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LIANNA BEGAN HEADING THROUGH THE EVENING STREETS OF KETTERDAM TOWARDS FIFTH HABOUR LATER THAN SHE SHOULD HAVE. She sneaked back into her room at six in the morning, after walking Nina all the way to the White Rose. She was hoping to catch at least an hour of sleep, but Cassian had walked into her room fifteen minutes after she had arrived. He had told her there was a draught in the hall, and he had been checking whether the windows were closed in every room. Nonetheless, he had seen her then, fully clothed and awake, which meant she couldn't have gone back to sleep. And there she was; more than thirty hours without sleep, about to go for Saints knew how much longer.
Her goodbyes with Milana, Andrei and Anton were rushed; she didn't find Cassian at all – perhaps he didn't want to be found by her. He had always been supportive, but Lianna suspected he would rather have her stay in Ketterdam. She tried to distract herself from thinking, I might as well never see them again, as she walked ahead towards the loading docks, heavy bags held in both of her hands.
The docks were peaceful, a silent type of calm, as opposed to the busy ways of quiescence uptown. She could hear the waves crashing against the shore, causing the movement of the anchored ships and their chains to rattle, but here, it all seemed only natural. Her breathing was steady like her steps as she passed one row of crates and containers after another.
Two, three more turns and she joined the rest of the crew near the pier, a mist was rising off the water, making them look more like dangerous criminals and less like teenagers. They were all wearing drab, sailor clothing, similar to Lianna's. Kaz stood completely still, blending in with the darkness of the moonless night almost completely. Next to him were Nina and Jesper, Matthias standing a little further away, like Wylan, who seemed to be trembling. You should be scared, too.
Behind them, she saw the little schooner Kaz had commandeered, Ferolind written in bold script on its side. It would fly the purple Kerch fishes under the colourful flag of the Haanraadt Bay Company. To anyone in Fjerda or on the True Sea, they would simply look like Kerch trappers heading north for skins and furs. Some people unknown to Lianna were bustling near the boat; they were probably the experienced sailors Kaz hired.
In the dim glow of the harbour's gaslights, everything felt a little surreal. As if she was trapped in somebody else's dream. It could have been her exhaustion curving the reality, though.
"You're late," Kaz said.
"Sorry," she responded disgenuinely, looking around. She couldn't see Inej, but that wasn't unusual.
"Why so much luggage?" asked Jesper, taking the bags from her. "You know this isn't a vacation trip, right?"
"There are coats and food in there, Jesper," Lianna said, rubbing her sore wrists. "So you don't freeze your tail off or starve in Fjerda."
