Once we were fully in the Fold, and all the attention was focused on the Darkling, we lifted a cargo hold, and scrambled below deck. The Volcra could be heard in the distance as we sat in the cargo hold.
Jesper was cleaning his revolvers, groaning. 'This is a bad idea.'
Kaz sounded calm, but he wasn't fooling me. 'I think it's rather practical.'
Jesper scoffed. 'What? Why?'
'I don't see how we step off this boat without you pulling those guns.' Jesper starts to chuckle. 'So, cleaning them is a good idea.'
Jesper held up his gun. 'I don't mean this.' He motioned to the skiff. 'I mean this! 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. I should have brought Milo.'
Inej glanced at Jesper. 'Who's Milo?'
'The goat!'
Kaz nodded to him. 'How many bullets do you have?'
A loud screech was heard in the distance, this one closer than any of the others.
'Not enough,' Jesper sighed.
'It's fine,' I say. 'We've been in stickier situ... hell, even I don't believe myself. We're going to die. No, you know what? The three of us,' I gestured to me, Inej, and Jesper, 'are gonna die. Kaz has the survival instincts of a cockroach and is going to outlive us all. And he'll be glad for it, too. No, no, we're so dying. Damnit, I should've brought Milo.'
'We're going to be fine,' Kaz said, turning to me. 'You need to relax, Nat. Nothing is going to happen to us.'
'You're one to talk,' I scoff. 'You're the one making it.'
A ghost of a smile crosses his lips. 'You will be very missed. What's a Bastard without his queen?' Kaz stood and I stared at him. 'We have to stay focused.'
Kaz walked back over to the ladder we climbed down, and I was still staring after him. Inej and Jesper were staring at me with matching smirks.
'His queen?' Jesper asks, sliding his arm around me as I stood. 'You're his now?'
'Shut up,' I mumble. 'He was just... trying to... shut up.'
Inej smirks. 'You're adorable, Nattie.'
I glared at her as a sudden, giant rumble came from above, and a small light was cast over the slats in the ceiling. We all looked around at each other.
'So? What's our play?' Jesper asked.
Kaz was still looking up. 'We wait.'
'For what?'
Kaz glanced at all of us. 'For whatever the general has planned.'
'You figured him out?'
'He isn't a guy you figure out,' I say. 'You either kill him or run away.'
Kaz just shook his head. 'Not quite. Consider the scenario. The Sun Summoner fled from his palace, and now she's tied to the deck. We're sailing for a city where another general hired Arken to kill her. And I saw his face as he boarded. I know that look. He's a man consumed with vengeance.'
I smile at him. 'See it enough in the mirror, do you?' Kaz sent me a glare and I put my hands up in fake surrender. 'So, what kind of revenge is he planning, exactly?'
