Kaz didn't really know how he'd got here, locked in a prison cell under 24 hour guard and three rifles pointed at him at all times. It wasn't so much the situation that was the problem, for he could get out of this easier than he could tell the people he cared about that they were worth something to him, but for the crime he had been imprisoned for.
He hadn't been arrested in seven years, if you counted the Ice Court, though Kaz never did. Why would it count if you'd been willingly locked up?
In total, he had now been arrested five times in his life, again counting the Ice Court.
Obviously, Kaz was a criminal. A thief, a smuggler, and a gang leader. He knew that. He also knew there was a likely chance he would once day be locked up for his schemes.
But Kaz had never once suspected he would be tossed in jail for something he didn't actually do. After all, there was barely anything he hadn't done, and yet they'd found something.
He thought back to the beginning, back in the Slat with his darling Inej, treasure of his heart.
She had put her lips close to his, careful not to let them touch.
The two of them weren't quite healed enough yet for kissing, though they were making progress.
This time, however, Kaz's vision had gone out of focus, blinking hard as he tried to keep his eyes on hers. But then the gravity was too much and he had fallen. Inej had helped him up, checked for injury, and gotten him a glass of water. It hadn't helped any, but he told her it did because she was so worried she'd overstepped. Her presence beside him soothed more than the water did, and he just wanted her to stay.
Inej warned him not to overexert himself, especially on her behalf. But all Kaz could think was that he would do anything she said if she'd say it with her hands. If she would just not leave.
He knew this was dangerous and weak thinking, but at the moment he hadn't particularly cared. It would have been smart to walk away, but she was quicksand, and he could never turn his back on her or rid himself of her distraction.
This slope of feelings was treacherous and steep, to be traversed with care, a reckless path. But there was no one else he would rather walk it with, and Kaz was starting to think he might actually like it.
I can't decide if it's a choice, getting swept away. He'd thought to himself as she'd fallen asleep beside him as they lay on his bed, just talking and whispering shared memories. He could still hear the sound of his own voice, asking her to stay. Inej had stirred in her sleep but did not wake.
Without each other, they were skin and bone, trained to get along and forever going with the flow. But Inej was friction, pulling him out of the cold, dark river he was drowning in.
Their love was treacherous, a reckless road they walked together every time they were alone. Every time they found themselves in each other's company. But Kaz liked it.
But then two lights had shone in the sleepless nighttime street below and Inej had woken with a start. She looked up and around the room, realizing where she was. She looked up at Kaz's face, his confusion echoed on hers.
Downstairs they could hear shouts and what sounded like stadwatch demanding to know where they might find the infamous Kaz Brekker.
"Go," Kaz breathed, snapping up his cane, shrugging on his coat, and glancing once at the discarded gloves on the desk.
"What do they want?" She asked, half-moving towards the window, silent as shadow.
"I don't know. But I don't want you to be here when I find out."
