I Don't Belong Here~Kaz Brekker x Reader~

Chapter 11: Train Explosions and Boarding Skiffs

***

The four of us lay on the ground, hidden behind a carriage that lets us see the train and the two people inspecting it.

"How many are there?" Inej asks.

Kaz answers. "Two. At some point, one of them will have to go and tell a superior what they found. We'll go in then."

"Not to be that person, Kaz, but are you sure you can drive that thing?"

"Be that person, Jesper. It's an important question," I say. "Do you even know for sure that their superiors don't know about this carriage?"

"I can drive it," Kaz tells us, annoyed. "On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait-"

"Milo," Jesper corrects, exasperated. "The goat's name was Milo."

"-I was memorizing Arken's timings."

At any moment I was expecting the explosion. I didn't remember the exact moment it came, and I didn't want to be caught off guard when it happened.

"Not to gang up on you," Inej adds, "but Jes has a point."

Kaz's face is quite possibly the best thing I've seen in a long time.

"Arken's system was complicated and the ride was chaotic. No one would blame you for missing a count."

"Jes?" Kaz questions, and I force myself not to laugh.

Jesper was the one to speak up. "It's Suli. For friendship."

Inej shoulders him, causing him to bump into me. He smiles.

"No it's not."

Kaz interrupts the pair. "Trust me. Arken and I think alike."

Boom.

The train bursts into flames as Kaz says that, causing debris to fly across the empty field.

"Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?" Jesper asks, looking at what used to be our way through the fold.

I roll my eyes as Kaz just hangs his head. A line comes to mind for this moment, and I take the opportunity. "Yeah, Jesper. I'm pretty sure six seconds is too soon."

***

Inej walks in with news about our new way out of this city. "The skiff is still here. Travelers downstairs are complaining. They were due to leave this morning."

"Orders from the Black General," Kaz tells her. "He plans to cross on it tomorrow."

Jesper gives me a questioning look. "The general? Is that the same general who tried to... Oh, yeah, kill us all. That one?"

"He has the Sun Summoner," I say.

"Was this your plan all along?" Inej questions, looking more at Kaz than me. "To have the General get her back so you can take her again?"

"My plan is to get us across the Fold," he corrects. "We aren't prepared for another fight."

"So you're not going to take another run at Alina? And you're really willing to let a million Kruge go?"

The three of us stare at him, waiting to hear him admit that he is willing to pass on the money.

"We can't do it without you," he tells Inej.

Jesper moves his head, nodding. "Been saying that since day one."

"And you've made your position perfectly clear."