𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒-Kaz Brekker

𝐕𝐈.

𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑: 𝐕𝐈.

With Poppy's information, the Conductor, whose true name is Arken, is easy to find. And after Kaz stops the man from meeting the sharp end of Inej's knife, he pays a visit to Tante Heleen.

They're taking Inej. And if the plan falls through, the Crow Club will be surrendered as collateral.

Even if Jesper and Inej don't know, Raisa need only look at Kaz and understand that he's worried. If this fails, he loses everything.

The five of them are stuck in a cramped carriage on a road in Novokribirsk. Their heartbeats are pounding in Raisa's ears, unbearably loud and even worse in close quarters. The Conductor's heart is the loudest, but Raisa understands. They've essentially kidnapped him with a plan to drag him across the Fold.

Calm him, the kind part of her mind says. Make it easier for him.

The dark part makes her shudder despite herself.

Kill him. It's too much noise.

He sneaks Grisha out of Os Alta. That's how he knows what he's doing. If Raisa had been smarter, she would have sought him out a year ago when she needed to flee. But somehow, she thinks, doing things herself might have been the better option. It would have been harder with another person, especially with Kirigan breathing down her neck.

She wouldn't have wanted the Conductor's blood on her hands if they were caught.

With Arken in the fold, the profit has to be divvied up amongst the five of them. Two hundred thousand for Inej, Jesper, and Arken, two hundred ten thousand for Raisa, and one hundred ninety thousand for Kaz.

"I didn't hire you to simply get us across the Fold," Kaz notes as they ride along. "You're with us because you smuggle Grisha out of the Little Palace, and that's the location of our target."

"Sun Summoner," Inej says.

"Alleged," Kaz bites back.

"They wouldn't keep a fraud in the most secure location in all of Ravka."

Kaz's eyes are cold as he casts his attention back to the Conductor, not wanting to continue arguing with Inej. "You said you have a contact who can get us inside. Another Heartrender."

"Mm-hmm," Arken chokes out.

"How do I know we can trust her?"

"Nina grew up there. Alongside Raisa here, I'd assume. But if the circumstances of Raisa's escape are as... tumultuous as she says, Raisa would be recognized. Presumably captured. Nina wouldn't be."

"Most Grisha grew up in the Little Palace," Kaz says. "Very few would betray their general, and fewer still would help foreigners kidnap their most prized possession."

"And yet here I sit," Raisa interjects. "And I know Nina. She's... a very interesting sort of character, but I trust her."

"She's a radical," Arken adds. "Thinks Grisha should get to choose if they serve the Crown. She despises involuntary service more than she does Fjerdans."

They find her room at a small inn, happily given the number by the man at the desk.

It's empty.

"She knew to expect us," Arken notes as they examine the room.

"She isn't late. She's gone," Kaz says.

Arken isn't convinced. He shakes his head as he answers, "Yes, but her things are all..." he falls silent as he moves aside a trunk, revealing a small pin forged in the shape of a wolf's head.

"What is it?" Jesper asks.

"Drüskelle. They are ruthless Grisha hunters," Arken says.

"Explains the Fjerdan krydda the innkeeper was counting when we arrived," Kaz says.

"Bastard sold her out," Raisa states. "Wonderful. So I suppose I'm the one who'll have to find our way into the Little Palace?"

"Looks like it," Kaz replies simply.

"Nina's probably captive on a ship to Fjerda right now," Arken says.

Inej examines the balcony and the rest of the room before she says, "They had a clear line of attack."

"Take a look. Make sure there aren't any more surprises," Kaz instructs. He casts his cold eyes to Raisa. "It's on you, now."

A sardonic smile forms on her face, her eyes betraying her annoyance. "Let's hope that General Kirigan feels sentimental when he finds me stealing his Sun Summoner."

Inej meets them as they file out of the inn, hopping down from her perch on the roof. "All clear," she says.

"This seems like a reasonable juncture to abandon this whole Sun Summoner plan," Arken says. "I don't know Raisa, I don't know her work or her methods. And I also don't know what will happen if she's spotted."

"Abandon the plan?" Kaz says. "We're in this now. And I know what a million kruge means to me. What does it mean to you?"

"Freedom," Inej says instantly.

"Fun," Jesper says. "Like, at least a few months."

"Retirement," Arken says.

Raisa shrugs. "Means I could the hell out of Ketterdam, at the very least."

Kaz nods, eyes locked on Arken. "Right, so we press on. Get us across the Fold and I'll figure out the rest on the other side."

"Fine," Arken says. He pulls a small notebook from his pocket and says, "To cross, I'll need twenty pounds of alabaster coal. A peck of Majdaloun jurda. Uh, not the kind from Kerch. It's too weak. And, uh..." he spares a glance toward Jesper before he concludes, "a goat."

He takes a breath before continuing. "Now, we meet in the dead of night. There's a wreckage of a skiff northeast, on the edge of town. So, who gets what?"

"Inej, jurda. I'll get the goat. Raisa, you'll stick with Arken, discuss a plan. Figure out how Nina got Grisha out of the Little Palace. And Jesper..." Kaz advances on Jesper, holding a handful of bills in front of him, "just the coal, no detours."