★𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝑭𝒍𝒚 ༄ 𝑲𝒂𝒛 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒌𝒌𝒆𝒓★

19: Survive

"Forget the hearse, 'cause I'll never die"
-AC/DC-

We could see Alina Starkov at the bow of the skiff, swamped with guards. General Kirigan paced by her.

At the sound of a Volcra, we headed below deck.

Although we released each other at the hip, Kaz slipped his hand into mine.

Although he refused to show it, I could tell he was nervous. And well, that made me bloody nervous.

"You should clean your guns, make sure there's no resistance when you shoot," Kaz told Jesper.

He followed through, taking the bullets from their magazine and cleaning the barrel.

"This is a bad idea," said Jesper grimly at the cry of a Volcra.

"I think it's rather practical," Kaz replied.

"What? Why?" Jesper met his gaze.

"I don't see how we step off this boat without you pulling those guns, so cleaning them is a good idea," Kaz explained glancing at me. "And your abilities could be useful, too," he muttered.

"I don't mean this," Jesper gestured to his pistols. "I mean this~" he waved at the ceiling.

There was another growl from a Volcra.

He continued. "We are in the worst place in the world, on a ship full of people who want us dead, surrounded by monsters who want us in their gullets," he spiked quickly. "I should have brought Milo,"

"Who's Milo?" asked Inej.

"The goat!" Jesper and I replied in unison.

"Thank you, Ada," he pointed his pistol at me.

"How many bullets do you have?" asked Kaz.

Jesper twirled the revolvers, putting them back in their holsters. "Not enough," he said grimly.

"As if this day couldn't get any better," I sighed, squeezing Kaz's hand.

"So, what's our play?" asked Inej.

"We wait." Kaz didn't meet her gaze.

"For what?" she continued.

"For whatever the general has planned," said Kaz with a sigh.

"So you've figured him out?" I pondered, tilting my head as our eyes met.

Kaz let go of my hand, adjusting his cane. "Not quite,"

I folded my arms. My hand felt cold in the absence of his.

"Consider the scenario," Kaz continued. "The Sun Summoner fled from his palace, now she's tied to the deck. We're sailing to a city where another Ravkan general hired Arken to kill her- and I saw his face as we boarded. I know that look. He's a man consumed with vengeance."

"See it enough in the mirror, do you?" Jesper mocked.

I knew vengeance. I knew how it felt, how it looked. I took a deep breath.

Vengeance was a dangerous thing.

I attempted a weak smile. "So, uh, what type of revenge we talking? Who's grandmas getting killed?"

A laugh escaped Jesper's lips.

"No specific grandmothers, Ada," Kaz forced away his smile. "We know it requires the Sun Summoner, which makes her valuable to us; she's the one keeping everyone safe in here. If we have controls of her, we call the shots. We need to threaten her life."