Getting into the house wasn't nearly as difficult as it should have been, and it put Kaz on edge. The easiest points of entry were the windows on the house's top floor, accessible only from the roof. Wylan wasn't up to the climb so Kaz would go first and get him inside via the lower floors.

"Two good legs and he still needs a ladder," Kaz muttered, ignoring the twinge his leg gave in agreement.

He wasn't thrilled to be on another job with Wylan, but Wylan had knowledge of the house and was best equipped to handle the auric acid. And he couldn't bring Aeolian on this job, she needed to be at the silos. After her kidnapping, he had not been able to distance himself from her—there was a constant fear that he'd lose her again.

He thought of the roaring silos. Aeolian was confident enough in her ability to walk the wire, with little rest and without the security of a net. And even if she was afraid, she'd hidden it well. Kaz shook the thought from his mind. If Aeolian didn't doubt her abilities, then he shouldn't either.

Kaz had once heard a thief say. "A lock is like a woman, You have to seduce it into giving up its secrets."

Sure, a lock was like a woman. It was also like a man and anyone or anything else—if you wanted to understand it, you had to take it apart and see how it worked. If you wanted to master it, you had to learn it so well you could put it back together.

The lock on the window gave way in his hands. He quietly made his way downstairs, ducked into Wylan's old room—which was now clearly intended to be the nursery. Kaz worked the lock on the window, then secured the rope ladder. Wylan climbed up the ladder swaying it wildly.

Kaz rolled his eyes and helped him through the window, then pulled the ladder in and closed the sash. Wylan looked around the nursery with wide eyes, then just shook his head. Kaz made quick work of the lock on Van Eck's office door, and they were inside in moments.

"Behind the painting," Wylan whispered, gesturing to a portrait of one of the Van Eck ancestors.

"Which member of your hallowed line is that supposed to be?" Kaz asked.

"My great-great-grandfather. He was the start of the Van Eck fortune." Wylan said.

"And we'll be the end of it." Kaz shook out a bonelight, and the green glow filled the room.

They each took a side of the painting and lifted it from the wall. Van Eck's vault came into view. The lock on it was Kerch-made but like nothing Kaz had ever seen before. Impossible to crack in less than an hour.  The sound of raised voices filtered up from the floor below.

Wylan removed two jars from his satchel. Once they were combined, the resulting compound would burn through everything except the balsa glass container.

Wylan took a deep breath and poured the contents of one jar into the other. Then took a balsa glass pipette and drew out a small amount of liquid, letting it trickle down the front of the safe's steel door. Instantly, the metal began to dissolve.

"Trouble in a bottle," Kaz marveled.

Wylan worked steadily, carefully transferring the auric acid from the jar onto the steel, the hole in the safe door growing steadily larger.

"Pick up the pace," Kaz said, eyeing his watch.

"If I spill a single drop of this, it will burn straight through the floor onto my father's dinner guests." Wylan said.

After what felt like a lifetime, the hole was big enough to reach through. Kaz shone the bonelight inside, drew the bag from the safe. Then grabbed a couple of stacks of kruge and handed one over to Wylan.

Kaz almost laughed at the expression on Wylan's face. "I don't want it. I just don't want him to have it." Wylan muttered.

"What a luxury to turn your back on luxury." Kaz shoved the kruge into his pockets.

"How would I run an empire?" Wylan said. "I can't read. I can't write. My father is wrong about a lot of things, but he's right about that. I'd be a laughingstock."

"So pay someone to do that work for you." Kaz looked at him.

"Would you?" asked Wylan. "Trust someone with that knowledge, with a secret that could destroy you?"

Yes, thought Kaz without hesitation. There's one person I would trust alone. One person I know would never use my weaknesses against me.

"When people see a cripple walking down the street, leaning on his cane, what do they feel?" Kaz asked.

Wylan looked away. People always did when Kaz talked about his limp, as if he didn't know what he was or how the world saw him. "They feel pity." Wylan responded.

"Now, what do they think when they see me coming?" Kaz eyes scanned the ledger.

Wylan's mouth quirked up at the corner. "They think they'd better cross the street."

Kaz tossed the ledger back in the safe. "You're not weak because you can't read. You're weak because you're afraid of people seeing your weakness. You're letting shame decide who you are."

They lifted the portrait back into place over.

Kaz said. "It's shame that lines my pockets, shame that keeps the Barrel teeming with fools ready to put on a mask just so they can have what they want with no one the wiser for it. We can endure all kinds of pain. It's shame that eats men whole."

"Wise words," said a voice from the corner.

Kaz and Wylan whirled. The lamps flared brightly, flooding the room with light, Pekka Rollins emerged, bracketed by a cluster of Dime Lions.

"Kaz Brekker," Rollins mocked. "Philosopher crook."

◾️▪️◾️▪️◾️

The rattle of gunfire shook the air. They were surrounded. Jesper fired, his aim unerring as Dime Lions toppled. Their ranks broke as they scattered for cover.

A canister crashed through a window, then another.

"The catacomb!" Matthias roared, and they raced for the opposite end of the tomb, cramming themselves into the passage and sealing the stone door behind them. There was no time to think about how Black Veil had been compromised. All they knew was that if Pekka Rollins had sent his gang after them, the others might be in danger too.

A flurry of shouts came from outside.

"There's only one way out of the tomb, and we're on a damn island." Jesper cursed.

"Maybe not," said Matthias, considering the ghostly green glow of the bonelight. Though he did not have Kaz's gift for scheming, he'd been raised in the military. There might be a way out of this.

A loud boom sounded, shaking the tomb walls.

"They're coming!" cried Kuwei.

"Give me one of the bombs," Matthias told Jesper. "I'm going to blow the back of the catacomb." Matthias lit the fuse and shoved them both against the wall.

They burst through the catacomb door.

Matthias kept a hand on Kuwei's shoulder, urging him along as they raced forward. He kicked open the tomb door and lobbed a flash bomb into the air. It exploded blasting at the Dime Lions with his rifle as he dodged through the graves.

The Dime Lions returned fire. Jesper charge through the tomb door, revolvers blazing. Matthias lobbed the last flash bomb into the air as Jesper rolled to the right, and the roar of gunfire erupted like a storm breaking as the Dime Lions forgot all promise of discipline or offer of reward and let fly with everything they had. They were barrel rats after all.

Matthias crawled through the dirt of the graveyard. "Everyone unhurt?"

"Out of breath but still breathing," said Jesper.

Kuwei nodded, though he was shaking badly.

Matthias chose one random powder that Wylan had left in the tomb. "Can you manipulate these?"

Jesper shifted uneasily. "Why?"

"Black Veil is supposedly haunted. We're going to make some ghosts." Matthias glanced around. "I need you to follow my orders and stop asking questions. Both of you."

"No wonder you and Kaz don't get along," Jesper muttered.

He opened the packet. Jesper raised his hands, and with a light whump the powder rose in a cloud. It hung suspended in the air. The cloud thinned and rolled over the heads of the Dime Lions, then caught in one of their torches in a burst of green.

The men surrounding the torch holder gasped.

"Kuwei," directed Matthias.

The Shu boy lifted his hands and the flame from the green torch crept along the handle, snaking up the arm of its bearer in a sinuous coil of fire.

The man screamed, tossing the torch away. They opened another packet and continued the routine.

"Ghosts!" one of the Dime Lions shouted.

Matthias felt the old fear rise in him. He'd grown comfortable with Kuwei, and yet it had been Inferni fire that consumed his family's village. It was a war, he reminded himself. And this is one too.

The Dime Lions were distracted, but it wouldn't last long.

"Spread the fire to the trees," Matthias said, and with a little grunt, Kuwei threw his arms wide. The tree caught on fire.

"They got a Grisha," shouted one of them. "Flank them!"

They skittered down the bank, tumbling into the shallows. Matthias had navigated to and from Black Veil enough times to know this was the shallowest part of the canal, the long stretch of sandbar where boats were most likely to run aground.

"Kuwei," he commanded, praying that the Shu boy was strong enough, hoping that he could manage the plan Matthias had outlined bare moments earlier, "make a path."

Kuwei shoved his hands forward and the flames poured into the water, sending up a massive plume of steam.

"Hurry!" he shouted, and they ran over a road that had not been there moments before, bolting for the other side of the canal. Unnatural, a voice clamored in his head. No, thought Matthias, miraculous.

He remembered what Nina had said about the construction of the Ice Court, that it must be the work of Grisha and not the work of Djel. What if both things were true? What if Djel worked through these people?

Aeolian had said it herself, Grisha power is a gift. The gift chooses you, you do not choose the gift. She was the only one apart from Matthias who believes in a greater power. But she'd never looked down on Grisha like Matthias did. She despises drüskelle but she accepted him, looked out for him and saved him—that was friendship, something Matthias never had before. In fact, these loud, crazy, out of control crew had become his friends unknowingly.

He had always dismiss what he did not understand, to make Nina and her kind less than human. But what if behind the righteousness that drove the drüskelle, there was simply envy?

What did it mean to aspire to serve Djel, only to see his power in the gifts of another, to know you could never possess those gifts yourself?

I have been made to protect you. His duty to his god, his duty to Nina. Maybe they were the same thing. What if Djel's hand had raised the waters the night of the wrathful storm that wrecked the drüskelle ship and bound Matthias and Nina together?

For the first time since he'd looked into Nina's eyes and seen his own humanity reflected back at him, the war inside him quieted.

We'll find a way to change their minds, she'd said. All of them. He would locate Nina. They would free themselves of this misbegotten city, and then they'd change the world.

◾️▪️◾️▪️◾️

Aeolian scrambled to stop her fall. She rocked back on her heels, knives already in her hands.

Her mind could not quite make sense out of what she was seeing. A girl stood before her on the silo roof. Her tunic and trousers were the color of cream, her hair hung in a thick braid laced. She was tall and slender.

"Hello, Black Blade," the girl said.

"Do I know you?" Aeolian asked in confusion, was she seeing things?

"I am Dunyasha, the White Blade, the greatest assassin of this age." She introduced herself.

The hell is she doing here? Aeolian thought, she's the White Blade, Aeolian had heard about her. She was two years her senior. A legend in the operation of The Desert Blade. Donghai's favourite pet.

"What business?" Aeolian asked, the traditional Kerch greeting at the beginning of any meeting. She was getting way more used to Ketterdam, than she though she'd.

Dunyasha smiled. The smile they'd practiced back then at the desert. "Fate brought me here."

Had Van Eck sent her? And if so, had he sent someone after Nina too? She spared the briefest glance below but could see nothing in the darkness.

Knives appeared in Dunyasha's hands, their edges gleaming brightly. "Our work is death," she said, that's the motto of the desert blade, "and it is holy."

Then she attacked. Dunyasha moved like painted light, as if she were a blade herself. Aeolian let her body respond, dodging more on instinct than anything else, backing away from her opponent.

Aeolian had never seen someone fight this way, but Dunyash was the best spy that the Desert Blade had to offer. She wasn't surprised by her skills. But a thousand questions ran through her mind. How the hell did Dunyash reach Ketterdam? Why is she trying to kill her? Who called for her?

Aeolian felt Dunyasha's knife shred through her sleeve. The sting of the blade was like a burning lash. It wasn't too deep, but it was sharp Grisha blade.

"You seemed afraid," Dunyash said. "As for me, I was born without fear."

Was the girl mad? Or just chatty?

"You might talk yourself to death." Aeolian said.

Her opponent drove forward with new intensity, being in Ketterdam had made Aeolian forget about the spy life she lived before. Only now when she was faced with the White Blade herself, she realised—the girl had only been toying with her, feeling for her strengths and weaknesses.

They exchanged thrusts, but Dunyasha was fresh. Aeolian could feel every ache and injury and trial of the last month in her body: the knife wound that had almost killed her, the trip up the incinerator, the days she'd spent bound in captivity.

"I confess to disappointment," Dunyasha said. "I had hoped you might prove a challenge. They said you were the best, maybe—even better than I."

She's better than me. The knowledge had the taste of rot. Aeolian had killed, but because she had to—not because she loved killing but this girl was enjoying herself. But Ketterdam had taught Aeolian well. If you couldn't beat the odds, you change the game.

Aeolian waited for her opponent to lunge, then leapt past her onto the wire stretched between the silos. Dunyasha followed her out onto the high wire. Aeolian gasped as something sharp lodged in her calf. Before she could even react she felt another bright stab of pain, and when she looked down, she saw a spiked metal star protruding from her thigh.

Grisha spiked stars, she'd seen them back at the desert but Aeolian wasn't a fan of them. She preferred her claws. Every single graduate of The Desert Blade had their own signature style. Aeolian's was the claws but she'd stopped using them, and now she could see Dunyasha was the stars.

"I hear you betrayed the Empress," Dunyasha said as she flung another spiked star at her, and another. She avoided both, but took the next in the meat of her right shoulder. She was bleeding badly.

"She sent you?" Aeolian couldn't belief she was asking that question herself.

"Pekka Rollins pays my wages," replied Dunyasha. "But I'll be honest...when I heard the target was a Shu girl with emerald eyes, I had to do some digging. And as I found out it was the Black Blade herself, I had to take permission from the Empress for this mission."

Aeolian's footsteps faltered. The Empress, her grandmother wanted her dead but that didn't matter right now. If Pekka Rollins was behind this mess. Had he somehow found Kaz? The others? She had to get free and help them. Another silver star came whirring at her and she bent left to avoid it, almost lost her balance.

Our work is death and it is holy. That was the dark god, Aeolian had followed.

A star lodged in Aeolian's shin, another in her forearm. Dunyasha might know more about fighting being the more experienced one, but she didn't know Ketterdam. Aeolian was thinking way too much because when she looked back, Dunyasha was no longer on the wire. Aeolian saw her bend, saw her hand reach for the magnet.

The line went slack. Aeolian fell, twisting in the air the way she had as a child, searching for her wings.

◾️▪️◾️▪️◾️

Kaz heard a roaring in his ears. The man before him was Pekka Rollins, king of the Barrel. But he was also Jakob Hertzoon, who had comforted Kaz and Jordie, then taken their money and left them helpless in a city that put no value on mercy.

He'd replaced the watch Kaz had stolen from him. "Right about now, my men should be rounding up your crew and a certain priceless hostage at Black Veil Island." Rollins said.

Wylan released a distressed sound. Jesper. Matthias. Kuwei. They were all there.

"I've also prepared something special for the most special girl in the Barrel," said Rollins. "The Shu girl is an extraordinary asset. I didn't like the thought of her in your team, so I found someone even more extraordinary to take care of her."

A sick sensation settled in Kaz's stomach. He thought of Aeolian, the only home he knew. What the hell was Rollins talking about? If he could kill Rollins where he stood, he would've.

Wylan took a step back. Is Aeolian in danger again? He couldn't belief what he was hearing.

The roaring in Kaz's ears grew louder. "You're working for Van Eck."

He'd known it was a possibility, but he'd ignored it.

"I'm working with Van Eck. He's a savvy one, but a man of limited imagination." Rollins said. "Whereas you, think like a villainous little thug. You're me with a lot more hair and a lot less style."

Kaz didn't respond.

Rollins shook his head. "You take things too personally. You should be focused on the job, but you're too busy holding a grudge."

"That's where you're wrong," said Kaz. "I don't hold a grudge. I cradle it. I coddle it. I feed it fine cuts of meat and send it to the best schools. I nurture my grudges, Rollins."

"I'm glad you've kept your sense of humor, lad." Rollins laughed. "If Van Eck lets you live—I might just let you come work for me. Shame to see a talent like yours go to waste."

"I'd rather be cooked slow on a spit with Van Eck turning the handle." Kaz said.

Rollins' smiled, "that can be arranged too."

Keep talking Kaz urged silently, hand slipping inside Wylan's satchel.

"Now hand over that seal and come quietly," Rollins raised a brow.

Kaz pulled the seal from his pocket, held it up, drawing Pekka's gaze. He hesitated.

"Come now, Brekker. I've got you cornered and outnumbered." Rollins said.

But if you couldn't open a door, you just had to make a new one. Rollins was easy to get talking; in fact, Kaz doubted he could stop him if he wanted to. Then it was just a question of keeping Rollins' eyes on the seal in Kaz's right hand while he opened the jar of auric acid with the left.

Kaz tossed the seal to Rollins and in the same motion splashed the remaining acid onto the floor. The room filled with heat and the carpet hissed as a plume of acrid smoke rose from it.

"Stop them!" Rollins shouted.

"See you on the other side," said Kaz.

He grabbed his cane and smashed it into the boards beneath their feet. The floor gave way, they crashed through to the first floor, right onto a dinner table that collapsed beneath their weight. Startled guests stared at them.

Kaz sprang to his feet, cane in his hand, then hauled Wylan up beside him.

Then Van Eck was screaming, "Seize them!"

Kaz and Wylan were sprinting down the hall. Two liveried guards stepped in front of the doors that opened onto the back garden. Kaz put on a spurt of speed and dropped into a slide, knocking them from their feet with his cane.

Wylan trailed after him, tumbling down the stairs into the garden. Then they were at the boathouse, over the railing, and into the gondel Rotty had kept waiting in the canal.

Gunfire peppered the water around them. Kaz and Rotty seized their oars.

"Drop heavy," Kaz shouted, and Wylan let loose every bomb he'd been able to fit into the boat. The sky above the Van Eck house exploded in an array of light, smoke, and sound as the guards dove for cover.

"We have to warn the others," Wylan gasped. "Rollins said_"

"Pekka Rollins was there?" Rotty asked.

There was fear in his voice. A canal rat would take on a thousand thugs and thieves, merchers and mercenaries, but not Pekka Rollins.

"The others_" Wylan said.

"Shut up, Wylan, I need to think." Kaz snapped.

Jesper and Matthias were both good in a fight. If anyone had a chance of getting Kuwei off Black Veil, they did.

Kaz flexed his shoulders, and Rotty matched his pace. He needed to get to Sweet Reef. Rollins' men would have followed Aeolian and Nina there from Black Veil. Why had he sent them to the silos alone? He shouldn't have let Aeolian out of his sight.

There would be no grand rescue for the Grisha tonight. All their chances were shot to hell. No seal. No ship. Their money spent.

I've also prepared something special for the most special girl in the Barrel. To hell with revenge, to hell with his schemes. If Rollins had done something to Aeolian, Kaz would paint East Stave red with his entrails. He swore.

Think. When one plan was blown, you made a new one. When they backed you into a corner, you cut a hole in the roof. But he couldn't fix something he couldn't catch hold of. The plan had gone slippery. He'd failed them. He'd failed her. All because he seemed to have some kind of blind spot where Pekka Rollins was concerned.

Jesper could be dead already. Aeolian could be bleeding on the streets of Sweet Reef. No!

"What do we do now?" Wylan said quietly.

"Pick up a pair of oars and make yourself useful," said Kaz. "Or I'll put your pampered ass in the drink and let your father fish you out."

◾️▪️◾️▪️◾️

The angle was steep enough that Nina could barely see Aeolian once she'd reached the top, so Nina couldn't tell what progress she was making. She was thankful that she didn't posses skills like Aeolian because she'd never use them, Aeolian life was very fast and even thinking about it made Nina tired.

But her concentration was shattered when she heard the gate open. Nina knew a crew of Barrel thugs when she saw one, and this seemed like a nasty lot. The Dime Lions. Pekka Rollins' boys. They were in Jan Van Eck silos, it was clear he was working with Pekka Rollins. The Dregs' chances of getting out of the city alive had diminished.

"Come on out, Nina. Pekka's got work for you." A man yelled.

Nina was sheltered in the shadows of the second silo, but there was absolutely no way for her to move more than a few paces without exposing herself. She thought of the poison pill in her pocket.

The Dime Lions fan out.

Nina figured she had two advantages: First, Pekka probably wanted her alive. She was a Grisha Heartrender. Second, they didn't know the parem had disrupted her powers.

Nina summoned every bit of her courage, and strolled into the open.

"There's no need for trouble. I just want to know Pekka's terms. If I'm going to cross Kaz Brekker." Nina said.

"Kaz Brekker's good as dead, darlin'. You're coming with us, in chains or out." Their leader responded.

Nina raised her arms and saw the men around her stiffen, ready to fire, regardless of Pekka's orders. They were Barrel thugs after all.

A soft clang sounded above them, and they all pointed their guns skyward. Damn it, doll, keep quiet. But when Nina looked up, her thoughts stuttered to a terrified halt. Aeolian wasn't alone, there was a white figure with her.

For a moment, Nina thought she might be hallucinating but she wasn't and whoever this phantom was, was hurting her friend. Nina reached out to the girl in white with her power, but again there was that terrible blindness, that nothingness.

"Not gonna help your friend?" The leader asked.

"She can manage for herself," lied Nina.

They advanced slowly, guns raised. Nina threw her hands up. They stopped. But when nothing happened, she saw them exchange glances, a few smiles, and now they were coming faster, losing their fear, ready to take their reward.

Nina risked a glance upward. Aeolian was still somehow keeping her balance, but she'd clearly been injured and her walk was unsteady.

The net. But it was no good to Nina alone. If she had a bit of parem, even if she gets addicted and died, she didn't care at the moment. She could force these big idiots to help her. They'd obey her without thinking. She'd be able to save her friend, her sister.

Her mind reached out, grasping for something, anything. She would not just stand here helpless to be taken captive and watch Aeolian die.

One of the Dime Lions rushed forward and then they were all lunging at her, grabbing onto her arms, dragging her towards their leader.

Nina released a howl of pure rage, thrashing like a wild animal. She was not helpless. She refused to be. I know no fiercer warrior, powers or not. Aeolian had told her, she believes in her, she trusts her. So why can't she do the same for herself?

Aeolian was no Grisha, but she'd become the extraordinary person she is because she trusts in herself. Nina was Grisha, she was blessed with gifts, so why couldn't she do the same?

Then she felt it—a throb of recognition pulsed through her. She thought of the bone shards, remembered the comfort she'd felt on Black Veil, surrounded by graves.

Nina knew what she was thinking was madness, but she was out of sane choices. With all her remaining strength, she threw her arms out in a wide arc, focusing this strange new awareness, and she felt the bodies on the barge rise. She clenched her fists. Come to me.

The Dime Lions seized her wrists. Someone had struck her across the mouth, but she kept her fists clenched, her mind focused. She felt the corpses rise, one after another, answering her call.

Then there was screams, the rattle of gunfire. The Dime Lions were backing up now, mission forgotten, terror on their faces. A line of people were pushing on the fence, rocking it on its posts. Some were old, some young, but all of their eyes shone black.

Nina felt a wave of nausea overtake her. She felt strange and a little shameful, as if she was looking into a window she had no right to peek through. But she was out of options. And the truth was, she did not want to stop. She flexed her fingers.

The fence crashed forward. The Dime Lions opened fire, but the corpses kept coming.

"It's her!" A man screamed. "They're coming for the Grisha bitch!"

The Dime lions were running. She didn't care, she looked up Aeolian was still on the wire but the girl in white was on the roof of the second silo and was reaching for the clamp.

"The net." Nina demanded.

She gathered her concentration and willed them to obey. In seconds they had the net in their hands, and they were running.

The high wire went slack. Aeolian fell. Nina screamed in horror. Her body struck the net, bounced high, struck the net again.

Nina ran to her. "Doll!"

Her body lay in the center of the net, pocked by wicked silver stars, blood oozing from the wounds.

The corpses set her down. Nina stumbled to Aeolian's side and went to her knees. "Never, ever do that again," Nina sobbed uncontrollably.

Aeolian threw her arms around Nina.

The girl in white had reached the bottom of the second silo and was striding toward them. Nina's arms shot out and the corpses stepped in front them.

"You sure you want this fight?" Nina snarled.

The girl looked at the army of decaying bodies arrayed before her. She bowed. "We'll meet again, Black Blade." And was gone.

Now that the fear of the ambush and Aeolian's fall were over, Nina felt a kind of disgust. What had she just done? What had she tampered with?

Our power connects us to life in ways ordinary people can never understand. That's why using our gift makes us stronger instead of depleting us. We are tied to the power of creation itself, the making at the heart of the world. For Corporalki, that bond is woven even more tightly, because we deal in life and the taking of it.

Nina's power would mean she was never alone. But the power she'd used tonight? It was nothing like that, not the making at the heart of the world. It was a mistake.

Nina helped Aeolian to her feet. Aeolian looked at the bodies surrounding them. She was hurt and exhausted, that she didn't have time to register her near fall to death, Nina's sudden change in power, and corpses surrounding them. But now everything seems clearer and she wondered how magical and unexplainable Grisha abilities were.

Nina raised her hands. "Go, be at rest."

They moved again.

Aeolian lips moved in prayer as they fade, dim shapes in the dark.

Aeolian looked at Nina as reality set in. "Kaz told me where to go if things went sour."

Nina knew that Aeolian gathered Kaz's secret and she kept them as well. Kaz had always looked out for the Shu girl and with a pang, she thought—if something happens to Kaz, how will Aeolian take it? Because if anything happens to Matthias, Nina knew she will lose her mind.

They slowly traced their steps back to the quay, Nina arms around Aeolian. And that very moment, they saw two figures racing toward them. Kaz and Wylan appeared in the light from a streetlamp, their clothes rumpled, their hair covered in bits of plaster and gravy. Kaz was leaning heavily on his cane, his pace unrelenting, the sharp features of his face set in determined lines.

After Jordie's death, Kaz had burned away every gentle thing inside him. He was nine, but survival wasn't as hard as he'd thought once he'd left decency behind. From then on he became Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands, Bastard of the barrel. But after eight long years, he met Aeolian—and then on, the old Kaz Riveted returned.

He had blamed himself for letting Riveted return, but now he was grateful that he could feel again. Because if there's anyone in this world that he wanted to feel for was her and her alone. Aeolian was a reason to start again.

"We'll fight our way out together, Kazuki." Aeolian whispered to Kaz.

Nina glanced from Aeolian to Kaz and saw they both wore the same expression. Nina knew that look. It came after the shipwreck, when the tide moved against you and the sky had gone dark. It was the first sight of land, the hope of shelter and even salvation that might await you on a distant shore.

He's the love she'd cross oceans for. And his heart has always been her's, he cannot find another, that his heart will beat for. They were soulmates, they always belonged together. How rare it is, to find a love like theirs. And now Nina could clearly see it, as daylight.

✨✨✨

Dunyasha (White Blade)
Origin unknown, from Paar.
The greatest assassin from The Desert Blade. Loyal to the Empress of Shu Han.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

🎵🎵🎵

I've been watchin' you for some time
Can't stop starin' at those ocean eyes
Burning cities and napalm skies
Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes
Your ocean eyes
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Fallin' into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes
I've been walkin' through a world gone blind
Can't stop thinkin' of your diamond mind
Careful creature made friends with time
He left her lonely with a diamond mind
And those ocean eyes
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Fallin' into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes
Da, da-da, da-da
Da-da-da, da, da
Da, da, da, da, da-da-da-da
Mm
Mm
Mm
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Fallin' into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes

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