fₒᵣ ᵢ ₐₘ bₑcₒₘₑ dₑₐₜₕ, dₑₛₜᵣₒyₑᵣ ₒf wₒᵣₗdₛ
Anastasia Morozova is a kinslayer. Anya Varamyr is a murderer. Anastasia is a decorated soldier. Anya is a backstreet cutthroat. Anastasia would die for her country. Anya would die for her friends.
Anastasi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Anya, what happened to being lowkey?"
Anya frowned, glancing between the ricketty old piano at her side, keys spilling onto the floor, before looking back up at Jesper's bright orange shirt with a meaningful raised eyebrow.
"Oh you know what I mean," he snorted. "Kaz isn't going to like this."
"Kaz doesn't like anything," Anya said airily, waving Rotty over to help her drag the piano into the hall of the Slat.
"She's not wrong."
Anya almost leapt out of her own skin at the small voice coming from behind her. "Saints, Inej! We need to get you a bell or something."
"Wouldn't be of much help," Inej smiled. "Sorry."
Anya shrugged and peered over her shoulder. "And where's the mighty Lord Brekker? Did he get what he wanted?"
Inej nodded and began to peel off her hood and knife belt, taking a seat atop one of the counters. "He'll never admit it, but the stairs slowed him down."
Anya nodded and lifted herself atop her stolen piano. Over the past three months she'd quickly grown used to Kaz Brekker's absolute refusal to accept any sort of benevolent offer of help, no matter how sneakily she tried to slip it in. "Do we have any brandy? That was hard work."
"You had those stadwatch officers carry it the whole way here for you," Inej reminded her with a raised eyebrow. Now Anya had no idea how the Wraith had figured that out, but she knew better than to try to find out.
"The stadwatch?" Jesper asked incredulously, already passing her a decanter of amber liquid. "You had the stadwatch carry your stolen piano for you?"
Anya shrugged and popped the cork with a bright smile. "Well they didn't know it was stolen!"
Before Jesper could fully process her words, the door of the Slat swung open and in came Kaz, cane tapping strongly against the wooden beams that made up the floor. With a downwards quirk to his lips, he dropped a heavy bag of what Anya knew to be diamonds onto the counter and turned to face her with a weary aura. "What did we say about being lowkey, Varamyr?"
I told you so, mouthed Jesper over Kaz's shoulder, and Anya shot him the middle finger. "I thought the place could use with some joy," she said with the best smile she could muster. "It gets awfully awakened when the only music in here is Jesper's awful singing - no offence, Jes!"
