Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Inej woke to the sound of music. She turned, the warmth still enticing as she pressed her head against a cotton sleeve.

“M’kay?” she asked, still not opening her eyes. No answer came. “Kaz?”

When silence was her only reply, she forced herself awake. Part of her knew he was still asleep. Another part of her was convinced that Inej’s small touch had sent him into a spiral of silent panic attacks and shaking. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption for her to draw - it had happened more times than she knew Kaz would care to admit.

She had honestly been surprised when he climbed into bed with her at all. She wasn’t sure he would be sleeping as he worked on whatever he was doing, but perhaps he was more tired than he let on - or he noticed how much nicer these beds were over the ones at the Slat. Either way, he cautiously appeared with a silent look at her - waiting for permission.

“How scandalous,” she had told him lightly. “What will the others say when they wake up?”

Kaz narrowed his eyes, and she moved over, making room for him.

“They won’t say a damn thing,” he muttered and climbed beside her. Inej smiled. They had gotten pretty good at this. Sleeping. It had been painstakingly difficult in the beginning. Sleep was a vulnerable thing, and even if Inej wasn’t touching him, there was anxiety there all the same.

Practice made perfect, however, and the nights of trial and error got them to a pretty decent spot.

Now she could appreciate Kaz as he slept, noticing the harsh expressions faded away until it left nothing but a handsome face that was far younger than people often thought when hearing his name. She went to move out of bed.

“No.”

Kaz reached out, finding the end of her shirt, and lightly pulled. Inej smiled a little as she sat back down.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you going downstairs?” he asked, rolling over towards her. His eyes were still closed, his hand twisting the edge of her shirt. She hummed in response. “Can you tell Jesper if they don’t shut up that I’m going to beat his face inside out?”

The words were said so sleepily that Inej was a little caught off-guard. She shouldn’t be. It was Kaz.

Inej flicked him through the blanket.

“Please?” he added as if that was the issue with what he said.

“I’ve never known you to sleep in,” Inej noted. Kaz opened one eye to look at her. “Does farm life comfort you?”

She asked it lightly, but it was a genuine question. She wondered if Kaz would be more relaxed surrounded by all the familiarities of his childhood. She had only been to the farm in Lij twice, but she had drunk it all in - trying to absorb every piece of it as if it could allow her to see Kaz ten years younger.

“It’s easier to sleep when fewer people are around to stab you.”

“I think you underestimate Nina.”

“She’s a corpsewitch. I’ll fear her when I’m dead.”

Inej rolled her eyes but got up. Kaz let go of her shirt, rolling back over to continue sleeping. It felt so surreal to see him this at ease. She wanted to stand there and study him - to try and see what he was like without his guards up a mile high.

“Go away.”

Or not.

“I’m going to tell Jesper to be louder,” she said. Kaz gave a muttered complaint she couldn’t quite make out but didn’t argue as he buried his head back into the pillow. From the other side of the room, Wylan and Nina were each in their respective beds. Wylan was curled up in a ball - reaching out to where she imagined Jesper must have been hours before. Nina, on the other hand, was spread eagle with one foot hanging off the bed.

Shaking her head, she slipped out the door, quietly moving downstairs. The music was still going - a strumming that kept a steady beat alongside giggling from the kitchen. Mila was on the table, playing a beat as Hana and Jesper circled around one another, tossing an egg between them as they chanted something with barely suppressed laughter. Mila quickened the tempo, and they both began throwing the egg between them faster as someone who Inej couldn’t quite see from the shadows clapped.

Just as Inej went to step out, Mila stopped playing. Hana screeched as she lifted her hands, and Jesper swore loudly, scowling at the egg in his hand. A giggle came from the chair as Jesper wailed something or another in Zemeni, giving everyone pitiful looks until he finally went over and cracked the egg on a metal pan.

Inej snorted. Of course, this was how they decided who cooked breakfast. She smiled, relieved to see Jesper was somewhat himself again, when a movement caught her eye. She frowned. That wasn’t… wait.

Quietly, she moved to the side, still keeping among the wall and shielded by Colm’s cabinets so she could better see the mystery person. Jesper and the others had kept mentioning a Pim, but Inej had hardly given it much thought. The only Pim she knew was the one from the Dregs - a hulking man three times her size and very loyal.

This Pim looked to only be about ten years old. He was small, with black hair and skin the color of warm clay. Inej stared. He was Suli. Jesper hadn’t mentioned anything about that.

Maybe he didn’t think it mattered, but it left Inej baffled as to the relationship. Nobody else in the household was Suli, she was fairly certain. Was he another cousin? A family friend? She took a small step forward, and the board creaked slightly. Nobody seemed to notice as Jesper argued with Hana about something or another, but the boy whipped around.

…and promptly screamed.

Thank the saints that Kaz wasn’t down here. While it wasn’t the first time three guns had been leveled at her, she doubted he would react as well this time as he did any of the other times.

“Good morning,” she said. Jesper had already lowered his revolver, shoving Hana’s arm down as he barked something at Mila. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” she added. The boy only stared at her - eyes wide as he ducked under the table to grab Hana’s arm.

“He doesn’t speak Kerch,” Mila said with a grimace. She turned and said something to the boy. He hid his face in Hana’s arm. “Sorry. He’s not the biggest fan of strangers….”

“Is this Pim?” she asked, holding up both hands to show she meant no harm. Jesper knelt down, whispering lowly in Zemeni as the boy continued to frown. She heard her name a few times.

Pim wrinkled his nose and shook his head. Jesper rolled his eyes and said something else. When Pim didn’t respond, he received a light poke. A few seconds passed, and Pim took a few steps forward, still clutching Hana’s hand.

“Hi,” he said, not looking thrilled with the situation. Inej blinked.

“You speak Suli.”

“So do you,” he mumbled. Inej glanced up at Jesper.

“I have no idea what he’s saying, so if he’s rude, let me know, and I’ll feed him to the cows,” he informed her. Pim may not understand Kerch, but he seemed to digest the tone because he pouted.

“He’s fine,” Inej dismissed and sat on the floor. “I’m Inej,” she told him in Suli. “Jesper and I are friends.”

Pim narrowed his eyes.

“Mila said you’re our cousin now.”

“I might be,” she said, pulling out the Hanon ball to show him. “I don’t really know how it works. Did you get one of these, too?”

As an answer, Pim pulled out a small ball of his own. “Jinia gave it to me,” he said proudly. “It means I can live here if I want.”

Inej grinned at him.

“Oh? What about your parents?” she asked, immediately regretting her word choice. As far as she knew, Wren and Jinia were his parents… though if he addressed them by name, maybe not.

“Dead.” Oh. “The army killed them.” Oh? Inej looked over at Jesper, confused. “They wanted me to go to their palace, but I ran away.” Oh. Inej’s jaw tightened. This was the Crown’s doing… as usual. She had never appreciated the part the royal family played in the mistreatment of her people. It shouldn't surprise her that the Ravkan government spilled blood in order to take a little Grisha boy away from his parents.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “How did you get here?”

Pim sat down across from her, still playing with the ball in his hands. “Wren fought a bear.”

….alright. Inej nodded and decided she might need an adult to clarify that one.

“Jesper?” she asked in Kerch, looking up. “Did your uncle steal a child?”

Hana snorted. “That’s still up for debate,” she said. Inej must have looked horrified because she took the plate Jesper made and set it in front of her with a softer smile. “Da was visiting Ravka to petition the king and ran across Pim hiding in the forest. He was going to drop him off at an orphanage, but Pim seemed to think the Second Army would find him.”

Ah. That also explained why Pim and Jinia hadn’t been too present. Nina’s connection to the Second Army probably wasn’t thrilling to him.

“And the bear?”

“We have no clarity on that. The current theory is that our father fought a goose and then told Pim the Zemeni word for 'goose' was 'bear' to avoid heckling,” Hana said solemnly. Then paused. “Wait, but if he told you the word was bear in Suli….” Horror touched her face. “DA!” she shouted and set down her glass. “GET DOWN HERE-”

“Told you,” Jesper said and held out his hand. Mila sighed before slapping a couple coins in his hand. Inej narrowed her eyes.

“What?” he asked when he caught her gaze. “It isn’t gambling if it’s with Mila,” he added, shoving Mila’s head as he passed with more food. “She’s an idiot. It doesn’t count.”

Mila whacked his leg in return.

“I’m sorry, what was that, Mr. I-Dropped-Out-of-A-Prestigious-University-to-Gamble-and-Hang-Out-With-Criminals?” Mila asked. Jesper put a plate in front of Pim, looking thoughtful.

“...that’s less a reflection of intelligence and more a statement on my lack of discipline.”

Pim clanged his fork against the plate and glared at everyone. Mila immediately switched to Zemeni, looking a little exasperated as she did so. Jesper sat down, leaning so only Inej could hear him.

“He doesn’t like when he can’t understand us, so we’ll probably be speaking Zemeni more,” he explained. Inej shook her head.

“You never mentioned him.”

“I never mentioned Mila or Hana either,” Jesper said simply. Inej bit her lip. “Look, I know you probably have some feelings about this…” he trailed off. Inej didn’t answer. That was true, but she wasn’t sure what those feelings were. She understood Pim wanting to run from the country that treated him so terribly - the army that killed his parents. But Inej was equally sure he had other family somewhere. Even outside her parents, she had cousins and aunts and uncles. It wasn’t the same, but…

“What kind of Grisha is he?” she asked. Jesper followed her eyes to where Pim was swinging his legs, toes barely brushing the ground.

“Squaller,” he answered. As if sensing this question was being asked, wind blew from the house, in beat with Pim’s swinging legs. Mila swung around, pointing a scolding finger as she said something sternly. Pim groaned, putting his forehead on the table, but the wind stopped.

“Jesper gets to use his powers,” he mumbled in Suli. Inej paused, having just picked up her fork. Jesper didn’t seem to catch his name as he went back to cooking, conversing lightly with Mila.

“You know Jesper has powers?” she asked. Pim peeked up at her, big eyes studying her for a moment.

“It’s a secret.”

“Who told you that secret?”

“Nobody,” Pim said and scooted a tiny bit closer to her. “I watch. Look,” he said, nodding to where Jesper flipped the pan. Inej didn’t see anything particularly strange. Pim nudged her, and she looked closer. “The stove isn’t warm,” he whispered.

Wait. What?

Inej did a double-take. He was right. It was on, sure, but the fire was too low to cook food. Jesper would have to be moving the particles of the pan to get it to heat up that much.

“He doesn’t know he does it, mostly,” Pim told her, tapping the table. It reminded her of Jesper - the way he moved. Constantly tapping or humming or moving in some way or another. “But sometimes he does and stops.”

Nina had told her that nobody in Jesper’s family outside of his da knew about him being Grisha. She wondered if Jesper was aware this little boy had figured it out. Smiling politely, she took another plate of food with a quick explanation that Kaz was up and probably hungry.

“You’re not going to bring up any for Nina or Wylan?” Jesper asked, watching her go. He clicked his tongue. “Not wise of you, Wraith. Not wise at all.”

Inej made a face at him and slipped upstairs, quietly putting both plates down and moving back onto the bed where Kaz was asleep. She paused, lifting the pillow to see Kaz’s hand still firmly wrapped around a knife. Wrinkling her nose, she grabbed a broom on the other end of the room and nudged him a safe distance away.

“...why?” Kaz's voice greeted her.

“I didn’t want you to stab me,” she said, placing the broom down to climb onto the bed. “Here. Food.” She plopped the plate next to him. Kaz rubbed an eye, looking torn between annoyance and curiosity. “There’s a Suli boy in the house. His name is Pim,” she said. Kaz hummed. “You knew?”

“I spoke to one of the farmhands yesterday. He gave me a good rundown of everyone,” he said, sitting up. He rubbed his knee, glancing over to make sure the others weren’t awake, and then pulled the plate closer. “He’s a squaller, apparently. Doesn’t speak Kerch-”

“He knows Jesper is Grisha,” Inej whispered. Kaz shrugged. “I don’t think Jesper knows that he knows.”

“He shouldn’t be surprised. It isn’t that hard to figure out,” Kaz muttered, picking a piece of egg off the plate. “I clocked him about five minutes in.”

Huh. Jesper once mentioned that Kaz had tricked him into using his abilities on a job once, and it was only then that Jes realized that he knew what he was. Inej hadn’t realized Kaz had known pretty much the entire time.

“What gave him away?”

“Everything,” Kaz answered, picking up the fork Inej had brought and scooped up some rice. “He doesn’t use his powers on purpose, so they always happen accidentally. It’s small things, usually. He plays with a pen, and it ends up reshaped or gets angry and fucks up my desks when he hits it,” he added with such obvious annoyance that the last example had to have some story behind it. “He also never looked at Grisha when he first came to Kerch. He won’t wear the color purple and is disdainful towards Ravka - all obvious flags that he’s too foolish to know to hide.”

Right. Inej tapped a finger on the edge of her plate, thoughtful.

“You don’t think it’s a problem that Pim knows?”

“It could be a problem - but not mine,” Kaz said. Inej scowled. “He hasn’t said anything so far,” he added, clearly to appease her, which was new, but she was glad for the reassurance. “Besides, Ravka killed his family to bring him into the army. I’m assuming Pim knows Wren is trying to replicate some form of that army here. He won’t want to put Jesper in that position. He’s ten, not dumb.”

“Who’s dumb?” Nina’s voice asked groggily. Inej smiled, watching her head pop up from the other bed. “Food?” she asked, sniffing the air. Inej held out her plate, biting back a smile as Nina rolled out of the sheets to pluck the plate out of her hand. Jesper was right - it wasn’t wise to deny her. She turned back to Kaz and picked a piece of bacon off his plate.

Kaz gave her an incredulous look but didn’t object. Inej grinned at him. “You,” Kaz told Nina.

“Ah, Brekker. Your insults have gotten weaker since arriving here. The farm’s good nature is rubbing off on you,” Nina said, nudging Inej to the side. Kaz frowned at another person sitting on the bed, but before he could threaten anyone, Inej plopped herself on top of Nina, laughing as Nina hugged her from behind.

“Can I eat in peace?” he asked dryly. From across the room, Wylan yawned, peering over at them.

“There’s food?” he asked and sat up. “Where?”

“Downstairs,” Kaz answered before Inej could. “There are no servants here to cater to you, Merchant. Use your legs if you want to eat.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Not everyone was put on this planet to spoil you.”

“I was just asking,” Wylan snapped, getting up. Nina wordlessly ate her food, giving Wylan an innocent look as she did so. “I didn’t say I wanted anyone to-”

“Sometimes,” Kaz said, voice taking on that special tone that Inej noticed mainly came in the form of pissing Wylan off. “You need to actually do things. A new concept to you, I’m sure,” he said, clicking his tongue. Wylan swore under his breath, giving them all a nasty look as he rubbed mused hair and stomped off. “Have a good morning!” Kaz called after him.

“Poor Wylan,” Nina said, licking her fingers. “Why are you torturing him?” she asked. Kaz raised an eyebrow. “Ah, nevermind. I forget who I’m talking to,” she mused. Inej took some rice from his plate. Kaz watched solemnly - looking like he might change his mind and dump her and Nina out of the bed. “Anywho, have we decided what we’re doing about Jesper?”

Inej and Kaz spoke at the same time:

“Doing?”

“Yes.”

They looked at one another.

“We’re not doing anything- Kaz, what do you mean yes?” she asked, pointing a finger at him. “We are not ransoming him!”

“My plans are none of your concern,” Kaz said evenly. Inej ran a hand over her face. “Besides, don’t act like I’m the only one keeping secrets from Jesper. I saw you send a letter out last night,” he said, nodding to Nina, who winced. “And you,” he added, raising an eyebrow at Inej. She kept her expression blank, narrowing her eyes. “Well, given the circumstances, there might be a few conversations you need to have,” he said dryly.

Nina lightly tugged at Inej’s hair, a question sitting in the room. Still, Inej said nothing. There was nothing to say. Sure, there had been a recent development in Inej’s life she hadn’t quite shared yet. And sure, Jesper might feel some type of way about it. But was it his business? No. Did she want to have that conversation with him? No.

…was he probably going to find out anyways? Maybe. Possibly. Yes.

“Do I know this secret?” Nina asked. Inej let her head fall back against Nina’s shoulder. “...that’s a no,” Nina said, mystified. “Now I need to-” she began but was cut off by Wylan slamming the door back open, looking vaguely winded and concerned.

“We have a problem.”

Inej didn’t wait for an explanation. She slipped by Wylan before Nina could ask for clarity, moving down the stairs to where a group had congregated by the front door. Jesper was fiddling with his hands behind his back, looking between several people talking in Zemeni.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Jesper jumped. “Are you okay?”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?” she repeated and grabbed his arm. “Jesper,” she prompted. He turned his eyes to meet hers. “Are you okay?”

The man at the front of the group snapped something, leaving Wren looking a little taken aback as Colm fumed, loudly saying something or another. The stranger shook his head, exasperation playing at his features. Inej studied him carefully. He was dressed in all blue, with beads and gold covering his wrists and neck. A book sat under his arm.

“I’m fine,” Jesper said, voice low. “Um, just need to… go with him for a bit…” he said, tone growing bitter. Inej grabbed his hand.

“Not if you don’t want to,” she said sharply, glaring at the man. Jesper smiled weakly, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. He didn’t answer her but gently let go of her hand. Colm started saying something else - a low argument starting up again. Jesper cut in, shaking his head before slipping by with a nod at the stranger.

Inej looked over her shoulder. Nina held Wylan’s arm, keeping him in place as he fixed the room with a cold look. When Jesper stepped out, he ripped himself free, moving after Jesper before Wren cut him off.

“Easy, son,” he said, keeping Wylan from sprinting after Jesper. “It’s just a test-”

“He doesn’t want to be tested!” Wylan snapped back. From above them, Inej saw Pim peering from the top of a bookshelf. Inej wasn’t sure how he got up there, and now wasn’t the time to ask.

“He may not want to, but he needs to,” Wren said calmly. “You can’t go through life without knowing who you are.”

“Who you are has nothing to do with what you can or can’t do-” Wylan began, but there was a weak note in his voice as he looked around. Inej wished she could agree with him, but there was a hint of truth to what Wren was saying. The problem was that Jesper already knew who he was and shouldn’t be required to share it. “Colm?” Wylan asked, switching tactics.

“You shouldn’t have brought that prophet here without asking me,” Colm jumped in. “This is my only child-”

“Aditi’s only child. Do you really think she wouldn’t want her son tested? I thought you outgrew this hatred-”

“Hatred?” Colm repeated, voice rising. Inej grimaced, looking over her shoulder. She expected Kaz to have some sort of reaction to the argument brewing, but he was in a staredown with Pim of all people - eyes watching as the boy crept closer… and closer…. and closer…. Until he was directly in front of Kaz.

Nina, at least, looked amused, asking him something in Zemeni. Pim ignored her - looking at Kaz and then Kaz’s cane. Kaz said nothing. Pim looked pointedly at the cane again. Kaz still said nothing.

Very slowly - Pim reached forward. Kaz narrowed his eyes. Pim stopped. They kept eye contact, but Pim kept inching closer and closer to touching the cane. Kaz didn’t move or give a reaction but kept staring him down, expression growing more worrisome by the moment.

“Pim,” Inej called, stepping towards them. “Don’t-”

Pim poked the beak of the cane’s crow head and then shot out of the room.

Nina snorted. Inej might have been amused, but Colm and Wren were still arguing, switching back and forth between Kerch and Zemeni as tempers flared up.

“-never cared if he was tested until Leoni was declared a saint!” Colm was saying, eyes bright with anger. Wren threw up his hands.

“I tried to convince you for years! And I let you get away with whatever excuses you had, but things are different now. We need to know if-”

“If what? My son can be the face of your Zemeni zowa army?”

“Aditi-”

“You keep saying my wife’s name as if you somehow know her better than me.”

Wren’s brows raised, and Inej grabbed Wylan’s hand. She could only see this growing more volatile and was thinking maybe they should-

“I knew her from the moment she was born. I was with her for most of her life. You knew her for the last part of her life and weren’t even there when she died,” Wren said, voice clipped. “Who knew her better is not a debate. It was me. Don’t think you have a claim simply because you won her over after groveling for an entire year-”

“Hey,” Wylan and Nina both said sharply simultaneously. Colm glanced over at their defense but didn’t acknowledge it, eyes still narrowed as Wren’s expression flickered between regretful and determined.

“She would have wanted her son to live,” Colm said evenly. “And to at least have the illusion of safety. How was I supposed to give him that when the whole world was after him to be indentured or kidnapped or- or his blood stolen? Even when he was in Ketterdam, I had to worry about him being dragged off to-” he cut himself off, realization touching his expression a second too late.

Wren stared. “You-?” he began and gave a sharp intake. "What did you just say?" he asked. Mila and Hana exchanged looks from where they were huddled together by the kitchen door. “He is zowa,” Wren said slowly. Colm closed his eyes. “And you knew.” He turned to where the rest of them were standing. “Did all of you know?"

Inej met his eyes, not answering. Wren's expression hardened.

“Strange,” Kaz commented. “You would think that you would recognize a fabrikator onsight… Given that you knew your fabrikator sister so well.” Inej winced. In a very Kaz-like way, it might have been a sweet way of defending Colm. Given the current tension in the room, though, it probably wasn’t appreciated.

Kaz definitely knew that, but whatever.

Wren didn’t bother with an answer. He spared them all one last look and turned, slamming the door open with a bang that shook the house. Silence followed.

“...Inej,” Kaz’s voice said a few seconds later. She turned to find Pim had returned. He was staring at Kaz again, head tilted. “If there are any Suli demons to compare me to, I would like to be introduced to him as such,” he said, glowering. Colm turned, glancing at Pim for a moment and then saying something. Pim frowned.

“Why does he have a stick?” he asked in Suli, turning to Inej.

“It helps him walk.”

“Why can’t he walk?”

“He can. It just hurts sometimes. He broke his leg a long time ago,” she said. Pim looked curiously at Kaz’s leg and then the cane again. “It didn’t heal right, and now the cane helps when his leg hurts,” she said, trying to simplify it the best she could.

“Why didn’t his leg heal right?”

“Sometimes that just happens.”

Pim nodded slowly. “Why is it shaped like a crow?”

Inej smiled, glancing at where Kaz was watching their exchange with nonchalance. Given the way he was tapping the top of the cane, there was still some underlying annoyance.

“He likes crows,” she decided. Pim gave a sort of ‘hm, fair enough’ nod before turning to Kaz. He said something in Zemeni that made Nina snort before grinning brightly and shooting back out of the room. Kaz rubbed his forehead.

“What did he say?” he asked. Nina leaned against the railing, smirking a little.

“That he also liked crows,” she said. Kaz rolled his eyes, shifting his cane to walk off towards the kitchen with a mutter for more food. Inej considered following but instead slipped out onto the porch. She could see Jesper and the prophet under a tree.

From behind her, the door opened and closed.

“Please go check on him,” Wylan said.

Inej glanced over her shoulder. “He wouldn’t like me getting involved.”

“One of us has to do something, and I can’t sneak around,” Wylan said, expression darkening. “I could burn that damn statue of Leoni up in a second if he’d let me.” Inej turned to him, startled. Wylan must have remembered who he was talking to because he winced. “I’m sorry,” he said, breathing out slowly. “I just wish I knew how to help a little better, is all.”

Inej was at least familiar with that feeling. It was all very strange. Jesper’s mom saving a saint… potentially being a saint. Inej had worked hard to keep her opinions to herself, but she couldn’t deny that part of her was in awe of it. She wanted to go down and give her thanks to Aditi for saving Leoni. For being everything these worshippers said she was.

…but she also wasn’t sure what Jesper would do if Inej fell into step with the other believers. It at least provided her some perspective. Never once had Inej thought of the family of her saints. Has Sankt Juris had family? Sankt Grigori? What did they think at the end of the day?

Saints were often synonymous with suffering. Perhaps tragedy ran in Jesper’s blood. The thought broke her heart a bit.

She was about to impart some of these thoughts to Wylan when she caught sight of Wren moving through the fields on the opposite side Jesper was on. That in itself wasn’t strange, but the part that threw her off was Kaz next to him.

Had he gone out the back door? Why? She watched, noting Kaz calmly putting his cane between them as he spoke. Wylan didn’t seem to notice them at all - too fixed at where Jesper was beginning to trudge back to them.

“That was fast,” he greeted when Jesper finally reached the porch.

“You won’t believe this,” Jesper said, sounding close to the verge of laughter or tears - possibly both. “I’m Zowa. Who would have thought?” he asked and then fell back against the beam behind him. “...who would have thought?” he repeated, voice quieter.

Wylan wordlessly offered his hand. Jesper grabbed it, thumb running over his knuckles absently.

“Now what?” Wylan asked. Jesper gave a wry smile.

“I don’t really know,” he admitted. He turned his head, eyes following Inej’s. “What are they talking about?” he asked, sounding exhausted before Inej had a chance to even answer.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. Jesper didn’t press. He only squeezed Wylan’s hands once, kissing the side of his head as he walked back into the house. Inej watched as the prophet walked by, stopping to speak to Wren as Kaz watched. The three conversed, and Kaz’s eyes suddenly snapped up to meet hers.

What was he doing? She tilted her head, asking a silent question, but Kaz only looked away again.

The next few days were hard.

Inej got the feeling Jesper might have just left if it wasn't for the effort everyone was taking to make him feel better. Even Hana and Mila seemed willing to overlook the fact that Jesper had lied about his abilities, given the circumstances.

“Da, um, decided to head home for a bit,” Mila said one night. Jinia had joined them for dinner, watching Jesper closely as he picked at his food. Someone knocked at the door - again. Someone was always knocking at the door since the prophet came. Most wanted to see Jesper - giving him gifts and asking about his mother. Inej was pretty shocked Jesper’s temper held up so well, though she could see the patience dwindling.

“He can’t still be mad at me,” Jesper said, distressed as Hana gave a low ‘well’ under her breath as Mila hit her arm. “Technically, technically - I never even lied-”

“You have nothing to defend,” Colm said, patting his shoulder as he brushed by. “I set the rules in this house. You just followed them. Wren can take up his complaints with me,” he said, speaking more to Jinia at the last part.

“...yes,” Jinia said, raising her glass. “I think we all know he will.”

“Ma,” Mila groaned. Hana snorted into her food. “Let's talk about something fun! Maybe get to know our guests? Wylan?” she suggested. Wylan paused in eating as Jesper fixed his cousin with a warning look. “I don’t think we’ve talked enough. How did you and Jesper meet?”

…ha. Inej turned to grin at where Jesper and Wylan both exchanged uncertain looks.

“Oh, that’s a great story,” Nina agreed. “I remember when Jesper first met Wylan, actually,” she said. Jesper shot her a scandalized look. “I can tell it!”

“Um-”

“So, Kaz had sent Jesper to the tannery where Wylan was working,” she began, ignoring Jesper flushing as he tried helplessly to kick her under the table. Inej wasn’t sure why he was so mortified - it wasn’t as if they had met while doing anything that scandalous. “-and Jesper comes back, all flustered, and says the boy who Kaz sent him to talk to was this pauper who looked just like a prince.”

“Wait, really?” Wylan asked, perking up. Jesper shot Nina a dirty look. “He said that?”

“...you have seen yourself, right?” Jesper asked him, looking torn between embarrassment and delight. Inej got the feeling Jesper’s flirting kryptonite was being in front of his family. Otherwise, he would have definitely taken advantage of Wylan’s obvious amazement and flirted with him for the next hour.

“A prince,” Hana said, placing a hand on her forehead. “Oh, how romantic, Jes-”

“Nobody asked you.”

“Tell us more about Jesper and Prince Charming.”

“Oh, don’t be too enamored. Jesper kissed the wrong boy,” Nina said between bites of food. Hana gasped as Jinia’s mouth dropped, instantly turning to say something that sounded very lecture-y in Zemeni. Jesper’s eyes widened, quickly raising his hands to defend himself.

“I didn’t-” he tried and winced a little at Mila and Hana’s stifled laughter. “It wasn’t- there was a somewhat good reason for that! Sort of- well, not good,” he said quickly when Wylan raised an eyebrow. “They looked the same-”

“Jesper, you can’t say that about Kaelish people-”

“He’s Kerch!” Jesper interjected, “And that’s not what I meant. We had to disguise him to look like someone else, and I was nervous, so I didn’t exactly take the time to check-”

“You were nervous?” Wylan asked, seemingly amused. Jesper sighed.

“Why was Prince Charming made to look like someone else?” Hana asked eagerly.

Jesper shook his head, pointing at all of them. “Hana has a secret boyfriend, and she said she might elope with him!” he shouted. Hana slammed her hand down on the table, yelling something truly questionable in Zemeni as Mila squealed.

“Is it Jeremiah?!”

“You might what?”

“Jesper, you knew about this?!”

“Why am I getting yelled at? She’s the one that-”

“You’re such a tattletale, Jesper!”

“I want to be your maid of honor!”

“-too young! We’ve never even met this boy!”

“He’s exaggerating, Ma. I would never, ever elope. Never.”

“...bold words from someone hiding a ring on their necklace,” Jesper said, gesturing to a chain tucked under Hana’s shirt. The look on her face was one of true terror and fury rolled up into one.

“Look what you’ve done,” Inej told Nina, unsure if she was apologetic or amused by this. Nina held up a hand.

“I can fix this,” she said and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Did you know Kaz and Inej are dating too?”

All the talking stopped. Inej might need to reevaluate her love for Nina.

“You two?” Mila asked, gesturing between Kaz and Inej. Kaz took a sip of his water. Inej didn’t know what to do exactly. She didn’t want Kaz snapping at anyone at this table, so she did the only thing she could think of at the moment and pointed to Nina.

“Nina is dating the child of the drüskelle’s commander.”

Everyone unanimously turned to Nina.

Inej was going to hear about this later.

“...um,” Nina said, looking around uncertainly as she paused in eating her food. “This… well, technically, it’s the ex-commander… so… like….”

“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Wylan frowned, head tilted. “Another drüskelle?”

“Another?” Hana repeated, mouth dropping. “My sister in sainthood, aren’t you zowa?”

“Hanne isn’t a drüskelle, thank you. She’s a healer. It just so happens she’s Jarl Brum’s daughter - or child. Maybe son. That’s to be decided,” she said, tapping her fork against the table.

“But you did date drüskelle?”

“He was ex-drüskelle…”

“Not when you met him,” Jesper pointed out wryly. Pim gave them all irritated looks as Mila apparently filled him in on the drama. He paused, also giving Nina a comically incredulous look before shaking his head and going back to his food.

Before anyone else could dive into Nina’s concerning attraction to Fjerdans, someone at the door knocked. Jesper glanced over his shoulder warily but got up, giving everyone a reassuring smile as he walked over to answer. Deciding it would be best to join him, Inej followed, slipping to his side before he even registered that she was there.

The visitor in question was a young couple, both clearly Ravkan, and given their greeting in broken Zemeni. Jesper offered a polite smile.

“Do you speak Kerch by chance?” he asked. The pair looked relieved as they nodded. Kerch was a decent common language for most - being what was used for trade. They switched over quickly, bowing their heads. “Oh, please… please don’t-” Jesper said uncomfortably. They handed him a basket. “Okay,” Jesper said and awkwardly shifted. “I will put these at my mother’s grave. Thank you.”

“Her grave?” the woman asked, eyes brightening. “Is she buried here?” Jesper stiffened, but before he could answer, the woman continued. “And those are for you,” she said. Jesper made a strangled noise of acknowledgment. “It has some oils in it. I hear the Kaelish find them awful.”

“...excuse me?” Jesper asked, glancing down at Inej as if checking he hadn’t misheard. She gave a baffled shrug.

“The Kaelish, love. You have saint blood. You do know about the Kaelish, right? What they do to Grisha? Goodness knows they’d like to have saint blood too-”

“My mother isn’t a saint, and I’ll be sure to go to my Kaelish father for advice on traversing the Wandering Isle,” Jesper cut in coldly. He went to slam the door, but the man’s hand came out, stopping him. Inej moved quickly, bringing a blade out against his neck in warning.

“Go home,” she said calmly. The man opened his mouth to reply but then paused, looking at Inej with wide eyes. She swallowed, remembering Kaz’s earlier words that Inej had secrets too. The man whispered something she didn’t understand before stepping back.

That wasn’t good. She turned to where Jesper was standing - a line creased between his brows and head tilted.

“Did you hear that?" she asked.

“He called me the protector of saints,” Jesper answered slowly, then shook his head. “As if there’s a saint out there that I would protect.” He waited for her to step inside and then slammed the door shut, tossing the basket to the side. “You’ve been to the Wandering Isle, right?” he asked her, leaning against the wall. “All the blood stuff is nonsense?”

Inej hesitated. She did visit the Wandering Isle from time to time. She thought of the bottles of blood in the shop windows, each horrifyingly named for each Grisha it had been taken from. Granted, it was highly illegal and almost all underground, but she saw it all the same.

“I… would imagine there’s a reason your father raised you here and not in his homeland,” she tried.

Jesper’s expression soured. “I’m going shooting,” he decided. Inej called after him, but Jesper was already out the door. Damnit. Groaning, she stepped back into the kitchen to find Kaz gone, Nina and Hana debating something very passionately, and Wylan nervously explaining something to Jinia, Colm, and Mila.

She slipped back out. It might be best to start strategizing their exit with Kaz. They needed to figure out how to proceed if Jesper was really going to be a subject of scrutiny moving forward. He may not want to hear it, but it would be more dangerous for him now. The couple wasn’t entirely wrong about the Kaelish. Not to mention the Crown that so callously tried to steal Pim wouldn’t hesitate to go after Jesper, despite who was king. Inej made some peace with Nikolai and Zoya, but she wouldn't call it trust.

Kaz wasn’t in their room, though. Or anywhere in the house. Or the fields.

She wanted to panic but forced herself to think logically as she rallied the others to inform them that they had to track down her pain-in-the-ass boyfriend as Jesper continued shooting in the background.

“He probably needs space, Inej,” Jesper said and reloaded his gun. “This is a lot of people he’s not allowed to kill in one place.” He clicked the safety back and aimed again. “Maybe he decided to go into town and murder everyone at that stupid statue as a sweet gesture,” he added and pulled the trigger twice more.

“We also knew he had business here,” Nina said with a shrug. “He went off to do that, probably. Kaz is kind of like one of those ugly alley-cats. He’ll come around when he’s hungry.”

Inej fixed her with an exasperated look, though she supposed her point remained the same. It wasn’t like Kaz couldn’t take care of himself. She just wished he had told her he was leaving. They had been communicating more - the two of them. Something felt off, though. She just couldn’t be sure what it was.

Wylan didn’t give a response, watching Jesper shoot with an intense sort of concern as he gnawed at his lower lip. Inej sighed. There were bigger issues at hand, she supposed. It was hard to say who would crack first - Jesper from this increasing pressure or Wylan from being unable to stop it. She got the feeling the tipping point was near, though she couldn’t be certain what the final straw would be.

Before she could find a way to gently peel Jesper from the gun, Mila ran out, her plaid skirts whipping behind her as she halted beside them a little breathlessly. She held out a note - her expression a mixture of fury and fear. She said something in Zemeni that caused Jesper to whirl around sharply, putting his gun in his holster in one sharp movement.

"What?"

Nina also tilted her head, listening as Jesper and Mila went back and forth before taking the note.

“What’s wrong?” Inej asked. Nina handed the paper to Jesper before leaning toward where Wylan and Inej were waiting.

“So we know where Kaz is,” she said, eyes flicking to where Jesper took a deep breath and crumbled the paper in his hand. “Pim left a note saying he was going with him to the marketplace back in Shriftport.”

….ah. Not great. Surely Kaz wasn’t planning to use a child in whatever scheme he had going… right? Inej grimaced at the ground and nodded before clasping her hands together and promising Mila they would get Pim back relatively quickly.

Saints help her.

And saints help poor Jesper, who looked like the last thing he wanted to do was get back on that wagon and return to the market they had arrived in. Inej shuddered to think about the attention he would get there. Wylan was already ahead of her because he moved over to Jes, giving a reassuring smile as he intertwined their hands and pulled him back toward the house.

It would be fine.

Except it wasn’t. Not really. The market was a solemn, solemn place.

The trip there was fine. Jesper kept his hood up and stayed in the shadows, but it felt as if the world had been waiting for them to step off. Inej wished she knew how to help. All eyes seemed to be on Jesper - as if a sign had been pinned above his head. She could see it starting to grate at him, grabbing Wylan’s hand like a lifeline at any possible moment. Whispers followed, and a few people even tentatively approached, saying things in Zemeni that made Jesper go a few shades paler.

“They’re asking if they can visit his mother’s grave….” Nina translated lowly. Inej winced. “If they asked to see her bones, I think he might shoot them.”

Inej wanted to think nobody would ask such a thing, but she also thought about the shops that claimed to sell Sankta Alina’s bones whenever possible and knew it was a futile thought.

“Where is your goddamn boyfriend?” Jesper finally hissed an hour later. “When I find him, I’m taking that cane and beating him to death with it.”

Someone had just come up to Jesper to loudly and passionately declare his allegiance to Jesper. It appeared word had gotten out he was Zowa, and rising whispers were beginning to swirl into announcements that the very powers that had healed Sankta Leoni were given back to them once more through Jesper.

And then… it got worse. Much, much, much worse.

“It’s her- I swear it. Did you see the boat out in the harbor?”

Her boat. Inej felt her heart drop. How could she have been so stupid? Of course, they recognized her boat. Inej was good at blending into the shadows - keeping her identity a secret - but the Wraith was a different story. It was a miracle this hadn’t happened sooner. She moved to put a hood up around her own face, but Jesper caught wind of the conversation and straightened up, looking downright relieved.

“You,” he said, clearly pleased. “You’re famous. You’re the Wraith. Yes. Awesome pirate queen. Could you…?” he asked, fixing her with pleading eyes. A few others were looking at them, trying to lean in and listen as Nina tried to question locals about Kaz and Wylan scared others away from Jesper.

“Um,” Inej said, noticing a few more eyes moving to her. “Well, I, uh…I- I mean-”

“Nej, just for a bit,” Jesper whispered. “I know you’re modest, but I can’t take much more of this. If people know you-”

“I don’t think you want people to know me right now,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. Please. For the love of everything good in this world, have some mercy for the sake of her friend. Jesper tilted his head, brows furrowing as a woman shyly stepped forward. Inej went still.

“Sankta Ghafa?” she asked cautiously. Everyone froze. Inej felt a piece of her soul die as eyes flicked to her. On the bright side, the interest in Jesper dwindled as the market fixated on her, rising whispers swirling into mixtures of her name over and over again.

“The Patron Saint of Freedom,” someone whispered. Jesper slowly turned to her and raised his brows before mouthing the title to her. She gave a weak smile.

“I’m not… I- I mean, I’m not Grisha,” she began, wincing a little as she said the words. Saints weren’t necessarily Grisha. It was suspected many might be, but the fact Inej wasn’t might actually convince more people of her status. “I’m just a pirate-”

“Aditi’s son walks with a saint as his mother did,” someone said loudly. A few gasps of realization drifted through the crowd.

Jesper winced before giving a muttered, “fuck me,” and quickly stepped away from the tents and stalls towards the docks. A few people were running towards them, looking panicked at the fact they might leave. Wylan, for his part, didn’t bother to wait for Jesper to ask for help. He reached into his bag before throwing down something and signaling them to close their eyes.

A bright flare went up, blinding everyone with a shriek.

“Move,” Wylan advised. They all rushed down the creaking boards by the ships until they reached some Ravkan trading ships that Inej hadn’t noticed Nina had been corralling them towards. Just as she was about to ask what they were doing here, Wylan pulled them towards a warehouse.

“The farmer in the third stall said Kaz had business with Ravkan traders,” Nina said simply and pointed at a dock suspiciously absent of any guards. “Tada!” she said. Jesper ignored the progress, spinning around to hold out his hands.

“Sankta Who?”

“Jes, not now,” Inej groaned, running a hand over her face. It wasn’t as if she was really a saint. She couldn’t bear the honor. She wasn’t meant for it. Kaz had laughed when she first told him, saying he could think of no better choice, but Inej found it horrifying. Saints were something to be worshiped, and she could be no such thing.

Why not? Kaz had asked her. When people pray for freedom, no god comes to them. It’s you. I say let them worship.

It wasn’t the same, she had argued, but he was stubborn, and so was the name that she couldn’t quite escape. It had started in Ravka. Inej wouldn’t have thought it made it this far east for anyone to put the pieces together. Jesper shook his head, fingers twitching by his side.

“That would have been nice to know,” he muttered and stepped inside the warehouse. “KAZ!” he growled, pushing open the metal door with a low groan. Inej slipped inside, catching movement towards the end. “PIM!”

“Jesper!” a little voice answered, and Jesper’s hand went to his gun as he looked around until he saw a tiny figure sitting on a table, playing absently with something in his hands. Relief flooded Inej when she saw Kaz surrounded by various bags and money, barely glancing up at them.

Jesper swore under his breath, rushing over to check over Pim, saying something to him sternly in Zemeni. Inej crept up, taking in the room. The warehouse looked similar to those in Ketterdam, except this one was missing a wall that faced the water. Inej could see this was still the Ravkan port, the familiar dark wood nestled up against them as water lapped inside the warehouse connecting everything together.

The rest of the space was empty, save some bags of jurda that was probably being held for the next round of trade.

“Is there a reason you stole my cousin?” Jesper asked darkly, looking away from Pim. Kaz shook his head, crossing his arms as he gave the boy a dark scowl.

“I did not intend to bring him. He decided to follow me,” he said. Pim waved, babbling in Zemeni happily as Jesper ran a hand over his face. “Though,” Kaz said, giving a slight shrug. “He did end up being useful.”

“What?” Jesper asked moodily. Kaz reached over and poked Pim with his cane, giving a sort of vague gesture to which Pim excitedly hopped up and held up both hands.

“Look,” he said, switching to Suli as he smiled at Inej. He brought a silver coin and then blew on it. A moment later, it disappeared. “Magic,” he whispered. Inej bit back a smile.

“Kaz taught you that?”

“Sort of,” Pim said. “He did the trick but wouldn’t show me how. I had to figure it out. I don’t think he understood when I asked him to teach me.” Inej was positive Kaz had known precisely what Pim had tried to ask but preferred his usual teaching method of ‘figure it out yourself’. “I showed the people at the dock the new tricks, and then Kaz let me wear his hat.”

“Did he now?”

“Best. Day. Ever.”

Nina turned, translating for Jesper and Wylan. Inej had almost forgotten she also spoke Suli. Jesper turned to look at Kaz, giving him a death stare.

“You used him to distract the guards.”

“He volunteered.”

“Kaz!” Jesper held out his hands as if imagining squeezing Kaz’s head between them. “I- what were you even doing here? What deal did you-?” he began and then suddenly paused. Inej felt a sharp shift in the air as he looked at the bag by Kaz’s feet. His eyes slid back to the Ravkan ship for a couple moments, and Inej could see the wheels turning in his head. He gave Kaz a suspicious look - like he knew the answer, but he simply could not deal with speaking into existence. “...tell me you didn’t.”

Pim went still. Even he seemed to sense something had changed. Inej had heard Jesper in all sorts of predicaments but never had his voice taken that turn before. Kaz tilted his head, almost vaguely fascinated by the darkness that laced his tone.

“If you did what I think you did - I will put a bullet between your eyes.” The threat was only cemented by Jesper raising a gun. Pim squeaked. “Open the bag.”

Kaz looked up and down before shrugging and grabbing the bag. “You’ll need Nina to confirm. The Ravkans will be picking them up tomorrow,” he said, tossing it to him. Inej stepped between the gun and Kaz. She didn’t think Jesper would shoot him - but she also knew he wouldn’t shoot her.

Nina frowned, walking over to open the bag, only to stare for a few minutes. Her eyes turned to Inej, and she quickly gave a pointed look at Kaz and then at her. Get him away from here, her eyes said.

Not good. Inej inwardly sighed, keeping between Kaz and Jesper as she turned and grabbed Kaz’s coat. “Let’s go.”

Kaz merely looked at her.

“I don’t know what you did, but let’s go-” she said, her voice suddenly dropping off when Nina took out a bone from the bag. Inej’s heart dropped. For the love of saints.

“Kaz,” she whispered, turning so her back was between Jesper and Kaz again. “If those are Aditi’s bones… I swear to greed or wrath or whatever god you believe in-”

“They’re from some Fjerdan woman,” Nina said, obviously relieved. Jesper still looked pissed.

“So you’re selling knock-offs of my mother’s body?” he asked, disgust clearly laced in his voice. “She isn’t even a saint-”

“It’s only a matter of time,” Kaz said with a shrug. “This was more of a favor to you, honestly-”

“How is this a fucking favor, Kaz?” Jesper shouted. Pim jumped, eyes widening as he reached out to grab Inej’s leg.

Kaz only looked at Jesper like a teacher mildly disappointed in his pupil.

“I didn’t just sell them to random Ravkan merchants. It’s going to the king.”

“The king bought-”

“No. The Apparat did - and it will be well-known that he did. The entire world will know, in fact, meaning that nobody will be dropping by your farm to dig her up. Because everyone will know she is situated in Os Alta,” Kaz said. Jesper folded his hands together, pressing his thumbs to his mouth. Wylan was looking between them, expression darkening for a moment before going blank.

“Am- am I supposed to thank you?” Jesper asked. “I- what is happening? You have to know how messed up that is!”

“Yes,” Kaz said simply. “But that doesn’t matter-”

“How does it not matter?!”

“Jesper,” Kaz said, clearly losing patience. “As upset as you are, this does solve a problem. You may not like it, but Leoni will only get more powerful. Her story will only grow more well-known. Your mother will only grow more famous. I’m assuming just in coming here, you realize people will associate your presence with a different saint.” Kaz stepped forward, gesturing to Inej. “And your uncle is right. People will start lining up for Novyi Zem to form an army. That has room to make a lot of money… especially once people learn someone has maliciously stolen Aditi’s bones from her homeland. It is sure to inspire quite a reckoning.”

Nina swung around. “You’re framing my country for this?” she hissed.

Kaz shrugged. “No. I’m framing myself for this. Ravka just happens to be the buyers.”

“Kaz, you could start a war-” Nina began, voice rising, but Jesper was talking over her, voice wavering.

“Wren agreed to this,” he said, shaking his head. “This is what you were talking about earlier? He wants to use this to turn people against Ravka?”

Nina swore loudly. Kaz shrugged. “People agree to interesting things after the heat of an argument,” he said.

Jesper walked away. Inej was surprised that he managed even that. She was expecting another round of punching. Nina looked like she might consider taking up the mantle instead.

Inej, for her part, wished she was more upset with him. Part of her was. Another part of her recognized that - for him - this was him caring. Helping. He had taken some of the pressure off and given Wren a central rallying point for his army without including Jesper.

Had she grown as coldly practical as Kaz? Immediately understanding the pros of an otherwise cruel plan? And what about Nina? Surely Kaz realized in aiding Wren’s army, he would almost be pitting Jesper and Nina against one another in the name of patriotism?

Inej went to move after Jesper. To her surprise, Kaz reached for her, fingers brushing her elbow. She paused - not looking at him - but tilted her head back in acknowledgment. “Keep him from the South End.”

What was in the South End? Wylan was staring at Kaz with a look she didn’t quite like. Kaz wasn’t looking at Wylan, though. He was staring at Nina, who bit her lip, looking around them with regret.

Inej shook her head and walked out of the warehouse. Jesper was already walking in the direction of South End - as if part of him was vaguely aware of Kaz’s warning. She quickly caught up, running up to jump over cargo boxes and various roofs until she was slipping down next to him.

“Could you please make sure Pim gets home alright?”

“I left him with Wylan.”

“So someone who speaks neither of the languages he speaks,” Jesper snapped at her. Wylan should have been the one to go after Jesper… but they needed to have this conversation - her and him. Inej stepped in front of him, but Jesper stepped around. “I’m not in the mood right now, Inej. If you’re here to defend him-”

“I’m not,” she said and cut him off again. She grabbed his hands. “I’m not-”

“And I suppose I should take the word of a saint.”

“Jesper.”

“I thought Nina might be the saint,” he said, pulling away. Inej watched helplessly. “Raising the dead and whatnot. You know, watch that happen next, actually. You and her become saints - hell, maybe Kaz will too at this point. Wylan? Perhaps the Patron Saint of Fire,” he snorted.

“I’m not a saint.”

Jesper closed his eyes.

“You are,” he whispered, resigned. “I’ve known that far before anyone here did. I just didn’t know it was official-”

“It’s not.”

“Inej,” Jesper said, voice exasperated and stern at once. “Stop. This isn’t your problem. Just- forget it. There’s a den not too far from here-”

“You’re going gambling?” Inej cut in sharply. Jesper shrugged. “No. Jes, that’s not how to handle this.”

“Why not? I’ve gotten so many bad hands lately that I’m due for a good one,” Jesper said simply. Inej wanted to cry for him. And strangle him. There had to be a medium somewhere.

Neither moved, though. Jesper remained there, water lapping against the dock, spraying them with droplets of the sea as the sun started its slow descent to the west.

“Am I going to have to give into this?” Jesper asked suddenly. Inej looked at him. “I don’t see how I can escape this one. I want to run, but… if this keeps going… I might have nowhere to run to. Am I going to lead an army?”

He looked disgusted and the mere idea of it. Inej shook her head.

“No. Not if you don’t want to.” She paused, considering her following words carefully. “But I think you might be done with running from you,” she said slowly. “People are going to see you now. It’s no use trying to hide. Lead an army, marry a merchant, rob Ice Court - that part is all you. Just know you’re going to have to accept the world is now part of it.”

Jesper was good at being himself when he felt safe. He wore the clothes he liked, told the jokes he found funny and was the most open person she knew.

But Inej also knew Jesper was good at compartmentalizing the parts of himself he didn’t like. It was like Kaz’s sleight of hand, except instead of whisking about cards, Jesper did so with the pieces of himself he couldn’t stand. She had always wished he wouldn’t do so - she loved him far too much for that - but now it seemed less and less optional for him to live that way.

“It’s going to go terribly,” Jesper sighed. “I can’t live up to this.”

“Then don’t. Nobody that matters will expect anything of you other than to be happy.” Jesper gave her an unimpressed look, then started walking again. They were entering the South End, she was pretty sure. She needed to corral him back out, so Inej grabbed his hands to keep him from moving. “I don’t think you care what they think of you either. I think you…” she paused, hesitating. “Just might-”

Something hit them both, sending them both flying to the ground. Inej caught herself, knife raised, but their attacker was only a girl knocked to the ground, being helped up by a blonde boy who shot them a nasty look.

“Watch where you’re going,” he snapped. Inej went to reply, but the girl popped up, eyes wide and a grin spreading over her face.

“Whoa,” she said, dusting herself off. “That was a close one.”

Jesper snorted. His wariness melted a bit as he studied the girl, noticing no immediate awe or recognition on her face. “Yeah, that would have been a bad collision,” he noted, and the girl’s smile widened.

“We could have died.”

“Perished into the sea.”

“We would have died as heroes, though.”

“I’m sure they would have commemorated us,” Jesper smiled. Inej and the blonde boy both eyed one another, still trying to size the other up. They had their hoods up too, she noticed, though the girl’s had fallen back when she fell, revealing long, braided hair with glittering gems in her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked her. The girl laughed, the sound bright enough that the sun might have peaked out again.

“No battle wounds here. You?” she asked, also looking at Inej. She raised her hands, showing no harm had been done.

“Great,” the blonde boy said, taking her hand. “Let’s go-”

“Oh, don’t be rude,” the girl said. “It was my fault. I never watch where I’m going. Can I get you dinner-?”

“For running into them?” the boy asked, aghast. “We only brought so much money! Besides, they weren’t paying attention either.”

“Then we’ll buy your dinner,” Jesper said, throwing a sly wink at the girl. “I’m Wren. This is my friend-”

“Jinia,” Inej smiled, holding out her hand. The boy simply stared at her, his one hand firmly clasping the girl and the other missing altogether. Inej was about to retract the handshake when the girl took it.

“Can I hug you?” she asked sweetly. Inej blinked. “Oh, nevermind. Sorry! We can work up to that! I’m-” she faltered. “Nadia!” she said, and the boy turned to stare at her with very clear horror. “This is my boyfriend-”

“I don’t need a name,” he said. “Call me whatever you want. Or don’t talk to me. That’s also an option.”

“I think I’m going to call you Bedawa,” Jesper said. The term must have been Zemeni because only Nadia broke into giggles, her hand covering her mouth as both Inej and No-Name stared back blankly. “Come on, I know a good place to eat.”

Inej was a little confused on why Jesper wanted to go out in public, but the answer soon presented itself as they walked into a trapdoor that led underground, leading to what might have been a bar or a restaurant. Despite being full and lively, there were makeshift walls between each table, making a semblance of a room.

“We write down our order and put it there,” Jesper said, nodding to a small shelf. “Then they’ll put the food there when it’s done.”

“Oh, perfect,” Nadia said, also looking pleased by the privacy. Inej wasn’t sure she trusted these people but sat down to eat all the same.

It ended up being nice. Jesper and Nadia got along well enough, and the food was good. Perhaps this was what Jesper needed - dinner with strangers who didn't immediately peg him as Aditi's son. The only strangeness was when Nina entered the door an hour later.

“There you are-” she began and went white when she saw them all at a table. “Oh. You've... met.”

“Nina!” Nadia gasped because, of course, she knew Nina. They had all laughed at the coincidence, though everyone cautiously made mention of their ‘names’ once more. Inej was beginning to think Nadia might also be wearing a mask - her eyes darting warily around them when waiters scuffled by the shelves to put their food down.

“Kaz-?” Inej asked, leaning forward, but Nina only whispered that she had taken Pim home and that Wylan and Kaz had disappeared.

“I'm a little worried about Wylan,” she murmured. Inej didn't blame her. Wylan had tempered himself throughout this trip wonderfully but how much could someone take watching a loved one go through this? She prayed him and Kaz weren't somewhere fighting.

The night continued. More hours slipped by, Nina looking more nervous as Nadia and Jesper talked, and Wylan eventually coming in to her relief. Inej wasn’t sure how he found them, but he seemed oddly quiet as he sat down and began sketching with only brief nods at their new friends. The boy Nadia had brought barely said a word, picking idly at his food as he stared off at nothing. Only Nadia seemed to soothe him, her voice occasionally bringing out a ghost of a smile or her touch relaxing him slightly.

At some point, they were the last ones in the restaurant, and the makeshift walls were taken down so that only they remained in the space alongside the owners who were cleaning the kitchen. Inej was about to suggest they leave - convinced the sun had risen once more - when a bang came from above.

“Please let that be someone here to shoot me,” the boy whispered. And then Kaz appeared, expression downright feral. “This could be promising.”

“Stop it,” Nadia said, fixing Kaz with a curious look.

Inej got up. Something was wrong. Kaz was looking for her - his gaze flicking around in a panic until he found her eyes. Wylan flipped a page in his sketchbook.

“He’s dead.” Kaz didn’t look distraught - the words were said calmly - but Inej knew he was. She could see a gleam in his eyes. A slight tremble in his hand as he flexed it into a fist. Everyone turned to him. “Pekka Rollins is dead.”

Inej’s heart sank. It wasn’t, technically, bad news. But she knew the numbness that must come with it. She knew what Pekka Rollins was to Kaz. There was a sort of satisfaction, she knew, of keeping him alive - of keeping him afraid. Pride dictated that there was a prize to be won there - letting the man live with the knowledge Kaz had beaten him. The fear that Kaz could now take whatever he wanted from him. The satisfaction that his crime against thirteen-year-old Jordie all those years ago was his downfall.

And now? Pekka Rollins was just another dead man. Another corpse.

And by the look of things, Kaz wasn’t even the one to kill him.

Nadia and her boyfriend looked confused, but from the other side of the table, there was a low hum.

“Oh, no,” Wylan said, not looking up from where he was sketching. “Who could have possibly done such a thing?” Kaz very slowly turned to him, eyes crackling with ire. “So fast too. It would have to have been someone very rich or very powerful to so quickly dispense trusted workers out with - what I’m guessing was a very toxic yet undetectable poison - to slip into his food or tea. Is that the kind of death you imagined for him?” Wylan asked, finally glancing up. Kaz’s expression darkened. “A quick death? Painless, even? I bet it was over like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “But, hey. Look on the bright side! You hated Pekka Rollins.” Wylan set the paper to the side so he could fix Kaz with an innocent look. “So this is a favor, right?”

Inej inched forward, ready to intervene if this went south. Wylan wasn’t done, though. He leaned forward - expression downright volatile.

“One could even argue that it’s for your own good.”

“Get out,” Kaz said, voice so low and so dangerous that Inej knew this was Kaz’s one chance of offering him to keep his life.

Wylan didn’t seem to care. He snapped up his things, standing up to look Kaz up and down coldly.

“It isn’t as fun when someone else decides what you need, is it?” he asked, tucking his notebook under his arm. “You wouldn’t have done what you did to Inej-”

“Jesper and Inej are very different people-”

“So are you,” Wylan cut in. “And if you somehow think Jesper needs someone else dictating his life - when the entire world now thinks the same thing - then you aren’t as smart as you think you are. Congratulations, Kaz. Whatever vendetta you had against Rollins is now officially finished. Enjoy figuring out the next chapter of your life.”

With that, Wylan left, slamming the door behind him.

“Jesper?” Nadia asked, looking confused. She turned to Nina. “That’s who you brought me here to meet, right? Aditi’s son?”

Jesper had gotten up to go after Wylan - hand on the handle - but paused, looking over his shoulder.

“Nina brought you here to meet Jesper?” he asked. Nina looked between them - panic rising.

“Um. I actually don’t think now is a good time to-”

“She did,” the boy said, shaking his head. “And if nobody here is Jesper, then we should leave. Leoni, let’s just go-” he began but the girl was staring at Jesper. Jesper stared back at her - the name sinking between them. Leoni.

Jesper nodded to himself. “Sankta Leoni in the flesh,” he said coldly. “I should be so honored.”

The boy beside Leoni turned to scowl at Nina. With a jolt, Inej realized who this was. Sankt Adrik. She forced down her reaction, focusing instead on where Jesper jerked open the door.

“I need to find Wylan. It was great to meet you,” he muttered and slammed the door behind him.