chapter 7:
truth and lies.
Nyx

"Jesper, I swear to any Saints listening, I will strangle you."

"I know! I know! I'm sorry, okay? Just can't seem to help myself," Jesper held his hands up in surrender before Arken made him sit back down in his seat.

A metal clanging sound went off as we all sat in silence.

"What was that?"

"I've erected a system of timers along the line. Bits of metal hung on poles to keep me apprised of our pace," Arken explained.

"How did you know where to put the poles?" Kaz questioned.

"Physics and engineering account for. . .most of my success."

"And the rest?" Inej asked.

"What most might call divine intervention. What others might call luck. And after all, the Fold is thick with volcra, and the tracks are not complete," He said casually before returning to his reading.

"Coal, please."

"I'm sorry," Jesper spoke up, "Did you say the tracks weren't complete?"

"I said they aren't complete."

Jesper sputtered and was about to stand up, but Arken stopped him and I grabbed his arm at lightning speed.

"Ah, ah, ah. No moving," Arken waved his finger.

"We're a tad late. More coal."

"Back to the real issue," Jesper interrupted, clinging onto his coat, "we are on tracks that don't connect to other tracks?"

"Yes, there's a gap, but-"

"A gap?!" I almost shouted.

"You said you could get us through."

"How much of a gap?!" Jesper demanded.

"I built slats on the car. They roll into place under the wheels. The turbine generates enough wind to push us all the way to the eastern track. As long as we don't shift our weight," Arken explained carefully to us to keep us calm.

But, this is so loud.

How can the volcra not here us?

"Now the noise may attract volcra, but it's the only way across."

Oh.

They can.

"Now, there's a nest nearby. But we'll be fine. If they haven't attacked us in. . ." Just then, volcra growls erupted through the air and it immediately made a shiver go up my spine and caused my heart to race.

"Well, now we've got a problem."

They started trying to grab onto the car, but their nails only scraped against the metal roofing. That didn't stop me from being nervous though and I began tapping my foot to try and focus on something else.

"How do you fight them off?" Kaz asked with urgency.

"I outrun them. Open the throttle and toss in all the coal, which works when there's 20 pounds of it."

A volcra got struck with a sharp metal piece of the car and its blood started to leak inside heavily.

"That. . .that won't be enough," I barely got out, the thought of them being that close to me again causing me to start breathing faster and Kaz noticed.

"They-they know I'm here. They'll try so much harder. I-I'm so sorry," I apologized.

"Damn it! The stupid thing impaled itself on a spike."

"We need to get it off. The others are gonna stand on it!"

"I'll make them go away. Just hold on," I stood up, leaving the rest of the weight to Kaz as I started to feel the shadows from the Fold come to me and start to shield the car.

But then. . .

"Agh!" I fell back, my head hitting the metal wall.

"What happened?!" Inej looked panicked.

"The-the shadows, they're trying to invade my mind. They were created by the Black Heretic, so they're trying to. . ." I couldn't get the rest out. With a panic attack and my newly wounded head, I felt overwhelmed.

I felt useless.

"This is how we die?!"

"Jesper, grab the goat," Arken told him.

"I'm not throwing out the goat!"

"Grab the damn goat! It's not bait. It's for you! I need you to calm down, hug the goat. Shut the hell up."

I felt overstimulated with all this noise until. . .

"I'm sorry."

I looked up at Kaz, whose eyes looked apologetic and softer, probably now that we were going to die.

"Putting the burden of you taking us across the Fold wasn't. . .I was being a dick, and I apologize. But you promised me that I'd have my Shadow Summoner until the very end, so I'm going to need you to breath for me," Kaz apologized and I slowly nodded, breathing in and out and Kaz was focused on me the entire time.

And the reminder of being recognized in Ravka came back to me, and I then realized that he deserved to know the truth.

"Kaz, I've been hiding something from you. From all of you, and you might hate me and I might lose you, but it hurts to keep this inside," I breathed out.

"I was once to be the Queen of Ravka."

I didn't want to look at Kaz, but I needed to know what he was thinking and glanced at him. He held onto that one look and I knew I couldn't look away.

"I know."

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Hope you've enjoyed! Obviously, Kaz wouldn't let her join without looking for information, but decided not to tell her he knew until she trusted him enough to reveal her secret to them.