Katerina Petrova was on the run and had to hide her past. But among thieves and murderers, did that really matter? All that mattered to Kaz Brekker was whether or not his prized grisha was up for the job. He didn't ask questions and that's what made...
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━━"get us out of here," kaz shouted as soon as he limped aboard the schooner with katerina in his arms. it seemed wrong, seeing her this way; broken, weak, frail. words no one would ever dare you against the vixen. his vixen.
the sails were already trimmed, and they were on their way out of the harbour in moments, though not nearly as fast as he would have liked. if katerina were awake— he pushed that thought awake.
"specht!" he yelled at the man he'd chosen to captain the vessel, a sailor with a talent for knifework who had fallen on hard times and ended up stuck in the lower ranks of the dregs. "get your crew in shape before i start cracking skulls."
the pain in kaz's leg was terrible, the worst it had been since he'd first broken it falling off the roof of a bank near the geldstraat. it was possible he'd fractured the bone again. katerina's weight wasn't helping, but when jesper stepped into his path to offer help, kaz shoved past him.
"where's nina?" kaz snarled.
"seeing to the wounded below. she already took care of me," dimly kaz registered the dried blood on jesper's thigh. "wylan got dinged during the fight. let me help you—"
"get out of my way," kaz said, and plunged past him down the ramp that led belowdecks.
he found nina tending to wylan in a narrow cabin, her hands drifting over his arm, knitting the flesh of the bullet wound together. it was barely a graze.
"move," kaz demanded, and wylan practically leaped from the table.
"i'm not finished—" began nina. then she caught sight of katerina. "saints," she swore. "what happened?"
"knife wound."
the cramped cabin was lit by several bright lanterns and a stash of clean bandages had been laid out on a shelf beside a bottle of camphor. gently, kaz placed katerina on the table that had been bolted to the deck.
"that's a lot of blood," nina said on a low breath.
"help her."
"kaz, i'm a heartrender, not a real healer."
"and she's a squaller that can summon lightning. get to work."
"you're in my light."
kaz stepped back into the passageway. katerina lay perfectly still on the table, her luminous skin dull in the swaying lamplight. even during the nights they lie in their bed, talking and scheming, she never looked at peace as she did now.
katerina would never be at peace. they way she said the name aleksander had sent chills down his spine. she said it with such emotion. as though it were a messy wrap of love and hate. not that he knew the difference between the two, or emotions in general.
but kaz knew death. he could feel its presence on the ship now, looming over them, ready to take his vixen. he was covered in her blood. he didn't even need to check who was beside him when he felt the weight of the room shift. inej's breathing was a big takeaway. when it came to katerina, the two of them were kindred souls.
