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🎵🎵🎵

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world, mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello, teacher! Tell me, what's my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world, mad world

🎵🎵🎵

Cornelis Smeet tipped, losing his footing. The boy who had run into him stepped forward, offering assistance. The boy was Kaz, but he was not Kaz. His dark hair was mussed, his manner flustered.

"Terribly sorry, sir," Kaz said, he bent to the cobblestones. "I think you dropped your wallet."

Smeet said in surprise. "Thank you very much."

Then, as Matthias watched in disbelief, Smeet drew out a five kruge bill. "There you are. Pays to be honest."

Kaz kept his head down as he murmured, "Too kind, sir. May Ghezen be as generous."

The lawyer went on his way, oblivious to the fact that he'd just run directly into Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands.

"You didn't put it on the chain?" asked Matthias as Kaz and Wylan joined him. He knew such tricks were well within Kaz's abilities.

"Didn't bother." Kaz replied.

Matthias had kept his gaze trained on Kaz's gloved hands, but even knowing that Kaz intended to return the whistle, Matthias hadn't been able to detect the moment of deception. He was tempted to drag Smeet back and make Kaz perform the trick again.

Kaz neatened his hair with his fingers. Matthias tossed Kaz his cane. Kaz had been wise to not use his walking stick. If someone noticed a boy with a crow's head cane lurking around, all their work would be for nothing. To get Aeolian back, they would need surprise on their side, and the demjin was not the type to leave anything to chance.

"Well how did it_" Matthias asked as the boat slid along the canal.

"Hold your tongue, Helvar. Words like to ride the water. Put yourself to use and help work the oars." Kaz said.

Matthias fought the urge to snap his oars in half. Why was Kaz incapable of keeping a civil tongue? He gave orders as if he simply expected everyone to follow his commands, and he'd been twice as insufferable since Van Eck had taken Aeolian. One of the many reasons, why Matthias missed the Shu girl. Because at least when she's around, Brekker was to an extent tolerable.

He put his mind to keeping track of the landmarks they passed. Though Matthias studied a map of the city every night, he had found Ketterdam's knots of alleys and canals nearly impossible to untangle. He
frequently found himself cursing whatever mad hand had thought it wise to raise a city from a swamp and then arrange it without order or logic.

(Black Veil Island)

Black Veil was an eerie place, a miniature city of white marble mausoleums. Almost all the mausoleums had fallen into disrepair. The crew had been horrified at the idea of using a cemetery as a safe house, no matter how long it had been abandoned. But of course, nothing terrified Kaz Brekker. If this place was actually haunted. The ghosts would fear Brekker instead.

"Why don't they use this place anymore?" Matthias had asked when they'd taken over a vast tomb at the island's center as their hideout.

"Plague," Kaz replied. "The Merchant Council prohibited burial within city limits. Now bodies have to be cremated."

"Not if you're rich," Jesper added. "Then they take you to a cemetery in the country, where your corpse can enjoy the fresh air."

Matthias hated Black Veil, but it had served them well. The rumors of hauntings kept squatters at bay, and the mist that surrounded the island obscured the occasional lantern light.

Nina and Jesper were arguing at the top of their lungs. Nina's irritated voice floated over the graves, and Matthias felt a surge of relief.

Kaz knocked his cane hard against a gravestone and they both moved swiftly into fighting stances. They relaxed as soon as they caught sight of them in the shadows.

Kaz said. "Stop gawking like you've never seen a girl in a dress before, Helvar."

"I wasn't gawking," Matthias said. But for Djel's sake, what was he supposed to look at when Nina had irises tucked between everything.

"Be quiet, Brekker," Nina said. "I like it when he gawks."

The night had taken a toll. But the days until Van Eck's deadline were dwindling, and none of them could rest until Aeolian was safe.

Kuwei poked his head out of the huge stone tomb as they approached.

"What did I tell you?" Kaz growled, pointing his cane at him. "Stay in the tomb."

They followed the Shu boy inside. Matthias loathed this place. Why build such monuments to death? The tomb was constructed to look like an ancient cargo ship, its interior carved into a vast stone hull.

Nina shucked off the blonde wig, and tossed it on the table they'd set in the middle of the tomb. She slumped into a chair.

She was worse tonight. She might have simply overexerted herself. And yet, watching her, Matthias felt something in him ease. Was it normal to be fascinated by the way someone slouched?

Kaz said. "The embassies are full up with diplomats and soldiers. Zemeni, Kaelish, Ravkan. I think they've heard rumours about parem." He turned his gaze on Matthias. "The Fjerdans are here too. They've got a whole contingent of drüskelle with them."

Matthias said nothing. He wasn't sorry for the things he'd done at the Ice Court, but that didn't mean he had made peace with them either.

It was still disconcerting to see Wylan and Kuwei in the same room. Matthias often had trouble telling them apart until they spoke. He wished one of them would do him the courtesy of wearing a hat, like Raske does, he's never seen without his hat. Thinking about Raske, where the hell was that boy? None, of them had seen or heard from him for some days.

Nina asked. "Did you find out where Van Eck is keeping her?"

"I have a pretty good idea. We strike tomorrow at midnight." Kaz said.

"Is that enough time to prepare?" asked Wylan.

"It's all the time we have." Kaz said grimly. "What's your progress on the weevil?" He asked.

Wylan removed a small vial from his coat and set it down on the table. It looked like a bunch of pebbles.

Kaz said. "This little vial is going to eat Van Eck's bank accounts and his reputation."

Wylan cleared his throat. "The chemistry is complicated. I was hoping Kuwei would help."

Nina spoke to Kuwei in Shu. Whether it was the recent death of his father or the fact that he'd found himself stuck in a cemetery with a band of thieves, the boy had become increasingly sullen.

Kuwei shook his head as a no.

Kaz's black gaze pinned Kuwei like the tip of a dagger. "I suggest rethinking your priorities."

Jesper gave Kuwei a nudge. "That's Kaz's way of saying, 'Help Wylan or I'll seal you up in one of these tombs and see how that suits your interests.' "

Kuwei swallowed and nodded grudgingly.

"The power of negotiation," Jesper said.

"Get the weevil working," Kaz continued. "Once we have our girl, we can move on Van Eck's silos."

Nina rolled her eyes. "Good thing this is all about getting our money and not about saving doll."

"If you don't care about money, call it by its other names." Kaz said.

"Kruge? Scrub? Kaz's one true love?" Nina puffed.

"Freedom, security, retribution." Kaz looked at her.

"You can't put a price on those things." Nina shrugged.

"No? I bet Jesper can. It's the price of the lien on his father's farm." Kaz drummed his gloved fingers on the table. "What about you, Wylan? Can you put a price on the chance to walk away from Ketterdam and live your own life? And Nina, I suspect you and your Fjerdan may want something more to subsist on than patriotism and longing glances. Lin would have a number in mind too. It's the price of a future, and it's Van Eck's turn to pay."

Matthias was not fooled. Kaz always spoke logic, but that didn't mean he always told truth. And he wasn't the type of person who'll tell them, what Aeolian really means to him. Matthias knew what she meant to the demjin, he had seen it and felt it. And he had kept it to himself.

"Lin's life is worth more than that," said Matthias. "To all of us."

Kaz glanced at Matthias, then said slowly. "We get her. We get our money. It's as simple as that."

"Simple as that," said Nina. "Did you know I'm next in line for the Fjerdan throne?" Then she shrugged. "If we're going to lie to ourselves, we might as well be grand about it."

Kaz ignored her, spreading a map of the city over the table.

Wylan murmured to Jesper. "Why won't he just say he wants her back?"

"You've met Kaz, right?" Jesper said.

"But she's one of us." Wylan mumbled.

Jesper's brows rose. "One of us? Does that mean she knows the secret handshake? Does that mean you're ready to get a tattoo?" He ran a finger up Wylan's forearm, and Wylan flushed.

Wylan pulled his sleeve. "Lin is part of the crew."

"Just don't push it." Jesper said. He couldn't belief he was saying this but, he said it. "The practical thing would be for Kaz to auction Kuwei to the highest bidder and forget about her entirely."

Wylan gazed at Kaz doubt creeping over him. Kaz wouldn't do this to Aeolian, he never would. He had witness what Kaz did to Oomen, how he looked at Aeolian back at Fjerda. And how he reacted when she was taken, Wylan couldn't be imagining all these but what if he was?

And what if, what Jesper told him was true? If Kaz tries to auction Kuwei away, he'd head straight to his father and blurt out the location of the Shu boy and save Aeolian himself. Kaz would kill him, but he didn't care because at the end of the day, Aeolian's life holds more weight to him than the fear of Kaz or his father.

Matthias looked at Kaz. None of them really knew what Kaz would or wouldn't do. Sometimes he wondered if even Kaz was sure. Whatever Jesper was saying, made logical sense. But Matthias knew, Kaz Brekker would never betray Aeolian or leave her in the mercy of anyone.

Nina finally spoke. "Since this is about the almighty plan, how about you stop meditating over that map and tell us just what we're in for."

"I want you focused on what we have to do tomorrow night. After that, you'll get all the information you want." Kaz said.

Nina rolled her eyes, pollen from one of the irises had scattered over her bare shoulder. Matthias had the overwhelming urge to brush it away with his lips.

"Van Eck promised us ten million kruge," said Kaz. "That's exactly what we're going to take. With another one million for interest, expenses, and just because we can."

Wylan looked at Kaz. "My father doesn't have ten million kruge lying around."

Kaz stretched his bad leg out. "If Van Eck had that kind of money on hand, we would have just robbed him instead of breaking into the Ice Court. He could only offer a reward that big because he claimed the Merchant Council was putting city funds toward it."

"What about that chest full of bills he brought?" asked Jesper.

"Bunk," said Kaz, disgust in his voice.

"So then how do we get the money?" Jesper looked at Kaz.

"We're going to let the market do the work for us." Kaz leaned back. "We're going to take Van Eck's money, and then we're going to take his reputation. We're going to make sure he can never do business anywhere in Kerch ever again."

"And what happens to Kuwei?" asked Nina.

"Once the job is done, Kuwei and any other Grisha can lie low in the Southern Colonies." Kaz replied.

Jesper frowned. "Where will you be?"

"Right here. I've still got plenty of business that requires my attention." Kaz told him.

Though Kaz's tone was easy, Matthias heard the dark anticipation in his words. He had often wondered how people survived this city, but it was possible Ketterdam would not survive Kaz Brekker.

Nina said. "I thought Kuwei was going to Ravka. When you sold your Crow Club shares to Pekka Rollins, you asked him to send a message to the Ravkan capital. We all heard it."

Kaz considered with some amusement. "No."

Nina moaned. "You were just keeping Rollins busy."

Kuwei cleared his throat. "I would prefer to go to Ravka." Kaz's flat black gaze fastened on Kuwei. Kuwei squirmed nervously. "Why is he looking at me this way?"

"Boss is wondering if he should keep you alive," said Jesper. "But we're not going to let him put you in the ground."

Kaz raised a brow. "Let's not make any promises just yet."

"Why do you want to go to Ravka?" Nina asked eagerly.

Kuwei spoke slowly. "It's safer there. For Grisha. I want to train." Kuwei touched the notebooks in front of him. "My father's work can help find.....an antidote for parem."

Nina clasped her hands together, beaming.

Kuwei said. "My father brought this drug into the world. Even without me, it will be made again."

"You're saying someone else is going to solve the riddle of parem?" Matthias asked. Was there truly no hope this abomination could be contained?

Wylan said. "Once people know something is possible, the pace of new findings increases."

"Do you really think an antidote is possible? You're our chemist, Wylan," said Nina hopefully.

Wylan shrugged. "Maybe. Not all poisons have an antidote."

Jesper snorted. "That's why we call him Wylan Van Sunshine."

"In Ravka, there are more talented Grisha," Kuwei said. "They could help."

Nina nodded. "It's true. Genya Safin knows poisons like no one else, and David Kostyk developed all kinds of new weapons."

Matthias shook his head. "We can't just hand such a prize over to Ravka."

"Kuwei is a person, not a prize, and he wants to go." Nina muttered

"Do we all get to do what we want now?" asked Jesper. "Because I have a list."

There was a long pause, then Kaz ran a gloved thumb over the crease of his trousers and said, "Nina, translate for me? I want to make sure Kuwei and I understand each other." He shifted forward. "Van Eck knows the first place you'd go for sanctuary would be Ravka. The only Tailors powerful enough to make you look like someone else are in Ravka, unless Nina wants to take another dose of parem."

Matthias growled.

"Which is unlikely," Kaz conceded. "Now, I assume you don't want me to cart you back to Fjerda or Shu Han?"

When Nina had finished the translation, Kuwei yelped, "No!"

"Then your choices are Novyi Zem and the Southern Colonies." Kaz looked at Kuwei. "You are a stolen painting, Kuwei. Too recognisable to sell on the open market, too valuable to leave lying around. You are worthless to me."

"I'm not translating that," Nina snapped.

When Aeolian was around, she was their translator, she was the one who did almost everything. In her absence, they were all suffering. Aeolian had made everything seem so easy, if she was around, she'd had not only translated what Kaz had said but she'd had poured in her opinions of what she thinks about Kaz's speech. And she'd have made a whole new speech of her own.

"Then translate this: My sole concern is keeping you away from Jan Van Eck, and if you want me to start exploring more definite options, a bullet is a lot cheaper than putting you on a ship." Kaz said.

Nina did translate, though haltingly.

Kuwei responded in Shu. She hesitated. "He says you're cruel."

"I'm pragmatic. If I were cruel, I'd give him a eulogy instead of a conversation. So, you'll go to the Southern Colonies and when the heat has died down, you can find your way to Ravka or Matthias grandmother's house for all I care." Kaz said.

"Leave my grandmother out of this," Matthias said.

Nina translated, and at last, Kuwei gave a stiff nod.

Kaz checked his watch. "Now that we're in agreement, you all know what your responsibilities are. We only have one shot at this."

A scraping sounded from outside. Instantly, they were on their feet and ready. But it was Rotty and Specht.

"What business?" asked Kaz.

"The Shu have set up at their embassy," said Specht. "Heavily armed, but still operating under diplomatic flags. No one knows exactly what they want."

"We do," said Jesper. It was Kuwei Yul-Bo.

Rotty said. "Per Haskell's antsy. Without you around, work's piling up. Now there are rumors you're back in the city and had a run-in with a merch."

"Oh, and there was some kind of attack at one of the harbors. But no one knows details." Specht said.

Matthias saw Kaz's expression darken. He was hungry for more information. Matthias knew the demjin had other reasons for going after Aeolian, but the fact remained that, without her, their ability to gather intelligence had been severely compromised.

"All right," said Kaz. "But no one's connected us to the raid at the Ice Court or parem?"

"Nope," said Specht.

"That means Pekka Rollins hasn't talked." Nina said.

"Give Rollins time," said Kaz. "He knows we have Kuwei. The letter to Ravka will only keep him chasing his tail for so long."

Jesper tapped his fingers restlessly on his thighs. "Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?"

"So?" said Kaz.

"Well, usually it's just half the city." Jesper said.

Jesper might joke, but Matthias wondered if any of them really understood the powers arraying against them. Fjerda, the Shu Han, Novyi Zem, the Kaelish, the Kerch. These were not rival gangs or angry business partners. They were nations, determined to protect their people and secure their futures.

"There's more," said Specht. "Muzzen's dead."

The room went quiet.

Muzzen took Matthias place in Hellgate, so he could join the Ice Court job.

Kaz's face was grim. "It was a hit."

"The Fjerdans," said Nina.

Matthias folded his arms. "No. They wouldn't resort to such an underhanded tactic."

"Big, blond, and blind," Jesper said. "The Fjerdan way."

"Did Muzzen have family?" Matthias asked.

"Just the Dregs," said Kaz.

"No mourners," Nina murmured.

"No funerals," Matthias replied quietly.

The knife that had killed Muzzen had been meant for Matthias, and the Fjerdans might well be responsible. The drüskelle. His brothers. They'd wanted him to die without honor. It was a death fit for a traitor. It was the death he had earned.

"There's something else," said Rotty. "A man showed up at the university. Jesper, he claims he's your father."

◾️▪️◾️▪️◾️

Aeolian lay on her belly, wriggling like a worm. Despite the fact that she'd been as good as starving herself, the vent was still a tight fit. She couldn't see where she was going; she just kept moving forward, pulling herself along by her fingertips.

She'd woken sometime after the fight on Vellgeluk, with no sense of how long she'd been unconscious and no idea where she was. She remembered being snatched up, and then pain exploding over her skull. The next thing she knew she was awake, head pounding, in the dark.

Her hands and ankles were bound, and she could feel a blindfold tight across her face. Where was she? She might not even be in Kerch anymore. It didn't matter. She was Arolian Kir-Taban, and wherever she was, she'll get out. Like she always does.

She'd managed to nudge her blindfold down. The room was pitch-black, and all she could hear in the silence was her own rapid breathing as panic seized her again. She'd leashed it by letting her mind turn to prayer.

She did not tell herself she wasn't afraid. Long ago, after a bad fall, her mother had explained that only fools were fearless. We meet fear, she'd said. We greet the unexpected visitor and listen to what he has to tell us. When fear arrives, something is about to happen.

She intended to make something happen. She'd ignored the ache in her head and forced herself to inch around the room, estimating its dimensions.

When she'd heard footsteps approaching, she hadn't had time to get her blindfold back in place. From then on, the guards tied it tighter. But that didn't matter, because she'd found the vent. All she needed then was a way out of her ropes. Kaz could have managed it in the dark and probably underwater. He was Kaz Brekker, and nothing could bind his trickster hands.

The only thorough look she got at the room was during meals, when they brought in a lantern. And the blindfold lifted from her face—Bolin was never rough or abrupt. It wasn't in his nature.

There was never any cutlery on the tray. Van Eck was wise enough not to trust her with so much as a spoon, but she had taken advantage of each unblindfolded moment to study every inch of the barren room.

There were no windows, and the only hint that they might still be near Ketterdam was the damp trace of salt in the air. That smell reminded her so much of Kaz. Sea salt.

Bolin would untie her wrists, so that she could eat—though once she'd discovered the vent, she'd only picked at her food, eating enough to keep up her strength and nothing more.

When Bolin and the guards had brought her tray tonight. She'd been woozy, she tipped the tray from the table, smashing the white ceramic mug and bowl.

Bolin had shaken his head. "You are weak because you don't eat, Mei. Mister Van Eck says I must force feed you if necessary." Mei meant beautiful in Shu.

"Try," she'd said. "And a finger might go missing."

Bolin had only smiled and sent for another tray. Van Eck could not have chosen her jailer better. Bolin was Shu, only a few years older than her, with thick black hair and grey eyes.

He told her he was a music teacher indentured to Van Eck, and she wondered why the merch would bring a handsome guy into his house hold given that his new wife was less than half his own age. Van Eck was either very confident or very stupid.

He double-crossed Kaz Brekker. He's leaning heavily into the stupid column.

Once the mess had been cleaned up by a guard and a new meal procured, Bolin leaned against the wall to watch her eat. She'd picked up a waffle, allowing herself only a few bites.

Bolin learned that the beauteous Shu girl was vegetarian, who nibbles her food. No wonder she's narrow. And at this rate he was scared that she'd pass out, or fall sick. He had never seen or met any Shu like her, she was very refined, yet dangerous. With the most gorgeous eyes. He couldn't belief that she was 'the ghost' of Ketterdam, the legend of the Barrel. She looks so delicate.

"You must eat more than that, or I might have to nurse you soon..." Bolin chided. "If you answer his questions, you'll find Van Eck is a reasonable man."

"A reasonable liar, cheat, and kidnapper," she said, then cursed herself for replying.

Bolin couldn't hide his pleasure. They had the same routine at each meal: She picked at her food. He made small talk, with pointed questions about Kaz and the Dregs. Every time she spoke, he considered it a victory. Unfortunately, the less she ate, the weaker she got, and the harder it was to keep her wits about her.

"Given the company you keep, I'd think lying and cheating would be points in Mister Van Eck's favor." Bolin smirked.

"Shevrati," she said distinctly. It meant Know-nothing, in suli.

She'd called Kaz that on more than one occasion. She thought of Jesper toying with his guns, Nina squeezing the life from a man with the flick of a wrist, Kaz picking a lock. Thugs. Thieves. Murderers. And all worth more than a thousand Jan Van Ecks.

Then where are they? The question tore inside her. Where is Kaz? She didn't want to look at that question too closely. Above everything else, Kaz was practical. Why would he come for her when he could walk away from Van Eck with the most valuable hostage in the world?

Bolin wrinkled his nose. "I don't speak suli." He gazed at her. "But you can teach me."

Aeolian didn't want to continue her talk with him, but she was still a gatherer of secrets. "What instruments do you teach?"

"Flute, piano and voice for ladies." He replied.

"And how does Alys Van Eck sing?" She asked.

Bolin grinned. "Most prettily under my instruction....I could teach you to make all manner of pleasing sounds."

He was just like the boys she'd known, a head full of nonsense and a mouth full of easy charm. "Are you actually flirting with me?" She leaned back.

"Am I?" A sly smirk passed his face.

Aeolian rolled her eyes and started tying up her hair in a top knot bun, after every meal, she ties her hair into different styles. That was her thing, and she was thankful that even though she'd been kidnapped at least she had the freedom to do this one thing—that calms her.

Bolin watched her amusingly, ever since the first night, she'd been changing her hairstyle. He noticed that, she's neat and well groomed. She wasn't Barrel born so how did a spick and span girl like her—ended up in the worst place. And with the dreadful Kaz Brekker? Did he buy her? Kidnapped her? Bolin was curious because: no one would willingly want to work and live in the Barrel and be around Dirtyhands.

He placed both his hands on the table. "Mister Van Eck and your Mister Brekker will reach an arrangement. Van Eck is a businessman. From what I understand, he is simply protecting his interests."

If Bolin had known Kaz Brekker at all, he wouldn't be so certain of an exchange.

In the long hours she was left alone, Aeolian tried to put her mind to escape, but inevitably her thoughts turned to Kaz and the others. Van Eck wanted to trade her for Kuwei Yul-Bo, he was the only person who had a hope of re-creating jurda parem, and the price of his ransom would give Kaz all he had ever wanted—all the money and prestige he needed to take his rightful place among the bosses of the Barrel, and the chance at revenge on Pekka Rollins for the death of his brother.

The facts lined up one after another, an army of doubts assembled against the hope she tried to keep steady inside her. Kaz's course was obvious: Ransom Kuwei, take the money, find himself a new spider. And hadn't she told him she planned on leaving Ketterdam? Stay with me. Had he meant it? What value did her life carry in the face of the reward Kuwei might garner?

Nina would never let Kaz abandon her. Matthias would stand by her and so will Wylan. Jesper would never do her harm, but he needed money badly if he didn't want his father to lose his livelihood. Besides, without Kaz, were any of them a match for Van Eck's ruthlessness and resources?

I am, Aeolian told herself. I may not have Kaz's devious mind, but I am a dangerous girl. I had made my way out of bigger messes than this. I just need to keep my head on the task ahead, as always.

Van Eck had sent Bolin to her every day. She suspected that Van Eck didn't come himself because he knew Kaz would be keeping a close eye on his movements. Or maybe he thought she'd be more vulnerable to a Shu boy than a wily merch. But tonight something had changed.

"When did you see your family last?" Bolin asked.

She didn't reply.

He said quietly, "Mister Van Eck could bring you back to your family. You can walk away from the Dregs and that horrid Kaz Brekker. He could give you transport to Shu Han, money for your needs and to travel..."

There was an urgency in his voice. When fear arrives, something is about to happen.

"What does Van Eck know about my family?" she asked, anger rising.

"He knows you're far from home." He said. "Tangled up in a battle that's not yours, to fight."

She gave a little sigh of relief, at least none of them knew who she really was. And even if they knew, did it even matter? She had angered the Empress, and she knows that the Empress would not take her back. She's good as dead for her grandmother.

"Your friends are not coming," he looked at her. "It is time to think of your own survival. The merchant can help you if you let him."

Every alarm inside Aeolian had sounded danger. The play was too obvious. Beneath Bolin's charm, there was fear. And yet amid the clamor of suspicion, she thought—what if she simply let Van Eck put her on a ship, send her somewhere far? She could start a new life, forget about all the evil things she had done and the hasty decisions she had taken.

But Aeolian knew better than that. She'd learned from the best. Better terrible truths than kind lies. Kaz had never offered her happiness, and she didn't trust the men promising to serve it up to her now.

Fate brought her to Ketterdam for a reason—a ship to hunt the operations, a mission to give meaning to all she'd been through. She would not betray that purpose or her friends for some dream of the past.

"Tell the podge to honor his old deals before he starts making new ones," she huffed a breath of disbelief. "Now leave me alone."

Bolin had scurried away. I have to get out of this trap, she'd thought, before this creature lures me with memories and sympathy. Maybe Kaz and the others were coming for her, but she didn't intend to wait around and see.

Once Bolin and the guards had left, she'd slipped the shard of broken bowl from where she'd hidden it beneath the ropes around her ankles and set to work.

After what seemed like a lifetime of sawing and scraping and bloodying her fingertips, she'd finally severed her ropes and felt her way to the vent. Bolin and the guards wouldn't be back until morning. That gave her the whole night to escape this place.

The passage was a miserably tight fit, the air inside musty, the dark so complete she might as well have kept her blindfold on. She had no idea where the vent might lead. But she needed to be gone by morning. She inched forward. Every time she took a deep breath, it felt like the air shaft was tightening around her ribs.

Was the climb atop the chimney back at the Ice Court more horrible than this? She couldn't tell, they felt the same. But back then, she knew she'll be on the roof, but here she might be on top of a building, with no where to jump or worse meet a dead end.

Then she felt it, the barest gust of air brushing against her damp forehead. Cautiously, she wiggled forward until her fingers made contact with the slats of the vent.

She wished for her knives. Even though they weren't Grisha made. Kaz was the one, who helped her in acquiring the new blades, after she lost all her Grisha knives back in Ravka. It took almost two days to acquire the set of blades she wanted. She'd told him, "maybe I'll use one you."

He'd sighed. "You're the only one, who can kill me in a way that matters." She hadn't been able to tell if he was kidding.

Did Van Eck still have them in his possession? Had he sold them off? Tossed them into the sea? She didn't want to think about losing them, especially her Grisha made hairpin, sharp and strong like a dagger. Kaz had gifted her the hairpin, after she joined the Dregs.

"A knife?? Are you flirting with me?!" That's all she could say. He just smirked at her, and even though they said nothing more to each other. They both knew that was enough.

She jiggled the vent and gave it a hard shove. It flew open. The room was empty. She slid down. Seconds later, the room flooded with light. She squinted in the sudden brightness, as she realised she was in an old theater.

"If you wanted a tour, young lass, you might simply have asked," said Jan Van Eck.

Guards were stationed around the room, and Bolin stood beside Van Eck with heavy eyes. Had the vent been left open to tempt her? Had Van Eck been toying with her all along?

Aeolian didn't hesitate. She leaped from row to row as the guards tried to scramble over the seats. She vaulted onto the stage, past a startled Van Eck, and seized one of the stage ropes.

"Cut her down!" Van Eck called.

She climbed higher, faster. But seconds later a man above her slashed through the rope. She fell to the floor and before she could right herself, three guards were on her, holding her in place.

"We're well aware of your gifts." Van Eck chided. "You are not going to find your way out of this without my help or Brekker's. As he does not seem to be making an appearance, perhaps you should consider a change in alliance."

Aeolian said nothing.

"A delegation of Fjerdan drüskelle has arrived. Today the Shu sailed two warships into Third Harbor. I gave Brekker seven days to broker a trade for your safety, but they are all looking for Kuwei, and I must get him out of the city before they find him." He continued.

Two Shu warships. That was what had changed. Van Eck was out of time.

Van Eck gazed at Aeolian, and she had that eerie feeling once again, that she had met him, before she stepped foot on Ketterdam. "Where is Kaz Brekker keeping the boy?"

"How could I possibly know that?" She muttered.

"Brekker does nothing without preparation." Then he took a step forward. "And you're the only one who knows his secrets...am I wrong?"

She didn't respond.

Van Eck shook his head wearily. "Get her on the table."

The guards hefted her onto the table and pinned down her limbs. Next to her. She saw real surgeon's tools. Scalpels and saws and clamps. She blinked twice—they were real, she wasn't seeing things.

"You are the Ghost, legend of the Barrel. I doubt there is anything in this city you do not know. You will tell me the locations of your Brekker safe houses now." Van Eck looked down on her.

"I can't tell you what I don't know." She said.

Van Eck sighed. "Lass, remember that I have tried to treat you with civility."

He turned to one of the guards, as the huge guard let his hand hover over the table of instruments as if deciding which cruelty would be most efficient. Aeolian felt her courage wobble. When fear arrives, something is about to happen.

Bolin leaned over her, face pale, eyes full of concern. "Please tell him. Surely Kaz Brekker isn't worth being scarred or maimed?"

She didn't respond, as the words rang through her mind. Surely Kaz Brekker isn't worth being scarred or maimed.

"Please," Bolin begged.

Her worst fear was being kidnapped and tortured, all these years being a spy, she'd never been taken before. Until now, until she joined the Dregs, until she put her trust on Kaz Brekker and because of that...she was going to be tortured tonight.

The huge blade-nose guard stepped forward; something gleamed in his hand. Aeolian reached for the place of darkness inside of herself, the place that had allowed her to kill mercilessly, endure all sorts of pain and worse.

"Wait," said Van Eck. He was studying Aeolian closely. Then he cocked his head to one side and said, "Break her legs."

Aeolian felt her courage fracture. She began to thrash, trying to get free of the guards' hold.

Van Eck said. "I don't want it to be a clean break. Use the mallet. Shatter the bone." His face hovered above her, his eyes were Wylan's, but devoid of any of Wylan's kindness. "No one will be able to put you back together again. Maybe you can earn by begging for pennies and then crawl to the Slat every night, assuming Brekker gives you a room there."

"Don't." She didn't know if she was pleading with Van Eck or herself. She had never pleaded in her life before and she never thought she would. She didn't know who she hated more in this moment. She always thought when she died, she'll die with dignity: not plead or beg for her life.

The blade-nose guard took up a heavy steel mallet.

She writhed on the table, her body coated in sweat. She could smell her own fear.

"Please, don't," Bolin begged. "She shouldn't be punished for that terrible Brekker."

"I hurt her," Van Eck yelled. "I hurt Brekker!"

Aeolian didn't know if she wanted to scream or laugh, when she heard that. How does hurting her? Hurt Kaz Brekker? Or she didn't want to belief the weight of those words.

The guard tested the mallet's weight in his hands. Van Eck nodded. The guard lifted it in a smooth arc.

Aeolian watched the mallet rise and reach its apex. A bright memory flashed, her mother combing her long dark hair, as she sang a melodious song. A song sung by mother's in Shu Han.

"He'll never trade if you break me!" she screamed, the words tearing loose from some deep place inside her. "I'll be no use to him anymore!"

Van Eck held up a hand. The mallet fell.

Aeolian felt it brush against her trousers as the impact shattered the surface of the table, the entire corner collapsing beneath the force. My leg, she thought. That would have been my leg. She could taste her own blood. She'd bitten her tongue.

"You make an interesting argument," Van Eck said. "Ponder your loyalties. Tomorrow night I may not be so merciful."

Aeolian could not control her shaking. I'm going to cut you open, she vowed silently. He is Wylan's father. But she couldn't help it.

They took her back to her room and bound her hands and feet again.

Bolin moved to place the blindfold over her eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know he intended..."

"You are forsaken. As you have turned your back on me, so will they turn their backs on you." She said in Shu, and that was the first time Bolin heard her speaking the language. It was beautiful coming from her lips but the words were bitter—It was the worst of Shu denunciations, one that forbade you the welcome of your ancestors in the next world, and doomed your spirit to wander without a home.

"Don't say that." Bolin paled. Then he reached for her hands. "I don't believe any of that."

"You will." She slapped his hand away.

He secured the blindfold around her head. "I'm sorry Mei, I really am."

Then she heard the door close. Aeolian lay on her side, and waited for the tremors to pass.

In her early days after the death of her mother, Aeolian used to dream of a hero—that'll come and save her. A hero from one of the stories her mother used to tell. But with time, she realised that, they were just stories and in real life. There was no hero.

She met men but all of them were selfish and greedy, and her hope on a fairytale had withered. After she became a spy, all she knew was ruthlessness and a life where there was no time for the stories, her mother told her about.

When she failed her mission in kidnapping the Sun Summoner for the first time in her life, she had no where to go, there was no arrow in her life. But Kaz had rescued her from that hopelessness, and their lives had been a series of rescues ever since, they saved each other again and again.

Lying in the dark, she realized that for all her doubts, she'd believed he would rescue her once more, that he would put aside his demons and come for her. Now she wasn't so sure. Because it was not just the sense in the words she'd spoken that had stilled Van Eck's hand but the truth he'd heard in her voice. He'll never trade if you break me.

She could not pretend those words had been conjured by strategy or her cunningness. The magic they'd worked had been born of belief. An ugly enchantment. She was the best spy out there, she'd helped Kaz over and over again because of her skills. And the most important asset were her legs, without them: she'd just be useless. And without them, her life would hold no value in the eyes of Dirtyhands. Aeolian knew that.

Tomorrow night I may not be so merciful. Had tonight been an exercise meant to frighten her? Or would Van Eck return to carry out his threats? And if Kaz did come, how much of her would be left? After tonight, she knew, she couldn't look at things the same way. And she needed answers from Kaz—answers, she might never get.