SEVEN DEVILS ━━ six of crows

iv. afterlife

CHAPTER FOUR:
AFTERLIFE

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SAVNI DIDN'T HAVE THE faintest clue who Jan Van Eck was but his name blew apart the silence like an imploding bomb.

Jesper was the first to react by bursting into laughter. "Of course you're a Councilman's kid. That explains everything."

Savni sighed. "Jesper, please."

Meanwhile, Wylan's mouth opened and closed, his throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly. "You knew?" he asked Kaz, miserable in the face of his indulgent smile.

"Why do you think I've been keeping you around?"

Ouch. Savni could feel the sting of his comment almost like it was directed towards her. Typical Kaz. Typical Dirtyhands.

"I'm good at demo," Wylan offered, sounding completely dejected.

"You're passable at demo," Kaz corrected. "You're excellent at hostage."

Now Wylan looked positively crushed. Savni wanted to hug him. She glared at the side of Kaz' face, but he either didn't notice or didn't care what she had to say about his habit of keeping secrets only to share them when it suited him. Savni wasn't shocked to find that Inej already knew either. Likely, it was her who had discovered that particular skeleton in Wylan's closet and passed it onto Kaz.

Savni was almost disappointed in her. Jan Van Eck was barely a blip on her radar, but Wylan must've had his reasons for hiding his identity behind a different name. Who were they to take that from him?

"It doesn't matter," Jesper said once he managed to stop laughing. "We should still take Raske and leave this baby merch on lockdown in Ketterdam."

Savni huffed. "Do we get to vote on this or have you already decided Wylan's fate for him?"

At last, Kaz glanced at her. Only for a second, but Savni caught the slightest raise of his eyebrows and glared right back. "I don't trust Raske."

"And you trust Wylan Van Eck?"

"Wylan doesn't know enough people to cause us real trouble."

"He's also sitting a few feet away," Savni snapped. "Or have we forgotten that?"

"Don't I have some say in this?" added the boy in question.

Kaz turned to him. "Ever had your pocket picked, Wylan?"

The merchling hesitated for a second, seemingly thinking it over before shaking his head. "I... not that I know of."

"Been mugged in an alley?"

"No."

"Hung over the side of a bridge with your head in the canal?"

"No, but--"