Stars ― Kaz Brekker

06. the lovers and the loveless

THEY WAIT UNTIL DUSK TO MAKE LAND. Specht suggests that the twilight may lend them some cover, and no one argues. There are whaling villages along the shore, and none of them are eager to be spotted. Despite their cover as trappers, the Dregs are still a conspicuous group.

They spend the night on the ship. The next dawn, Estera and Specht steer the ship into a quiet stop at the harbor. By the time everyone is ready and they've bid their goodbyes to the ship's crew, the sky has turned from pink to gold.

"See you in Djerholm harbor," Specht calls. "No mourners."

"No funerals," all but Matthias reply.

Kaz has been tight-lipped about the exact details of their plans to reach Bo Yul-Bayur and get out of the Ice Court with the scientist in tow, but he's been clear that once they have their prize, the Ferolind is their escape route. Estera had spent the days leading up to their departure from Ketterdam forging papers bearing the Kerch seal and indicating that all fees and applications have been made for representatives of the Haanraadt Bay Company to transport furs and goods from Fjerda to Zierfoort, a port city in south Kerch.

They begin the march from the rocky shore up the cliff side. Estera can feel spring in the air, but the ground is still frozen, and it's a tough climb. When they reach the top of the cliff, they stop to catch their breath. The Ferolind is still visible on the horizon, its sails full of the wind that whipped at their cheeks.

"Saints," Inej says. "We're actually doing this."

"I've spent every minute of every miserable day wishing to be off that ship," Jesper says. "So why do I suddenly miss it?"

Wylan stamps his boots. "Maybe because it already feels like our feet are going to freeze off."

"When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm," Kaz says. "Let's go." He's left his crow's head cane aboard the Ferolind and substituted a less conspicuous walking stick. Jesper's mournfully parted with his prized pearl-handled revolvers in favor of a pair of unornamented guns, and Inej has done the same with her set of knives and daggers, keeping only those she's willing to part with when they reach the prison.

Jesper consults his compass, and they turn south, seeking a path that will lead them to the main trading road. "I'm going to pay someone to burn my kruge for me."

Kaz falls into step beside him. "Why don't you pay someone else to pay someone to burn your kruge for you? That's what the big players do."

"You know what the really big bosses do? They pay someone to pay someone to..."

Estera rolls her eyes as their voices trail off, and she and the others follow after. She casts a final backward glance at the vanishing Ferolind, hoping it will not be the last time she sees its sails and Kerch flags.

✯

Estera has never been to Fjerdan (thank the Saints), so the cold is a shock to her system. It's a shock to all of their systems, and it isn't long before Matthias is in the lead, setting the pace.

The first day of travel is like a cleansing—there's hardly any talking. When the sun begins to set, they eat their rations of dried beef and hardtack and collapse into their tents without a word.

The next morning, Kaz is ready to dig into the details of the plan.

"If we get this right, we're going to be in and out of the Ice Court before the Fjerdans ever know their prize scientist is gone," Kaz says as they shoulder their packs and continue to push south. "When we enter the prison, we'll be taken to the holding area beneath the men's and women's cellblocks to await charges. If Matthias is right and the procedures are still the same, the patrols only pass through the holding cells three times a day for head counts. Once we're out of the cells, we should have at least six hours to cross to the embassy, locate Yul-Bayur on the White Island, and get him down to the harbor before they realize anyone is missing."