of snakes & crows || kaz brekker

─ 𝒔𝒊𝒙

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[06|| chapter six]
the viper's guide
to getting taken!

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         ━━━━ IT WAS SAFE to say that Kaz Brekker was pissed.

         As soon as they arrived at the Crow Club he demanded that Inej leave and Jesper hang the painting on the bare stretch of wall in his office while Ead stood around, unsure of what to do. She knew that his sudden one-eighty of emotions was because of her lapse back at the merchant's estate, but she couldn't find the mind to be embarrassed about it.

Her past was a complicated one, as she'd told them before— and she could never tell when painful memories would come swimming to the surface for a breath of air. She clutched the locket in her palm tightly, ensuring it stayed hidden from mischievous eyes that wouldn't hesitate to steal it from her fingers. Her other necklace, the one from her childhood made of fabric and wood, was in her bag back at the inn she was staying at.

         Kaz grabbed a drink from the bar before motioning for Ead to follow him. She secured the hood of her cloak higher above her head as she went, keeping a keen eye out. It was early morning, but a couple of brawny members of the Dregs were already out, and like Kaz, favored putting alcohol in their system before a proper breakfast. Thankfully, the public wasn't yet aware that the she'd changed the color of her infamous cloak, so she wasn't recognized.

         Dirtyhands stayed silent as they entered the office, his cane clacking loudly against the floor, his footsteps extra heavy, like he wanted every movement of his to bleed with his discontent. Jesper and Inej were no longer inside, but the painting was hanging up, perfectly fit for the span of previously empty space. Ead admired it for a moment, from the dark strokes that depicted the fold, to the lightly flicked blades of grass. It was a beauty, but whoever had painted it had obviously never been so close to the Unsea. The mere sight of it haunted you, made you never want to remember the way it flickered with unseen storms and screeched with monsters.

      Of course a merchant with no actual need of crossing the fold would be so eager to have a painting of it hanging in his library. There was beauty in danger— but only if the danger was one you'd never encounter.

         "I've made a mistake." Kaz finally said when Ead took a seat opposite him at his desk. Though he usually tried very hard to keep his cool, this time the veins in his face were hard to hide, as well as the baby pink flush in his cheeks. "I think we both have."

         "Why?" Ead asked without showing much emotion herself, unclasping the silver pin at her throat. Her emerald cloak spilled around her on the chair in velvet waves. "I think the heist went rather smoothly."

         Kaz's grip on his cane was so tight, Ead was sure if he wasn't wearing his coat and gloves, even more veins would be protruding against his alabaster skin. She shifted at the thought, trying to clear her mind of the images. Seriously, she was so incredibly hopeless when it came to being around him.

         "You call that smooth?" Kaz finally seethed, his voice a raspy hiss. "You could've gotten both of us caught. All because you saw a necklace."

         "I never claimed to not have emotions." Eadaz stated simply, and for once she wasn't smug about the anger she drew in his face. "Did you assume because they called me the Viper, the reaper of sinners, and the fearless snake that I'd be truly cold blooded and without flaw? Did you actually take the people of Ketterdam's word to heart?"