Shadow Thieves

Chapter 8: Nina

     Nina stumbled, then felt Matthias's strong arm grasp her wrist. They had taken the first trip to Kerch as soon as they could and were now in the Slat. She had knocked over a barstool then tripped on it, almost falling flat on her face, in her rush to see everyone. She thanked Matthias and lifted her head to look around. She hadn't spent much time at the Slat during her years in Ketterdam so the place was vaguely familiar. Nina quickly spotted Jesper and Wylan standing by the bar. She bounded over to them and squeezed them in a bone-crunching hug. A small squeal escaped her lips, she had missed them so much. "Where's Inej?" she excitedly asked. "Inej? Why would she be here?" Jesper said. Nina's smile immediately fell. "What do you mean, Jesper?" she questioned. "After you two left, Inej left to hunt slavers on the boat that Kaz had bought her." Wylan quickly explained. Jesper nodded in agreement as Nina processed this new information. So, she came all the way to Ketterdam just find out that her best friend wasn't here. Disappointment filled her insides and Nina felt horrible. They had been on a private mission all over the country, so there no way Inej could have messaged Nina. She felt bad for dragging Matthias here, she turned to look at him. "Nina, are you ok-" he didn't get to finish because a high squeal broke through the air.

     The Slat had been quiet, except for a few murmurs and conversations. She turned around to see a small, brown figure slide down the rail and into her arms. It was Nina's turn to be squeezed to death. She pulled away from Inej letting out another squeal of her own. "Inej!" I exclaimed, casting Wy and Jesper and confused look, which they responded with one just as confused. They didn't know what was going on either. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Yeah, what are you doing? I thought you were hunting slavers." Jes questioned. Inej looked between them, then at a grinning Kaz coming towards them. The whole gang turned to look at Kaz. Kaz was smiling like a dork. Dirtyhands didn't smile, Nina shot a questioning look at Inej. She mouthed "I'll explain later". Wylan cleared his throat, "So, what's going on?". I turned to Inej for an explanation and she began. "I just arrived in Ketterdam a couple of hours ago and was going to see Kaz, when we heard a loud crash. She had blushed when she said Kaz's name, something was definitely going on between them. "Oh, yeah. That was me, I knocked over a stool." I explained. "What are you doing here?" Kaz asked. I gave him a little wave then explained about how Matty and I came back.