A Coin Has Two Sides (Season One) || Kaz Brekker x OC

10. Stay Safe

The next morning, Winnie awoke to an empty room.

She almost couldn't believe she had fallen asleep.

Why had her mind allowed her this gift?

Did it have anything to do with what happened with Kaz last night?

Stop.

That memory was going to stay hidden deep in her mind. Locked away and the key tossed to the side.

She got up to put her waistcoat back on and turned around to the sofa to see Kaz's blazer and waistcoat were gone.

So he was gone too. But where?

A knock on her door answered her question.

Jesper turned the handle and walked in.

"Up and at 'em, blondie. We still have to figure out a way into the Little Palace and as a former resident your services are required to help us."

"Kaz didn't come up with something?" Winnie asked as she pulled on her waistcoat.

"Clearly not. He's been downstairs brooding for the last couple of hours. Told us not to wake you, despite our protests."

Winnie looked down at her buttons and did each one up.

A vivid flicker of her undoing Kaz's buttons came into her mind which she swiftly put back in its locker.

"How does Arken seem? Has his complaining ass come up with anything?" she asked.

"Nope. He's been oddly quiet and keeps walking over to the group who were performing last night for some reason."

Winnie walked over to a small mirror which hung on the wall next to the door and fixed her hair into a half up half down style with strands falling from the front over her face.

"Interesting. Well, if he's not going to chip in someone has too", she said as she walked past him out the door and down the stairs to the pub.

As she entered, she saw Kaz standing at the bar which his hands resting on the wooden surface. Inej was to his left and there were three glasses of beer out in front of them. Arken was nowhere to be seen.

Winnie took in a small breath making sure Jesper would take the seat to the right of Kaz so she could put someone in between them.

Once he had, she took her own seat to his right and stole one of the glasses of beer.

"Hey, that's mine", Jesper complained.

"Zip it. I've just woken up", she said as she took a couple of big gulps of the beer.

"Do either of you two have any plans up your sleeves?" Inej asked her and Kaz.

Kaz glanced towards Winnie, but she refused to look at him in the eye and instead chose to look down at the glass of beer she was cradling in between her two hands.

"I was thinking, what about secret passages. There has to be some in there, right?" Jesper asked and the other two joined him in turning towards Winnie.

She kept her glance down at the glass.

"I only know of one. I used it to escape but I couldn't tell you where it is. I was only shown it once. Besides, the entrance to it is on the Palace ground and can only be accessed by a shadow summoner. I won't be able to show it to you or open it since me going anywhere near those grounds is off the table."

After a minute of contemplation Jesper added, "I mean, Kribirsk isn't the worst. We can open up a bar. Brew East Ravkan beer for the Westerners?"

"Shut up, Jesper", Winnie, Kaz and Inej all said at the same time in the same fed-up tone.