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CHAPTER THIRTEEN; exotic animals
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ACE MIGHT'VE BEEN THE FIRST TO PUNCH Kaz Brekker and live to tell the tale. And even though she would be pushing her luck, as they arrived at the roof of the embassy, the urge to punch him in his irritatingly handsome face grew—he could've ruined everything. She would never forgive him if he was the reason she failed—Ace didn't fail.
The roof of the embassy was curved, probably to keep the snow off, pocked with multiple points of entry—vents, chimneys, and small glass domes designed to let in the light. Nina and Inej were huddled near the largest dome, a filigreed skylight that overlooked the embassy's entry rotunda. It offered little protection from the rain but shielded them from view if guards looked towards the rooftops.
Nina had Inej's feet in her lap. "I can't get all the rubber off her heels," she said, as she saw them approaching.
Ace turned to Jesper and gave him a shove just as Kaz said, "Help her."
"Me?" Jesper said. "You don't mean—"
"Do it," Ace said, not leaving space for argument. Jesper nodded.
He crawled over to get a better look at Inej's feet, hovering his hands as he tried to take away the particles of rubber. Nina gaped at him. "You're a Fabrikator?"
"Would you believe me if I said no?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked?" he said lamely.
"Jesper—"
"Just leave it alone, Nina." She pressed her lips together, as Jesper refocused on Inej's feet. "Saints," he said.
Inej grimaced. "That bad?"
"No, you just have really ugly feet."
"Ugly feet that got you on this roof."
"But are we stuck here?" asked Nina.
The Elderclock ceased its ringing, the echoes of the alarm that Kaz had probably set off flying away with the wind, and in the silence that followed, Ace closed her eyes and sighed. "Finally."
"What happened at the prison?" Wylan said, that panicked crackle back in his voice. "What triggered the alarm?"
"I ran into two guards," said Nina.
Jesper glanced up from his work. "You didn't put them down?"
"I did. But one of them got off a few shots. Another guard came running. That was when the bells started."
"Damn. So that's what set off the alarm?"
"Maybe," said Nina. "Where were you, Kaz? I wouldn't have been in the stairwell if I hadn't wasted time looking for you. Why didn't you meet me on the landing?"
