𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐒 | 𝐤.𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐤𝐞𝐫

ONE

Inej Ghafa was the Wraith. She lingered in the shadows, silent and observant, retrieving information and passing it on. It was her skill that had gathered secrets from every corner of Ketterdam and brought them right into the Crow Club, right to Kaz.

One such secret, one she hardly ever shut up about, was a girl. She'd worked a job or two for Heleen, and occasionally had business within the Menagerie. She didn't know her name, she knew absolutely nothing. The girl in question sat alone, the others tended to avoid her. She was different. And sometimes she'd turn up somewhat bruised, like she'd taken a beating in a fight. She seemed to capture the interest of a number of men and women, that never seemed to help at all with the bruising.

The most recent intelligence that Inej had on her was that she'd stolen a rather valuable necklace from a merchant's daughter, in spite of a heavy guard placed in and around the house. It was a solo mission, with no evidence that anyone had helped her. But how the job had been done, she had no idea. And that's what Kaz wanted to know. The girl's skills were useful, and the nature of the job was curious.

He decided that he needed to meet her. So he tasked Inej with finding her and bringing her to him.

𓄿

Valya was observant. She saw the way Inej looked at her when their paths crossed at the Menagerie. It was curiosity, the quiet kind that she displayed when she was gathering information for Kaz Brekker. Girls at the Menagerie often talked about Inej, complained, really. Valya always tried to defend her. She'd never spoken to her directly, but she didn't like the way some of the girls talked about her.

Inej was like her, in a way. She was skilled. She was good with blades and hid in the shadows, privy to secrets from everyone in Ketterdam. Valya fit easily into anywhere. She was excellent at persuasion and quite handy with daggers, occasionally dabbling in poisons too. Watching her blend into almost any situation, infiltrating a place with ease, it was like watching a shapeshifter perform their talent.

She wondered why Inej stared with such curiosity. Why she held that same look as though she were silently gathering information to feed back to Kaz. Unless she was. Perhaps the infamous Bastard of the Barrel had taken an interest in her.

She'd never seen Kaz Brekker. She'd been to the Crow Club a few times, never staying for long. Her longest visits were the times when her uncle had passed out drunk, and she had to haul his lump of a body back to his flat. Usually he could stand, and walk by himself, she just had to make sure he hadn't gotten into any trouble with anyone. He had a temper even when he was sober. Or at least, slightly less drunk than usual. She wasn't sure he ever was sober. She'd seen Inej in there once or twice, but she wasn't usually in. When she was, she was with Jesper, the sharpshooter. She'd never seen Kaz before. He spent most of his time up in his office.

𓄿

The last of the drunken gamblers filtered out of the Crow Club as the night grew older, people on their way to pass out, either in their own homes or in the streets, victim to pick-pocketing or something more cruel.

Valya walked through the entrance, stopping just inside as the last of the drunks left. Jesper, the sharpshooter, was counting through coins to judge his last winnings. He barely even glanced up as he heard her footsteps. "Sorry, love, we're closing for the night."

"Oh, I'm sure you can make an exception," she said, folding her arms as he looked up at her. "I believe Mr Brekker's taken an interest in me, given Inej's consistent watch on me."

Jesper's eyes didn't move from her as his voice raised and he called out. "Kaz!" He gave a small, awkward smile. "Just a moment."

"What is it, Jesper?" Kaz asked as he left his office, standing at the top of the staircase.