city without laws, to distract themselves from the problems of their daily lives, with their money, clean clothes, hot food on the table, a roof over their heads, a warm comfortable bed to sleep in after a tiring day, hot water always at the ready for a relaxing bath; the more fortunate citizens, the merchants, the Council members, the owners of the most famous clubs in the city lived in safe, warm, private houses; all the others, on the contrary, lived from day to day, hoping and praying to the Saints that they’d have enough to be able to afford a common room, a hot meal, or to be able to repay their debts.

The smell of the Barrel invaded her nostrils as she went from roof to roof trying not to be seen, the window to his office was open, a sign that he was waiting for Inej, the girl knew she shoulnd’t have gone in but with her arm injured she wouldn’t be able to open her bedroom window, and entering the front door was out the question. She climbed over to the window and nimbly entered the room, the inexperienced ear would never notice the air shift caused by the girl, but Kaz Brekker wasn’t inexperienced, not when it came to his investments. “I will not do business with a criminal.” The unknown voice filled the room, forcing her to hide in the shadows, her steps were silent, her breath inaudible, “You will find no honest man in Ketterdam.” Kaz replied before dismissing the man and closing the door behind him, “You can come out.” he simply said going back to studying the papers on the desk, the girl headed to the door, her arm hidden behind her back, her face covered in blood, her steps trembling but still too silent and proud, she barely got to reach the doorknob that his cane stopped her, the girl’s eyes fixed on the door, her hand firm on the doorknob, “What do you have for me?” the boy said as he sat down at his desk, the cane resting on his knee in of him staring at her, the crow’s eyes on the handle seemed to study her. “Pekka Rollins has bought other kids.” The boy’s face was stern, unreadable, fixed on the brunette in front of him, “He killed the slaver at Fourth Harbour.” the girl explained. “Okay.” His voice was hollow, the voice of someone who had decided to turn off their emotions, the same voice used by the girl.

The cut on her forearm was less serious than she had imagined, the help of a healer would have fastened the recovery but she didn’t have the money nor the time to find one, she tightened the bandage on the wound and left her room heading towards the bar counter, “Lilith, came to bring me luck?” Jesper’s cheery voice woke her up from the trance she was in, the Zemeni boy motioned for her to sit next to him at the poker table.

The Crow Club was full of tourists and non, whoever was in the Barrel and wanted to tempt fate was there, the girl noticed Rotty and Specht busy gambling away the last few coins they had left, Big Bolliger greeted her from the door before kicking out yet another cheater, Anika stared at her from the counter, while Jesper looked at her with a smile, letting her slip in next to him. “SO how much did you lose?” The girl asked as she sat down and studied the table, “Your lack of confidence hurts me Lilith.” said Jesper betting the rest of his Kruge on the upcoming hand, “Just saying if you don’t pay your debts, Per Haskell won’t kick out only you, and I really like my room.” explained the girl pulling out her daggers and cleaning them, she could feel his gaze on her, he was studying her, the bandage on her harm, a bandage that wasn’t there just a few minutes before, but as soon as she looked up he was gone, the office door closed at the top of the stairs.

[lunarthecorvus]

Post Crooked Kingdom Canon Compliant fanfiction recommendations part of Lunar's soc fanficiton rec series

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Vol. 1: Council of Thieves by lizaudreys

Wordcount: 122,891 Chapters: 45/45 (part of a series and is continued afterwards)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)

Tags: BAMF Inej Ghafa, Fluff and Angst, Jesper Fahey Has ADHD, Kaz Brekker Needs a Hug, Crime Children, Five Years Later, Post-Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn

Author's summary/notes: Five years after the Auction, the Crows have gone their separate ways. That is, until the Council of Tides demands that Kaz Brekker help rescue one of their newest initiates. Grisha all over are being targeted by ships disguised as slavers, rumors of a new form of jurda parem are spreading, and the fate of it all is yet again dependent on an unlikely gang of criminals. My summary/notes: Some fascinating council of tides lore, and the side/original characters in this fic are so interesting. Be prepared this fic has some wesper angst and some definite kanej angst, but there are some adorable moments. Goes into the crows friendships, especially Jesper + Inej and Kaz and Wylan (it does go into more dynamics). To finish it I will say there is a sort of ⊹hiest⊹.

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and you asked me to dance, but I said "dancing is a dangerous game" by sarathedreamer

Wordcount: 28,439 Chapters: 5/5

Characters: Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Wylan Van Eck, Jesper Fahey, Prince Ilya

Tags: Fluff and Angst, Fluff without Plot, Healing, Post-Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Post-Book 2: Rule of Wolves, Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant ish

Author's summary/notes: “My darling Inej," he started in a very proper intonation, "treasure of my heart, feared Wraith of the Barrel, Scourge of the Seas, Bringer of Justice and Slayer of Men… would you like to dance with me?" Inej, Kaz, Wylan and Jesper get a very important invitation to the betrothal celebration of a certain Nina Zenik... angst, fluff, and yes, dancing, ensues between the King of the Barrel and the Queen of the Seas. This is part two of my kanej x cowboy like me series! I would highly recommend reading part one first before you dive into this :) Spoilers for RoW and obviously the Soc duology. Most of this is canon compliant because I love to play by the rules (except that we forget about the last two pages of Rule of Wolves for the sake of fluff and angst only... hehe) My summary/notes: Part of the kanej x cowboy like me series, which is such a good series, if you want kanej fluff then that is the series for you. This fic is Inej and Kaz being head over heels with each other for 5 chapters straight, featuring some wesper and Nina. May I intrigue you into this reading this fic by saying it has Kanej flirting and Captain Ghafa. Also THEY DANCE.

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Dealing With Our Demons by @ravenyenn19

Wordcount: 807,697 Chapters: 174/? (updates generally every few months)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Nina Zenik, Wylan Van Eck, (as well as many other original characters and six of crows side characters)

Tags: Romance, Friendship, Love, POV Kaz Brekker, BAMF Inej Ghafa, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Eventual Smut

Author's summary/notes: Inej's first letter back to Kaz after she leaves on her journey to hunt slavers, reunion ensues! Will they continue to learn how to battle their demons in order to get close to one another? My summary/notes: A classic Kanej fic, almost every Kanej fanfic reader knows this fic, the writing is impeccable. This fic made me fall in love with both Anika and Pim and then Pimika. To me this fic is canon. Now for a summary, this fic take you on a journey of healing and growing with both Kaz and Inej. You will come out of this fic a changed person.

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

pairing: (future) kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: nutural

el's thoughts: soooo... i didn't plan on ending it this way but here we are haha i guess a part three is now in the works :) also please remember to reblog the fics you really like!

masterlist

Y/N tried to quiet the clicking of her boots as she crept around the back of the sandskiff, making her way below deck. She found the trap door and quickly slipped down the wooden ladder. She placed her hands on the wall and tried to find a crack between the floorboards above in an attempt to see Alina. However, she froze in her place once she felt arms wrap around her shoulders, a knife pressed to her neck. Instead of lighting a fire between her fingers as a warning, she let the unknown being guide her to where two familiar men stood. The zemini and kerch from earlier. “You-”

“Who are you?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, “Y/N L/N, inferni. Lieutenant General of the second army. Well, ex-lieutenant, I now assume.” A gasp slipped from the person behind her and she was instantly released from their hold. The suli girl for before stepped around her and moved to stand beside the other two. The trio looked like a rough-patch group of criminals. Ketterdam. She could only assume that’s where they were from. “Now it’s only well-mannered to tell me who you are given that I just told you who I am. Very willingly, mind you, I could’ve easily set a controlled fire loose. So…” She held out the ‘o’ as she waited.

“Jesper Fahey,” said the tallest of the group. 

“Inej Ghafa.”

“Brekker.” His rich coffee-brown eyes bore into hers as if trying to read her soul. The dark lighting cast shadows over his sharp facial features. “Kaz Brekker.” His voice held much reluctance as he spoke his name.

“And I’m safe to assume you’re all criminals. Now that leaves me with one last question…” She spun on her heel and walked around, glancing over her shoulder every so often, inspecting the room. “What business do you have on this skiff?” 

The trio shared a look and said nothing. Y/N hummed, “Okay… Avoid in silence, fine.” She sighed, “I won’t bother you if you don’t bother me, but I will get up there and I will be leaving this skiff with the sun summoner.” She eyed them all carefully, but her calm expression didn’t last long when another voice spoke up. 

“I’ll be with you then.” 

The four of them turned around so quickly that her head hurt. “Mal. Of course.”

“He’s with you?” The lanky man with his top hat pointed his gun between the two.

Y/N shrugged, “I guess so.”  The hairs on the back of her neck pricked as she felt someone’s eyes on her, unmoving. Kaz Brekker. The name seemed slightly familiar as she sorted the names in her mind like files in a cabinet. Criminal from Ketterdam. Bastard of the barrel, Dirtyhands. He made quite a reputation for himself. 

His eyes, were cold and unfeeling as he stared shamelessly at her. She could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to piece together her story, she assumed, just as she did his. Fair. 

The sound of sand shifting was heard around them, and screaming was heard almost instantly after. Horror settled in her bones as the realization of what the Darkling was doing washed over her. “He’s moving the Fold.”

Mal ran to the stairs and lifted the trap door, gunshots were heard following his pounding steps on the deck above them. Y/N followed quickly, flames licked up her hands as soon as her head was above the wooden panels. In comparison to Mal, her footsteps were much quieter as she snuck up another set of stairs to where Zoya Nazalensky stood. A man in the familiar red grisha uniform stood there and was quick to notice her. Y/N threw up her hands, aiming a jet of flames straight toward his chest. All she needed was one loose thread to catch fire but luck or the saints weren’t on her side. He was quick to bring his hands together and within seconds she felt him grab ahold of her heart. Just as fast a knife flew right beside her head into his shoulder and a strong gust of wind knocked him back to the sand below the skiff. Inhaling deeply she saw Zoya and Inej to which she nodded her head in thanks. “Zoya, stop this skiff.”

~

The silence of the crows processing was heavy as they followed the others out of the fold. Y/N and Zoya took the lead, their voices were heard in hushed whispers while they set up a circle of logs and a fire for everyone to sit around. Mal and Alina walked far enough to change into the clothes they took from the skiff. Kaz, Jesper, and Inej sat next to each other, the latter two threw glances toward Kaz when they saw his scheming face. Trying to figure out what happens from this point forward. 

Once Mal and Alina came back she threw her black and gold kefta into the fire.

“I didn’t think it’d actually burn.” 

“Just like Kirigan, it can be destroyed after all.” 

Y/N watched the pair from the corner of her eye. Her stomach couldn’t settle, she felt like something was still off. Her eyes drifted back to the shadow fold, her own thoughts consuming her before a voice snapped her out. 

“Where do you plan to go from here?” Zoya’s voice was quiet but still in its usual stern tone. Y/N sighed, “I’m not sure. I have nowhere that I need to go so maybe I’ll travel for a while. Where do you plan on going?” She felt Kaz’s burning stare on the side of her face which she tried to ignore. 

“My aunt was in that city when he expanded the fold. I have to go and at least search.” 

“Just know that what you may find there could haunt you for the rest of your life.” Kaz’s voice was low and coarse. Everyone’s eyes trained on him while Zoya spoke. “It will haunt me more if I don’t at least try.”

Y/N felt all of her senses narrow in on the fire, twirling her fingers around causing the flames to jump up and dance their way to her outstretched hand. The heat spread across her skin but it never burned her, never left her scathed only a bit red for a few moments. 

The Darkling is dead. They all finally have the freedom they’ve been chasing and they could destroy the fold once and for all, but the gnawing feeling in her gut never left. He’s still alive. And if he was still alive, they can count on him coming back stronger and with more reason to target them. Y/N knew firsthand just how quickly his anger could get out of control. Having worked so closely with him for a long time she saw sides of him that he never meant for others to see.

The sun summoner and her tracker walked back to the fire and stood beside the inferni. “We should make headway to the docks and catch a ship. Get out of here, right?” Alina looked to her mentor for direction but didn’t receive much help other than a dazed hum. 

The group of exhausted misfits, criminals, and soldiers started their way to the docs. Zoya left the group to continue her journey to make her own peace with the inevitable loss of her aunt.  

Once the ships came into view Y/N walked around asking which had the best price. She found one stopping in Ketterdam and then making its way to Novi Zem and got six tickets. She found a small section empty and sat down with the crows while Alina and Mal went to the edge by themselves. Silence settled over Y/N as she tuned out her surroundings, including the three people next to her talking about their adventures. 

Where was she supposed to go now? She couldn’t stay in Ravka, Alina doesn’t need her, and she has no family to go to or look for. She’d never felt so useless in her life and she hated it. There was a point in her life where she wouldn’t die for this freedom to travel but after being on a short leash held by the Darkling she has the itch to constantly be doing something productive. To prepare for something, as if she was to be at war her whole life. While she saw the flaws in that she couldn’t just find somewhere to settle either. 

“Next stop Ketterdam!”

Maybe a quick stop at Ketterdam wouldn’t hurt.

~*~*~*~

tagging: @rachelcarroll1819 @xcharlottemikaelsonx @khaleesihavilliard @simrah1012

[heliads]

I got the idea for a nina zenik x reader!! I imagine one where in KoS, nina and r work together as spies and fall in love, but since they are in fjerda, they keep everything hidden. after a while, maybe nina will propose that the two of them should go back to ravka and build a family for the two of them because she is ready to put the mourning of matthias behind and love somebody else

masterlist

Although they would not dare breathe a word of it outside the War Room of the Little Palace, the Grisha Triumvirate and the king of Ravka actually put quite a bit of thought into the predicament of who they should send as a spy to Fjerdan territory. In the end, after much deliberation, they decided to send Nina Zenik, won over by her familiarity with the Fjerdan language and culture as well as her powers as a Grisha Heartrender.

And, to appease Nina since she’ll have to tailor her image the entirety of the trip, they send you. It was judged an acceptable cost by all involved. Although Ravka would love to have your services as an expert fighter and spy within the relative safety of her borders, Zoya and Nikolai allow that having a superior inside hand in the inner workings of Fjerda wouldn’t be a terrible thing. That, and making sure Nina’s griping doesn’t cause her to lose sight of her mission.

Nina is a good spy. However, the last year has been hard for her. She was stuck in Ketterdam for the longest time, or so the official story goes, and when she came back, there was a hollowness in her eyes that wasn’t there before. You’ve known her a long time, far before she ended up taking an espionage position that ended with Zoya coming back to you saying that Nina was gone, kidnapped by the drüskelle. You knew her well enough to know that the Nina who came back to you after all those months was not the bubbly girl who waved goodbye from the window of a rolling coach until she disappeared from sight.

If you were in the mood to be selfish, you would admit that you’re pleased she’s back. Nina misses Ketterdam, even if she won’t say it to Zoya and the others. She’s told you about the life she had back there, in bits and pieces at first until it all came pouring out along with oceans worth of tears, and from what you can imagine, it would have been difficult and wild and utterly captivating.

You’ve heard countless stories of Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa and Jesper Fahey, Dirtyhands and his Crows, a hundred jobs that would have gone south were any other criminal leading it. She’s laughed over a Materialnik’s gambling habit, a flute player’s chemicals. She’s cried over a blond soldier who was only just starting to learn how to live without a government hell bent on forcing him into a killer and a zealot. 

Sometimes, when she can’t sleep, Nina stands by the window and looks out over the Ravkan landscape that she used to know so well. She tells you that she’s surprised everything is so clear at night; she’s more accustomed to smoke and the glint of smoggy moonlight over canals. Out here, the air is barren, the hills rolling. It’s oddly natural. This is her home, but she’s called some other place that for so long that it’s strange to be back here.

Nina won’t have to deal with that strange uprooting for long, though, as both of you have shipped out to enemy territory on the king’s request. You’re not sure if Nina accepted the job because she wanted to honor Matthias’ legacy in his home country or keep running away from the life she thought they’d have in Kerch, but either way, both of you are breathing in the shocking cold of lifetimes’ worth of snow, and wondering how in all the Saints you ended up in Fjerda.

Fjerda is not a good place for two Grisha. Both of you are Tailored, but you still expect to be recognized at any moment. Nina is still unavoidably Nina Zenik, at least to you, and Nina claims that she can’t tell they made any changes other than a few superficial things, but that could just be the fact that she’s focusing on the familiar sound of your footsteps instead of glaringly obvious details like your new face.

It’s easy to focus on the Tailoring, though. It takes your attention away from the obvious, which is that both of you are in a country that wants you dead. Both for the fact that you are witches, but maybe– maybe for something else, too–

You had thought nothing of it until an old woman down the street from you took it upon herself to warn you. Nina was scouting out a nearby factory for fear of jurda parem while you stayed back near your place of lodging to keep up an alibi that both of you were totally normal. As you were walking down the street, your neighbor beckoned you over with one curling finger and told you that you would do well to keep your affection under wraps, if you knew what was good for you.

When you asked her what she was talking about, the old woman had said that you and your ‘girlfriend’ were making things a little too obvious. Dazed, you thanked her for her advice, and hurried home so you could properly stew over what she had just said. You and Nina aren’t dating, but the woman seemed so sure of herself.

It could just be one woman’s delusions, but, on second thought, you’re not entirely sure that she was wrong to suspect something. Nina is your only tie to home, and you’re Nina’s only reminder of what she had been like before every calamity in her life. Without each other, both of you would fall apart. Perhaps you’ve been acting like it for a while. Perhaps you’ve forgotten that you cannot stare at each other like you’re witnessing a sunrise and other people will not notice it.

That night, when the exhaustion of the day falls upon you, you crawl into the bed you share with Nina, mind abuzz with memories of that same conversation with the old woman. You’d like to sleep more than anything, but even despite the darkness of the late hour and all the troubles of the pervasive danger of your surroundings, you cannot persuade your eyes to stay closed for longer than a few minutes.

You’re not the only one lost in thought and unable to sleep, as it turns out. Nina tosses and turns next to you, clearly anxious. It’s enough to make you forget your own concerns and look over at her instead.

Your voice, although barely louder than a whisper, seems to boom in the empty room. “Is everything alright, Nina?”

You can hear the rustle of hair against the bedclothes as she shakes her head. “Not in the slightest. This place is messing with my head.”

You shudder slightly. “Trust me, I get it.”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s more than just the mission or the anti-Grisha stuff. It’s– Saints, Y/N, he’s everywhere here. Matthias. Everything reminds me of him. Every child I pass on the street has his eyes.”

You should be a supportive friend, but you can’t help but feel your mood sour when she brings up Matthias. Even if that old woman were right– even if you were to love Nina, which you’re fairly certain would be a far easier task than it strictly should be– you would never be able to do a thing with it. Nina’s heart seems made up on Matthias. There is no room in all her grief for you.

“You miss him,” you say simply, “You’re in mourning, Nina. That’s understandable.”

Quiet for a moment, then:  “No. That’s the worst part. I don’t feel as much grief as I should. It should tear me apart, shouldn’t it? I see young men who look like him, and I think about him, but it’s a quiet feeling. Not terrible.”

“It’s okay to move on,” you whisper. “That doesn’t make you an awful person.”

“Doesn’t it?” She asks. 

“Nina, he died months ago. That’s not enough for the grief to leave you, which is why you’re still thinking about him, especially here, but enough to give you a head start to try. Moving on is always easier than we think it should be. It’s not sacrilege to spend your days doing something other than crying yourself to pieces. That doesn’t ruin his legacy, it just means that time has passed.”

Nina sighs, and the sound seems to engulf the entire room. “Shouldn’t it hurt forever, though? I mean, I was weeping when we buried him in Ketterdam. We all were. I thought that part would last until I died too.”

You reach out into the blind darkness to take her hand. “You have been through terrible things, Nina, but you don’t have to feel terrible forever. You lost Matthias, yes, and you lost your friends in Ketterdam, but you’re allowed to feel happy at some point in your life.”

“I didn’t lose my friends,” Nina points out, her tone suddenly edgy. “I can’t lose them. They wouldn’t do that to me.”

You keep your voice light, careful not to disturb her anymore. “I didn’t mean that you’d lost them like that, just that you’ve separated. That’s all.”

Nina sits up, looking intently down at you. “No, you don’t get it. We didn’t fall apart because it was bad. We didn’t fall apart at all. It just ended. Not because of us.”

You nod your head as much as you can while still lying down. “I know, Nina. I know.”

Her voice is insistent when it sounds again out of the darkness of your shared bedroom. “It wasn’t our fault. We could go back if we wanted to. It’s just that we all had different things to do, you see. We grew up, I guess. We went our separate ways. That doesn’t mean we like each other any less.”

You sit up next to her. Now that the two of you are on eye level, you can see that she’s shaking slightly, her pupils dilated, the green of her irises darker than you’ve ever seen them. “It wasn’t our fault,” she repeats, “None of us wanted to go. We just did.”

You reach out an arm, and for the briefest of moments before you touch skin and fabric, it feels as if you might go on leaning out forever, contacting only the chilly darkness of a room in Fjerda that belongs to neither of you, yearning for someone who is across a sea in mind and perhaps, if she got her way, in body, too. Then your hand meets her shoulder and you can pull her close, staving off the memories of good times that ended until both of you can relax enough to rest.

“They are good friends, aren’t they?” You ask her, voice muffled as you press your lips against the top of her head.

“The very best,” she whispers back. “I’ve met no one else like them.”

You pull back slightly so she can see the teasing expression on your face, and do your best impression of the prepubescent fishmonger who keeps trying to flirt with both of you whenever you leave your house. “Not even me?”

She laughs, knowing what you’re getting at, and pokes you in the ribs. “You’re different. They were family. You’re more.”

This makes you go quiet all of a sudden. Nina, taking advantage of the cessation of voices, pulls you back down to the bed, and she’s asleep in minutes, arms still wrapped around your frame. You, on the other hand, stay awake for far longer than you should, just turning over the words in your head. You’re more, she had said. More than what? More than her crows, which you had assumed had an unshakeable grasp over her heart?

You think about the next day, then the next day, then the next. The weeks turn into months. You stay in Fjerda. Both of you work on your espionage, sending as many secrets to Ravka as you can. There are near misses and close calls, hundreds of them until you’re sure you’ll get caught before you ever get to see your home again.

And then you’re standing the deck of a ship, and a friend both of you like named Hanne Brum has managed to insert herself into the Fjerdan monarchy enough to take over the throne and herald a new era of positive relations with Grisha and Ravka alike, and it occurs to you that maybe, just maybe, you have won.

Nina stands with you. She doesn’t leave you. Neither of you like being without each other for a long time. It reminds you of dark nights when you were never certain that one of you hadn’t gotten caught by the drüskelle and killed. The tension of a thousand cold nights will never leave you, but maybe you will be able to rest again soon. Maybe, you’ll remember what it’s like to live without always looking over your shoulder.

Nina will be able to help with that. You confessed your feelings to her when they became unavoidable. She wasn’t able to answer them at first, but in time, Nina was able to let go of her ghosts and admit the same to you. She will never be rid of Matthias’ memory, but she doesn’t want to be. She just wants to live a good life with you, and she thinks her old lover would want that for her, too.

Sapphire waves course below you. “Can you believe we’re going back?” You ask her.

Nina shakes her head. “I feel like I’ve lived half my life on a ship. Landing always seems strange.”

You chuckle. “Very poetic. If you like, we can go take a victory tour to the Wandering Isle or something. Just so you can get your fill of travel.”

Nina shudders. “No, thank you. My hair is best when not tinged with salt water.”

You kiss her cheek. “I happen to think your hair is best all the time, thank you very much.”

“I agree,” she hums, “but I’ll still be glad to see dry land. I think I’d like to stay in Ravka for a while, actually. Set down roots or something cute like that.”

You smile. “That sounds nice. I might join you in temporary retirement, at least until Zoya calls us back to duty.”

Nina leans her shoulder into yours. “Bold of you to assume you weren’t included in my happily ever after in the first place. I don’t think I want to live without you. Not to be dramatic, of course.”

You pretend to frown. “Not to be dramatic? Who are you and what have you done with my lovely Nina Zenik?”

She grins. “Maybe you’re right. A little bit of drama can’t hurt.”

“That’s what I thought,” you hum.

Despite your teasing, you think Nina is exactly right. You can have a quiet life for a little while. You have no doubt that Ravka will need your help again, likely sooner than you think, but for now, you’re at peace, both of you. You’d like to explore life with Nina without having to fear for your lives. You happen to think that it’ll be very good indeed.

grishaverse tag list: @rogueanschel, @deadreaderssociety, @cameronsails, @mxltifxnd0m, @story-scribbler, @retvenkos, @mayfieldss, @eclliipsed, @gods-fools-heroes, @bl606dy, @auggie2000, @baju69, @crazyhearttragedy, @aoi-targaryen, @budugu

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[lady-ashfade]

Please, please please please. Give me some ideas for the grisha universe! I beg of you. I’m in a little writers block but I need this fandom to stay alive. Please, please.

Kaz Brekker

Six of crows x reader (Yandere, platonic , romantic)

Inej Ghafa

Nina Zenik

Alina Starkov

kanei x reader (Kaz&inei)

Nikolai Lantsov (Yep! I added him in for this!)

+ Neko/Hybrid readers. You want your own idea for a grisha powered reader? Send it in. Chubby and plus-size, or any size!

Tho, all female characters with be paired with fem!readers. But the men- any gender works. (Unless they are platonic then any reader words for both)

+Six of crows works with any reader.

[gabbyshere]

Inej: [pulls out a knife] 

Y/n: How many of those do you have? 

Inej, pulling out more: How many do you need?

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐣 𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐟𝐚'𝐬 𝐬/𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!  

a/n: I love Inej so much oh my gosh, so this was a tad self-indulgent...

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ      

SFW🌿

⭑ Inej has a lot of walls; she doesn’t like to show herself, nor her feelings. So your 5 interactions were just her ... being silent

⭑ And you knew she was aware of everyone in the room. Everything they did, their movements, their voices - hell even their breathing. 

⭑ From your own hypervigilance, you could see more than others. You noticed more. And Inej held your attention like no other

⭑ She was beautiful; well with what you could tell. Having seen parts of her face. Even the way she held herself was like no other. 

⭑ She noticed you too. But her attention was on your intentions; what did you want, why were you here and what did you intend on doing?

⭑ You were the one that first started a conversation ... well tried to. And you pursued Inej. Only because you wanted to better your life. To higher your station. You came from a lowly neighborhoodd, your family had died in an illness and you wanted to find a home. A safe one, with safe people and a steady income. 

⭑ It wasn’t until Helen had scouted you for the Menagerie, that Inej stepped in. She was quite cross with yo, until she learned of your reasoning. 

   “I have nowhere else to go!” You shouted, tears slipping from your eyes. 

“I- I know a place.” 

⭑ She took you to Kaz, and he gave you a barkeep job. And you weren’t that good at first (who is?) But over time you learned. Jesper seemed to take a liking to you. You had big emotions and were still learning how to understand them. Sometimes when you got too emotional ... things would happen. Unexplainable things. 

⭑ You stayed in one of the rooms above the club. Never making much noise, always being polite and never being late for work. 

⭑ You felt safe. Even if you were in a gang. Surrounded by criminals. You didn’t care - you had people. 

⭑ The relationship with Inej was grounded in friendship, trust and loyalty. She was your stable person; your rock. And you were someone new - a face that she was yet to open up to. But in time, she did. 

⭑ Kaz was distant and most of the time you thought he hated you. But Jesper said “he’s like that with everyone - and if he didn’t want you here ... well you wouldn’t be here.”

⭑ One day you were slumped at the bar, rag over your shoulder as you stared at your feet. The club had closed and no tenant was insight. But you felt like a burden, on everyone. Your thoughts were heavy and showed on your face. 

⭑ Inej noticed like she does with most things. And sat gracefully on the stool. 

     “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone this sad since Jesper lost his goat.” 

“Jesper lost a goat?” Your eyes found hers and a smile was already growing on your face. 

⭑ Inej liked your smile. And she liked being the reason for it. 

⭑ Her feelings slowly grew, but yours were already there. You loved being in her company. Her thoughts were so different from everyone around her. 

⭑ One night when the moon was full and high in the sky, you had kissed Inej. 

⭑ She didn’t speak to you for two days. But when she saw you, her lips found your own. 

⭑ As a significant other Inej is thoughtful and kind. She has a lot of love to give. 

⭑ She loves having a person. A safe person; someone she can go to for anything. 

⭑ You love giving her gifts, although she tells you not to spend your money on her. 

⭑ You two would share a room; and Inej doesn’t own many things but does love to create. She’s great at drawing and her desk is covered in sketches

⭑ You covered the walls with trinkets and maps. Showing Inej how big the world is. On tough days it helped you to know that there were millions of people out there. All living their lives.

⭑  You never touch her daggers; not because you’re afraid of what she would do. Absolutely not. But because you know how special they are to her. You’d only handle them with respect. 

⭑ She loves cuddling; although Inej isn’t big into PDA - she loves being close to you when you’re alone. 

⭑ You tell each other everything about yourselves; even if you can’t remember things, you’ll quietly whisper them as you walk past each other in the club, or out on the streets. 

⭑ You leave her favourite flower on her pillow, hidden in her boots, next to her daggers. You try to make her life more exciting in that way

⭑ Inej sees you as her hope. Her light in the darkness of Ketterdam. 

⭑ Jesper would tease the two of you, and he would be met with a firm slap on the arm.  

⭑ You hate Helen and do everything to stop yourself from killing her 

[notelcol]

Second vote is here! ❤️

Saving the character vote for the last one to try and make a chaotic story😆

So far we have shadow and bone as our winner fandom🫶(can’t lie I was a little surprised but I should have known the grishaverse is thirsty)

Thank you for voting! Keep an eye out for the next vote. Let’s see how interesting we can make this😝🌹

[lizziesfirstwife]

I finished Rule of Wolves like an hour ago, and I never felt emptier. What's life? I mean, I started the Grishaverse for fun because of the TV-show, but at this point, idc who Leigh wants to kill off in SOC 3, I just need another GV book-...

Does anyone know good fanfiction/series about Nikolai?

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Inej Ghafa x fem! Reader - Sea Creature

A/n: I wrote this around 2021, I tried tweaking it but it's like 4000 words long so it might be more similar to my older works whoops! Also the sea creatures in this fic are basically look the same as the ones in Luca because I'm way to lazy to try and fix that.

Warnings: slavery, buying people is mentioned, Inej's trauma/past from the menagerie is mentioned, being an outcast mentions, fighting, drowning, child/human trafficking mentioned, men suck, I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: Inej has slowly grown to love you, yet as a slaver ship attacks the Wraith might it be to late?

The three P's:

[Pronouns used: she/her] [Pov: 3rd person (Inej)] [Pairings: (romantic!) inej x reader, (platonic!) crew of the Wraith x Inej/reader]

The seas were an unforgiving place. Inej doesn’t have many good memories of the ocean, funny how she’s on a ship being a slave hunter yet some part of her still resented the sea. Simply, it’s like the buildings she used to jump to and from, just a way to get around. However this time it’s her city, not Kaz Brekker’s. 

“Captain Ghafa! There’s an oncoming slaver ship coming our way!” One of her crewmates Y/n L/n shouts.

Y/n is one of Inej’s most valuable mates on her ship, she’s quick on her feet, she knows her way around a ship, and she’s an excellent fighter. Even more, the sea seems to call to her. Honestly, she should make Y/n her first mate considering she is probably one of the best out of the crew. Of course, everyone had their strengths but Y/n just seems to have prowess with the ocean waters. They bent to her will, but not quite the same way as Tidemakers looked at the water, it’s like the water is her friend, not something to control. 

It made Inej uncomfortable and suspicious around her, Inej just couldn’t get it out of her head that there is something Y/n is hiding. Not only that but there is something familiar about her, almost as if Inej had seen her before, she just couldn’t get the girl out of her head. It’s a good thing Y/n is fairly newer than most of the other girls because if she wasn’t then other people would have been skeptical of why she hasn’t flown through the ranks yet, although Inej doesn’t have very much time before it would start being suspicious. 

“L/n, warn the crew and tell them to get ready for an attack! Make sure all the kids on the ship are secured!”

They had previously just attacked a slaver ship two days ago and were on their way to drop the kids off at their home or give them shelter somewhere else or even on this ship. Although Inej is pretty sure she is going to have to start to build a fleet with the number of talented people she let be part of her crew, some did leave when the time was right for them. 

“Aye, Captain!” 

Inej can’t help but laugh at the girl’s antics. “What did I tell you about saying ‘aye’ Y/n?” 

The girl’s eyes light up like the sun, and a wide grin splits across her face. “You called me Y/n!”

Inej rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. “I didn’t, I called you L/n you must have misheard. Now go!” 

She doesn’t say anything else to Inej and how she very obviously said Y/n instead of L/n she just runs off to tell the crew the news. Inej lowers her head and whispers a prayer, she is utterly surprised that her prayer includes Y/n in it. Yet she shakes her head, she can ponder about that later right now she has to go get ready for another attack. 

The enemy boat seems to fly straight toward them as they start to load their canons and guns. Inej can’t help but feel like something is going to go wrong nevertheless she gets a grip on herself. Likely she is just jittery after talking to Y/n which usually happens. 

“Can anyone identify the slaver ship!” She shouts to any member of her crew that is in her near vicinity. It’s always important to identify the ship because then they could guess if there would be any Grisha on the boat. If it’s a poor model they probably couldn’t afford Grisha, she hates the fact that she has to think about Grisha like property. Nina would probably be cringing, but it is for the safety of her crew and the kids. It still didn’t make her feel all that better though.

“I can!” Y/n raises her voice through the controlled chaos. 

Of course, it had to be her, anyone but her. 

Howbeit no one else yells over the crowd, only Y/n did and they were all looking at her in anticipation. Closing her eyes Y/n seems to be in some sort of trance as she places the tip of her middle finger in the water. Her eyes fly open and she analyses the enemy ship once over before nodding her head. 

“It’s a three-mastered vessel Captain! It’s primarily used for exploration and can hold around 50 crew, it’s a rich ship but it looks worn down. Meaning they probably won’t have very many Grisha, two at the most. Much less a heartrender or tidemaker. Since it’s an old model they won’t have very good canons either Captain!” Y/n’s voice is passionate as she declares her summary, her voice sounds like it’s woven out of silk with the way she speaks so confidently and surely. 

The overload of information is astonishing but also doubtful. Not that it wasn’t accurate, with that much information no one could be making that up, but how did she achieve to know that much? She has to have a secret that she is hiding from Inej, she just knows it. 

“Good work Y/n! Now you heard her, get to your stations and prepare for combat!” Inej loathes how she sounds like she is preparing soldiers for war, looking around her maybe she is. 

The fight is in full force now, it’s sure that the other side is losing and everyone can tell that the crew is entirely confident in their abilities to win. Nevertheless, Inej didn’t want to get cocky yet because there could still be girsha on the ship, and if there are she’s sure they’re waiting to use them till the last second when her crew is worn down. 

Still, the fight went on and nothing out of ordinary happened, it becomes apparent that the other side is retreating with bad losses. Inej prays that they can get their redemption in the afterlife. 

When the slaver’s boat can’t be seen anymore the crew cheers and Inej can’t stop smiling. In her fatigued body, she doesn’t seem to fully register her surroundings, but it’s all right because her first mate and her gunner (nicknamed pistol because she had saved Inej with her guns [which didn’t really surprise Inej later because she’s Jesper’s long lost sister]) could take care of the crew, kids and ship for her. That is her mistake. 

A strong unnatural gust of wind pushes her off to the side of her vessel, she tries to grab onto the railing so she wouldn’t fall off while trying to find the invader squaller. Spotting the Grisha Inej lifts herself up and takes out her knife and starts to aim as the rest of the crew realizes that there is an enemy on the Wraith. 

“Squaller!” One of the crewmates yells while some of the other women start to get out their knives and other weapons as Inej throws her dagger. 

Sankta Alina goes flying through the air except it’s knocked off its course into the endless ocean waters, it throws Inej off her game for a spilt second and that’s all the squaller needs to knock Inej into the sea with their Grisha abilities. 

Trying to swim up she hears a desperate “Inej!” from one of the crew's voices. Her voice sounds like silk… Oh, it’s Y/n, Y/n is the first one to call out to her. All Inej can do is focus on her voice, it’s the sole thing keeping her from sinking into the endless abyss. Her voice is the only one she can focus on out of all the crew, yet it isn’t enough, it’s like an invisible force is pushing her down further into the ocean and Inej just can’t swim anymore. Perhaps it’s the squaller (they did seem very strong) or maybe her body just can’t take it anymore. 

Slowly she sinks and she can feel herself run out of air, it is a terrible feeling - drowning. Like someone pressing down on your neck as you try to breathe but all you can breathe in is water. Eventually, the sea took pity on her and she slowly feels herself lose consciousness. 

*Flashback(s)*

Inej was just a girl, she was on the slaver ship getting transported to Ketterdam. Snatched away from her family having no idea of the future ahead of her, desperation ripped throughout her body, and the young girl threw herself overboard. 

Along with some other things like tightrope walking, her parents had also taught her how to swim, it would surely be something useful that could help save her life in the future. Though nothing could prepare Inej for the ferocity of the sea, it was angry at the time. For what, she didn’t know, but young Inej could tell that the ocean was angry. 

Even with the odds against her she tried to swim, she didn’t know where she was going but she knew that she wanted to go back home, so that’s the way she swam. It wasn’t logical but she wasn’t thinking logically at the time with a muddled brain the only thing that she could think of was home. 

In time, though she succumbed to the water's grip and her tiny body just couldn’t swim anymore. 

Something had grabbed her and taken her to what seemed a deserted island, it didn’t make any sense because it was way too fast to be a person that had grabbed her but everything about this part of the memory was fuzzy because of her near-death experience. 

Finally, she had landed on the land where what looked like a young sea monster was standing up over her, soaking wet. The sea creature's hair was like soft beautiful orange plants with the rest of her scaly body fading into lighter colors of orange, to white eventually to an ethereal pink. What stood out to the young girl though was her y/c/e eyes. They looked nearly human to Inej, hell this creature seemed like an evolved human to her. 

Maybe it was a saint, a saint that had come to protect her from those evil people who had taken her away from her parents. 

“Santka?” She croaked her voice barely coming out of her throat. 

The young beautiful creature shakes her head and pulls Inej up from her position on the earth. 

“I am no saint Inej Ghafa, I am simply a calypso - a creature lost to the sea.” The girl smiled sadly at Inej. “I must take you back now, as your destiny awaits you and I should not interfere in the affairs of mankind.” 

“Wait!” Inej yelled before the girl could take Inej in her arms and take her back. Young Inej couldn’t even wrap her head around what was happening much less that the calypso had just told her that she was going to be sent back to the slaver ship. All she could think about was the saint-like creature in front of her. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Y/n, young liberator, my name is Y/n L/n.” The creature smiled as a ray of sun caught in her eyes and Inej Ghafa, no matter what the calypso had stated, was sure Y/n L/n was a saint. 

Another memory resurfaced as Inej sinks deeper into the deep blue;

Inej had just made her third kill not too long ago and she couldn’t take it, the feeling of the blood on her hands. The fact that it got easier every time made her feel worse, and there was no Kaz Brekker this time to comfort her with his odd presence. He had his own business to attend to, he did not have time for the quarrels of a mere spider. 

Usually, Inej would run to the rooftops but this time she just ran, she could somewhat understand why Jesper liked running so much, it just was so much easier. 

Be that as it may, she forgot that people in Ketterdam were cruel, so when a teenage girl was running near the dock some vile men decided it would be fun to push her into the harbor. 

Again she was drowning, but this time there were weeds near the docks that had pulled her underneath, and far away she could hear the men laughing at her. This was the kind of people this city bred, inhuman men ready to murder a fifteen-year-old girl for fun. 

This time she was under struggling akin to last time although this moment the fear of drowning was thrown at her with full force. She didn’t want to die in this city. 

Then, an orange-pink flash came before her eyes pulling her out of the foggy water. The female calypso had taken her to a secluded part of the dock as Inej coughed the water out of her lungs with the girl blinking in front of her. 

The young calypso was also a teenage girl with wide eyes that had also seen too much. 

“You’re real.” Inej breathed out gobsmacked. 

“You remembered me?” The teen in front of her spoke head titled to the side those beautiful eyes sparkling with something that looked like hope. Inej hadn’t seen hope in a girl’s eyes around here for a long time. 

“How could I forget?” 

The calypso giggled an absolutely beautiful sound and placed her hands on Inej’s knees carefully making sure she was comfortable with her touch. Amazingly she was, it probably had something to do with the fact that Y/n wasn’t exactly human. 

“Y/n, you saved me.” 

The calypso blushed and turned her head away from Inej. “You called me Y/n!” 

Inej looked down at her quizzically, “What would you prefer I call you, my calypso?” 

Inej didn’t realize what her words meant till after she had said them and in her head, she was criticizing herself. This beautiful creature had just saved her and she probably had just made her uncomfortable! 

“I’m sorry I-” 

“I would like that very much as long you promise to call me Y/n sometimes.” 

This meeting Inej could tell was different, the last time they had met it had been full of sadness and the cruelness of the world that had put Inej in her position. This situation although didn’t miss checking off the box that said cruel, it wasn’t as pressing as last time. Last time they had been but children, not knowing what they were feeling towards each other. 

Inej leaned in towards Y/n as she had taken her hands off Inej’s knees and pushed herself at eye level with Inej with her hands on the dock holding her up as Inej started closing her eyes. Inej knew for certain that she wanted this, she didn’t know if she would ever get the chance to see Y/n again and she wanted her first kiss to be special. Not what those horrid men had stolen from her - that didn’t count, no she wanted her first kiss to be on her own terms. And what could be more special than kissing the most beautiful creature that Inej had ever seen? 

The sea creature had leaned in and their lips touched briefly before reaching for each other again and pressing their lips together closer, firmer. The intimacy blew the teenager's mind as her passion won the battle of her insecurities and she bleed her fingers into her plant-like hair. It was soft, and although it definitely both of their first kiss’s it was chaotic but divine. Inej couldn’t imagine anything better. 

They pulled away and Inej was left gasping for air in a good and bad way, the good was that there was no air left for her to breathe because of the kiss. the bad was that she probably had pushed herself farther than she ought to. 

“Are you okay?” Y/n asked hurriedly as she shifted herself back slowly into the water. 

Inej grabbed her wrist before she could go down all the way disappearing from her sight. 

“Don’t leave me.” The unspoken words were again. Y/n seemed to frown a bit at her desperation but all the same, she pulled herself onto the dock next to Inej with eyes running all over the human girl. She didn’t mean to push her too far. 

Inej though had wrapped her arms around Y/n and breathed in her scent that smelt of the ocean, and for the first time, it was magnificent. 

“Tell me about your life,” Inej whispered in her ear. 

So she did, Y/n told Inej all about her lonely life as a calypso, everyday things that seemed futile to Y/n were whole adventures to Inej. Y/n even explained that she had a connection with the sea and that it could tell her things sometimes, on a very odd occasion the sea would act for her but she said that didn’t happen very often. Calypsos were creatures birthed from the sea she said as she told Inej the tale of how calypsos came to be and how they were always females. How they could form into humans though Y/n wouldn’t be able to do that until she turned eighteen. 

They talked off into the day Y/n cradling Inej in her arms till darkness came over the smoggy sky and Inej’s eyes got droopier just before they eventually fell closed. 

“Sleep well, my liberator, your destiny awaits.” 

Y/n didn’t tell her that she couldn’t be a part of it. 

And Inej had woken up on the dock that she had been pushed off of, not the one she was talking to Y/n on. Just like last time, again without her calypso. 

*Flashback(s) ends*

This time Inej opens her eyes under the water, the salt burning her eyes but she doesn’t care as she sees Y/n. The memories had come back to her in her nearly early death, she now knows the reason why Y/n was so familiar, and she knows the secret that Y/n has been keeping all along because she has been a part of it. 

Y/n pulls her up and out of the water and Inej coughs, and coughs, her eyes stinging as she swims back to the Wraith. 

With a delicacy that was inhuman Y/n pulls Inej onto the boat with one hand while the other held onto the railing, then she hoists herself onto Inej’s vessel and pulls the slave hunter into her arms. 

“Y/n?” Inej questions croakily as she reaches a hand up to place a feather-light touch on the calypso’s face. “You came back.” 

“I could watch over you this way, I’m sorry for not telling you but I didn’t want to mess up your destiny,” Y/n whispers cradling Inej’s face with the palm of her left hand while her right arm wraps around Inej. 

Before any of the two women could say anything more the crew of the Wraith gasp and get their weapons at the ready. 

“Sea monster!”

“Captain Ghafa!” 

“Get away from her!” 

Inej’s tired body fills with a rage she hasn’t felt in a long while, how dare they insult her calypso! But they don’t know any better, did they? To them, if it isn’t a human then it can’t be trusted. 

Y/n looks at the crew with sorrow and she lifts her head up to the sky muttering a few prayers before smiling down at Inej. 

Y/n thought this is the end. She’s terribly wrong. 

Adrenaline fills Inej’s body as she lifts herself out of the arms of the sunset-colored creature and faces her crew. 

“Stop! Don’t hurt her!” At that moment you could tell that Inej is a true leader and that anyone will need little convincing to follow with the way that nearly all of them concealed their weapons and listened to their captain. The ones who don’t merely lower theirs just in case their captain needs them, she has helped so many they will gladly return the favor. 

“She saved me, no one on this ship can ever hurt her do you understand?” Inej’s voice while understanding as a mother is also hard like boulders being thrown onto someone. 

“Good, now she is a part of our crew because she was before!” She barks. “Everyone meet your new quartermaster, Y/n L/n!” 

Nearly everyone pauses as Inej speaks Y/n’s name because how can the sea monster be Y/n? 

Then Y/n slowly transforms back into her human form as everyone on the Wraith gasps in shock, it is Y/n! 

Y/n slowly comes forward eyes darting around to make sure no one will hurt her before speaking; “I am a calypso.” 

That is a start of a long talk with Inej’s crew of women. 

Hereafter, everyone on the ship is informed of the calypso on the ship, most were in disbelief before Y/n came up to them and shapeshifted into her sea form. Most of the crew accepted her within a few days and it made Y/n the happiest creature alive because she hasn’t had very much contact with other living things that could talk to her other than the sea. And the sea only talks to her when it needs to. 

Although everyone is told to keep quiet (even the kids) Y/n doubts they all will and that worries Inej. Yet Y/n just shrugs her shoulders and says that no one will believe any of them, and she has her human form to keep her safe. Besides, it will just make slavers fear the Wraith more. 

“Oh, my liberator.” Inej turns her back to the sea to see Y/n (in her human form) facing her with a smile on her visage. She steps closer to Inej almost hesitantly before Inej pulls her closer as her back bumps into the railing with a grin on her face. 

“Hello, my calypso.” Inej tilts her head. 

Though she’s content there are still a few questions that have to be answered between the two of them. Slowly a dark cloud enters Inej’s mind; What if she’s leaving her again? She doesn’t think she can take it if she left her. 

“You’re not leaving, are you? Because every time you call me that you leave.” 

Y/n shakes her head, eyes twinkling and she cups Inej’s face. 

“I’m never leaving you, not again.” 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Inej’s voice breaks. 

Y/n goes silent and pulls away from Inej with tears brimming in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry I left you before, but the sea showed me parts of what you could become, and those people, those kids needed you.” 

Y/n took a deep breath before speaking again; “I couldn’t interfere with that, as much as seeing you in so much pain and trauma hurt me, I couldn’t because you were going to be the liberator. Every time I saw a future where I stayed I would mess this up, the life that you built for yourself. I couldn’t take that away from you, as much as it hurt me- as much as it hurt you I just couldn’t do it.” 

Y/n turns towards Inej with tears tracking down her cheeks, “I’m sorry I made you wait this long.” 

Inej wraps her arms around Y/n albeit they are shaking she still did, as Y/n places her head inside the crook of Inej’s neck as Inej pushes her face into Y/n’s hair. 

“I would wait a thousand years for you my calypso.” 

After a while, Y/n’s tears finally stop, and Inej stops cradling Y/n and pulls away slightly. Y/n looks confused before Inej places her lips on hers. 

It’s as intoxicating as the last time they kissed, their lips shifting on one another, getting to know what the other feels like again. Inej’s arms wrap firmly around Y/n’s middle as Y/n cups her face to deepen the kiss. 

Inej couldn’t pinpoint one feeling because it’s truly just a burst of everything at once, it meant everything to Inej that she could just be there and kiss Y/n like the world is ending. 

“I missed you,” Inej whispers against her lips pulling away slightly to place their foreheads together. 

“Me too.” 

Words 4014

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Grishaverse taglist: @kaqua @rika90 @thefandomplace @musical-theatre-obsessed-dumbass @gallysonegoodlung @navs-bhat @sumsebien @dontjudgeabookbythecover @brekker-zenik @alohastitch0626 @brekkers-desigirl @emmsamultifan06

[simpingcorner]

Daughter of the shadows Ch. 5

Word Count: ~1.5k

Warnings: subtle mention of human tr*****, Non-canon events(?), bittersweet goodbye,not proofread, let me know if I forgot something.

Author's Note: Fifth chapter to my Grishaverse fanfic. I know Inej canonically leaves after the events of Crooked Kingdom, or at the end of season two on the show. But trust me it’ll make sense in the future, please don’t be mad at me.

Also sorry for the late update, I was celebrating Easter with my family.

A reminder this is insipred by my SoC DR so it’ll follow both the books and the show plotlines, there will be changes to the canon characters and their storylines, it’s also a Kaz Brekker x OC. | English isn’t my first language so please bear with me and tell me if there’s something wrong. I hope you like it.

all rights to leigh bardugo, i only owny liith and her backstory (other ocs will be introduced later)

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 -  Ch. 6

CHAPTER 5

LILITH

It had been a few weeks since she had been wounded, the brunette knew Kaz needed her, though he would never admit it.

The usual dangerous and violent jobs that had become a daily part of her life had been entrusted to Inej, leaving Lilith to guard the door of the Crow Club, the bar of the club or simply to sort out paperwork in the boss's office.

The late autumn sun woke her as it filtered through the window above her, the enforced rest and sedentary work that had filled the last few weeks had allowed the girl's wound to heal leaving only a white scar.

Lilith looked at herself in the mirror, her body like a map, a pale canvas covered in even paler lines, the scar that cut across her lips was white in contrast to the red of her lipstick, the numerous scars on her arms that cut across the two tattoos reminded her of some of the worst moments of her life, the scar on her side was just an addition to her story, something to be proud of, something to remind her of how strong she was and how many nightmares she had woken up from stronger than before.

She wore a black sweatshirt covering her story; sure she was proud of every single scar she had on her body, but she wouldn't show them to anyone, they were her past, her story, her life, her memories and no one else's, she didn't demand anyone's pity and she knew it would come if she showed them.

She covered her right hand with the leather glove, secured the knives in their sheaths, feeling the heat in the handles before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

The corridors were silent, her colleagues' rooms were closed, occupied by Dregs either fast asleep or busy enjoying their morning off; she descended the last few steps, the room in front of her, usually full and noisy was empty and quiet, the only people in the room were the younger Dregs who did not yet have the privilege of Sunday off.

"Dirix remember to clean under the table in the council room." Said Lilith looking at the younger one from the stairs, "I don't envy you Dir, at least you didn't witness the scene though." yelled Brawen from behind the counter, "Brawen the toilets on the first floor need to be cleaned." said Lilith to her with a half smile, "But I cleaned them last week, today was supposed to be Pim's turn." complained the blonde walking towards the storage room, "Pim is running errands for Specht." explained Lilith simply before walking out the door leaving the room behind.

The salty air filled her nostrils as Lilith sat on the dock of the seventh harbour, the only abandoned harbour, she fixed her gaze on the sea ahead, the blurry shadow of Hellgate in the distance ready to remind her where she would be sent if they found out who she was, what she had done to survive and how she had come to Ketterdam.

Somewhere across the expanse of water her family was looking for her, she could feel it, she knew they would never stop looking for her, but she knew she could not return to them.

"We will see each other again soon." A man's voice rang like an echo in the girl's mind, she could not remember his face, every detail of the man had disappeared from her memory, every detail except the last sentence addressed to her. It was a promise, he had promised her that they would see each other again, that they would be together again, but years had passed and that promise had been broken.

She could feel his hand gently caressing her cheek, a pure cheek, porcelain white skin marred only by tiny mahogany flecks, tears had overcome the child's resistance and fell freely onto her white cheeks, the man's thumb wiped them away as a father wipes away a daughter's.

The man's calloused but gentle hand brought her back to that day, she had left everything behind, forgetting who she was, hiding who she had been, becoming yet another soul lost to the corruption of society and the violence of the world she lived in. Everything she had had during her childhood, everything she had studied, everything she had been taught was now something Lilith would never want to talk about, she had discovered the truth too late to continue living the way she had grown up, too soon to be able to change her future and that of others.

"We will see each other again soon." Whispered Lilith to the sea, the promise echoed on the waves of the sea before disappearing into the horizon.

Her footsteps echoed before her feet touched the dock, the girl's gaze was fixed on the blue expanse before her, in the distance a few ships could be seen, she could not see who was working on them but part of her knew that one of those ships was the one that had brought her to that city, that had brought Inej, Brawen, Pim and hundreds of other kids to that city forgotten by the Saints.

"Will you feed my crows?" Inej asked as she sat down next to Lilith, her legs crossed in front of her, the handles of the daggers glistened in the afternoon sun, Lilith's gaze shifted from the sea to the Suli beside her, the brunette knew she was beautiful, that she had all the qualities a boy could ever want in a mate, but not only did she not care about boys, sure she had had her experiences but she would never want to feel trapped in someone else's shadow, she had decided to be free, to choose herself, her heart had no place for another person, but all the confidence she had disappeared the moment Inej entered the room, her optimism, her determination, her faith, everything about the girl made Lilith wonder if she was enough.

The sun shone on the Suli's caramel skin, her black hair was perfectly arranged in a ponytail, even with the wind blowing in from the sea it didn't move, her brown eyes shimmered reflecting the sea water below, her lips slightly open to inhale the salty air were soft, a brilliant colour without the need for chemical or grisha aids.

"Can I count on you?" The Suli asked again, shifting her gaze to the younger one, "Why can't you?" the brunette asked, "Because I don't know when I'll be back." "You'll come back from where?" "Kaz finished paying Tante Helleen..." "You're free..." "And he found a boat, not as big as those, but big enough to let me set sail with a small crew." "When do you leave?" "Tonight, after the eleventh bell." "How long have you known?" "A few weeks, just long enough to find the boat and crew, I wanted to tell you but with everything that's happened I didn't want to make you feel worse." Lilith smiled at the Suli, she knew this moment would come from the moment she had met her, it shouldn't have been a surprise and yet the brunette was at a loss for words, Inej had been the first girl she had met in Ketterdam, since the first time they met she had been the person Lilith had shared the most with and she knew she would miss her.

"I will feed them, don't worry. Promise me one thing, kill the bastards who brought us here for me." "I will make them pay." Inej said, smiling before hugging Lilith.

They both knew Inej would leave without saying goodbye to anyone and Lilith would be too busy with the Crow Club to greet her as she would have liked, but sitting there, legs dangling, hands intertwined, eyes fixed on the horizon and daggers at the ready was what they needed, something familiar and habitual before the change Inej's departure would bring.

"Inej." Lilith broke the silence by moving her hand from her friend's and bringing it towards the sheath attached to her thigh, pulling out a knife and handing it to the Suli, "I want you to have it, a reminder that you will always have someone to return to here." Inej studied the dagger, the black handle had red inserts extending to the blade, a design unknown to Inej covered part of the blade, "Lils..." "Please remember me when you use it." "I will.” The older girl brought the dagger towards her belt drawing one of her own before securing it in it, "Sankta Lizabeta, I know you do not follow faith but we know we both could use their help and blessing.” The dagger was light in Lilith's hands, lighter than her own, she knew why and she knew that the one she had given to Inej had been forged from the same metal, while the others had been forged especially for her, the handle was white, contrasting with the black blade.

The two girls remained on the dock until the sun went down, in silence, each lost in their own minds, until the eighth bell rang, their steps were silent, their movements almost imperceptible, "Don't die." Said Lilith to Suli hugging her, "Don’t perish." replied Inej breaking the embrace and walking towards the harbour.

Towards her boat.

Towards her future.

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