The Phoenix and the Crow

I'm a Soldier

Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel. The man they called Dirtyhands didn't need a reason any more than he needed permission—to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man's fortunes with the turn of a card.

Y/N had once believed these whispers, but of course, she knew better. She'd seen the human side that the rumors always leave out. The side that would do anything to protect his friends, his found family. He'd protect them from whatever he thought to be threatening. And a newfound drug that made Grisha near invincible along with the possibility of it ending up in the wrong hands... That made the list, alright.

"What about Inej, she's still part of our crew isn't she?" Wylan's voice was muffled by his hand. His fingers tap his lips in a nervous pattern.

"Nikolai hadn't heard back from the Volkvolny yet. They've been out on sea for a while and we didn't know where they were going to make port next." Y/N said while she shuffled papers and maps on the desk in front of her. She looked at the four crows sitting around the desk. "We'll find a way to get a hold of Inej. But first, we need to prepare for the first facet of this absolutely insane plan of yours." She turned to Kaz, "Are you positive this will work? First Hellgate and then The Ice Court?"

"It will work." Kaz didn't look up from the papers in his hands.

Everyone was beyond exhausted, with half-lidded red eyes and hair in disarray. Y/N leaned back and stretched as she spoke, "Why don't we get some rest? Wake up with a fresh start." Kaz looked at her quickly before glancing at everyone else in the room and nodded stiffly. Jesper shot out of his seat, dragging Wylan behind him. Nina stood and bid the pair still at the desk good night before she made her way down the stairs to her room.

"Alright... I'm off to bed." Y/N stood and pushed her chair back in front of the desk. She gave him a tired smile, "Good night."

She didn't receive a verbal response, only a hum, and a nod.

~

Nina and Y/N had spent most of the following day on the streets gathering pieces for their costumes to break into Hellgate. Masks and capes were shoved in rucksack bags as they walked back to the Slat.

"I hate that we need these types of costumes." Nina's nose scrunched up in disgust and tossed the bags on the table in the kitchen.

The inferni nodded while she separated each outfit, "They won't really let us in otherwise. We've been branded the heroes of Ravka. Everyone knows our faces by now."

The costumes were similar to the ones of the pleasure houses. Silk capes in vibrant colors, but nowhere near as revealing. The masks were hideous, with noses long or stubby and eyes painted wide and bulging. Animalistic. Kaz's touch of insanity and mockery to the traditional outfits used at the pleasure houses.

Y/N knew the moment Kaz entered the Slat. His presence reverberated through the cramped rooms and crooked hallways as every thug, thief, dealer, and con man came a little more awake. The Bastard was home.

The Slat, the ravkan grisha came to know, wasn't much. Just another house in the worst part of the Barrel, three stories stacked tight on top of each other, crowned with an attic and a gabled roof. The majority of the buildings in this area had been built without a proper foundation. Many were built on swampy land where the canals were haphazardly dug. They leaned against each other like tipsy friends gathered at a bar, tilting at drowsy angles.

Though dawn was just a few hours away, the Slat was still wide awake. Y/N had realized the only time the house was ever really quiet was in the slow hours of the afternoon, and the last few nights everyone had been buzzing with the rumors of a big heist on the horizon.