Of Crows and Eagles // Grishaverse

Wretched

Jesper

Jesper was starting to understand Kaz's bias against Ravkans. They were constantly arguing, jostling to be heard, asking five questions when one would do. Genya commandeered them like the whole kingdom would go to hell if anyone so much as suggested a course of action before running it by her first. Until today, Jesper had actually been quite fond of her, though they barely knew each other, because of what she'd done for Wylan, but Jesper thought that if he ever made it out of this Saintsforsaken war room, he might very well shoot her through the heart.

"How many Sun Summoners would it take to produce that kind of light?" Kaz asked, resting his chin on his knuckles. He seemed to be the only person with any ability to work through the tangle of information before them, and Jesper was starting to wonder how Ravka had managed to last as long as it had without his input.

"It would depend on how powerful they were," Tamar replied.

"They've only had a few years to master their powers," Kaz pointed out. "Are you sure it's possible for a Grisha to have become that powerful in such a short amount of time?"

Tamar frowned. "I suppose not." Jesper wanted to scream. They had been arguing in this manner for hours. It was a whole lot of brisk questions and clipped answers. They had made progress, but if there was no one to share it with, did their theories really add up to anything? As far as they knew, Zoya and Nikolai were still in just as much danger as they had been in three hours ago.

At some point, Genya had left the room to survey the Second Army's legion of Sun Summoners. She had returned not ten minutes later to report that everyone was accounted for. Kaz still believed that the abductors had assistance from inside the palace, but they would have to extend their search to both armies as well as the staff. It could take days to root out the traitors.

"What do you suggest then, Brekker?" Genya asked, crossing her arms.

Kaz sighed. "Send someone to investigate the manors in the upper city," he instructed. "Just to see what they find."

"Explain how that helps us locate whoever's behind the attack," Tamar demanded, planting her palms on the table like she was expecting an ambush.

"It doesn't," Kaz replied, his voice flat.

"Then-"

"But it'll give you something productive to do while my crew looks into the kidnapping," Kaz added, almost as an afterthought. Jesper was starting to think he enjoyed getting a rise out of the Ravkans.

Genya shot upwards, her chair toppling backwards in the process. "If you think I'd trust you with the king and queen's life you're even more deluded than I thought," she spat, eyes blazing.

"If you truly value the lives of your precious king and queen you'll follow my advice," Kaz shot back, rising from his seat. "You know you don't stand a chance of finding them without our help, so I suggest you let us do our jobs."

A heavy, prolonged sigh escaped from between Genya's lips. She reached downward, flipping her chair upright with a flick of her hand. "Do what you must," she whispered. The words were hushed, nearly silent, but there was a sharpness to them too that shocked Jesper more than he cared to admit. The woman before him had been through unspeakable horrors. The weight of a nation rested on her scarred shoulders. Jesper felt a sudden stab of sympathy for her that would've given Kaz cause to snap his neck.

Kaz jerked his head to the door, his eyes skimming over Jesper, Wylan, and Nina as he did so. Wordlessly, they rose to their feet and followed Kaz out of the room, Inej bringing up the rear.

No one said a word until they reached a small, wine-red sitting room at the end of a long, marble corridor. Jesper took a seat on an emerald green chaise, Wylan beside him. "Remind me why we're doing this?" Jesper asked, leaning back.