Aeolian was in the worst place, at the worst time. There were many more guards and many more guns pointed at her than the first time she'd come through this courtyard. If only the Fjerdans knew she was the princess of Shu Han, they wouldn't have treated her this way. But no matter how much she wanted, she knew, she had to stay in character as always.

The guards were moving too fast. For the second time that night, she made herself stumble.

The guard holding her arm gave her a shake. "Don't you want to meet our inquisitors? But you won't look so pretty after they're through."

They laughed, and her stomach turned. She had faced these type of situations before, but it wasn't easy for her, and she knew it'll never be easy for her.

She might be able to take them, despite their guns and even without her knives. Her hands weren't bound, and they still thought they had a disgraced prostitute on their hands. Because she was wearing the silks of the White Rose.

Just as she was considering making her move. She saw two more men in uniform striding towards them. Could she manage six guards on her own? She wasn't sure, she had never done anything like this before. But she knew that if they left this corridor behind, it was all over.

It was now or never. She hooked her leg around the ankle of the guard to her left. He pitched forwards, and she slammed her hand upwards, breaking his nose.

The others raised their guns.

"You won't shoot me. You need information." She winked.

Then the guard to her right crumpled to the ground. The soldier standing behind him gave a cheery wave. "Jes," she gasped in relief.

"I'm here, too," said Wylan as he pinned the third guard down.

Jesper gave the fourth guard a hard blow on his jaw with the back of his rifle, before the guard could even understand what was going on. Aeolian then gave a good hard kick to the head of the third guard Wylan had pinned down. He didn't move again.

"Wow!" Wylan marvelled at the sight. He never thought Aeolian could kick that hard. But the Shu girl was full of surprises as always.

The three of them embraced for a brief moment and they let go of each other. Jesper asked Aeolian, "did you manage to get hold of a big enough diamond?"

She slipped the massive jewelled bracelet from her sleeve. "We need to hurry," she said. "If the Empress hasn't noticed it missing, she will soon."

Though with Black Protocol in effect there wasn't much she could do about it.

"You mean the Empress of Shu Han?" Wylan looked at Aeolian in disbelief as she gave him a nod.

Jesper snatched the bracelet, mouth agape. "Kaz said we needed a diamond. He didn't tell you to steal the Empress diamonds!"

Kaz had given Aeolian two objectives: nab a big enough diamond for Jesper to work with and get herself into this corridor after eleven bells. There were plenty of other diamonds she could have stolen. But after everything she had been through and after what the Empress told her, it was the Empress she'd wanted to dupe. For all the secrets she'd gathered and documents she'd stolen and violence she'd done, it was Leyti Kir-Taban she'd needed to best.

And the Empress had made it easy. During the scuffle in the rotunda, Aeolian had made sure that she was too focused on being hurt to worry about being robbed. And never in her wildest dreams, the Empress would think that anyone would try to rob her, she was the Empress after-all.

Jesper lit a lantern and went to work beside Wylan. While they worked, Aeolian barred the doors. They just had a few minutes before another patrol came through. Wylan had produced a long metal screw, and was attempting to form a functional drill.

A thump came from one of the doors.

"Hurry!" Wylan said.

"Saying that doesn't actually make me work faster," Jesper complained as he concentrated on the stones.

Across the enclosure, they saw men storming onto the other walkway, but they couldn't very well shoot through two walls of bulletproof glass. The glass was Grisha made. And the one thing harder than Fabrikator glass was diamond.

The doors on both sides of the walkway were rattling now. "They're coming!" Aeolian said.

Wylan secured the diamond bit to the makeshift drill. It made a scraping sound as they placed it up against the glass, and Jesper began turning the handle. The progress was painfully slow.

Something smashed into the door on their right. "They have a battering ram," Wylan moaned.

"Keep going," urged Aeolian as she toed off her shoes.

The wood of the door at the end of the walkway started to splinter.

"Take the handle, Wylan!" Jesper shouted.

Wylan took his place, turning the drill as fast as he could. Jesper grabbed the fallen guards' guns and pointed them at the door.

"They're coming!" he yelled.

On the glass, the two lines met. The moon was full. The circle popped free, tipping inwards. It hadn't even struck the floor before Aeolian was backing up.

Then she was running, she focused on that circle of glass and she leaped. The hole was barely big enough for her body, she heard the soft swish as the sharp glass rim sliced through the silks she trailed. She arced her body and reached. She would have only one opportunity to grab for the iron lantern that hung from the ceiling of the enclosure. It was an impossible leap, a mad leap, but this was who she was, unbound by the rules. She hung in the air for a moment, and then her hands grasped the lantern's base.

Behind her, she heard the door in the walkway burst open, gunfire.

She swung back and forth, building momentum. A bullet zinged past her. When she had enough momentum, she let go. She hit the wall hard. There was no graceful way around it, but her hands clung to the lip of the stone ledge. From there it was easy: ledge to beam to lower ledge, and down with a dull clang as her bare feet struck the roof of a massive tank. She slid into the metal dome at its centre.

She turned one knob then the next, trying to find the right controls. Finally one of the guns rolled upwards. She pulled on the trigger, and her whole body shook as bullets rattled against the enclosure glass like hail. It was the best warning she could offer Jesper and Wylan.

Aeolian could only hope she could get the big gun working. Because she had never been inside a tank before, until now. She wriggled down in the cockpit of the tank. She rotated the only visible handle, and the nose of the long gun tilted into place. She gave a hard pull at the lever. The big gun vibrated. A skull-rattling boom split the air with a puff of dark smoke.

The mortar struck the glass, shattering it into thousands of glittering pieces. The sight was marvellous. She just hoped that Wylan and Jesper had found time and space to take cover.

She waited for the dust to clear, her ears ringing badly. The glass wall was gone. All was still. Then two ropes attached to the walkway rail swung down, and Wylan and Jesper followed.

She cranked the gun around. On the other side of the remaining glass wall, men were shouting from the walkway. As the barrel swivelled in their direction, they scattered.

Jesper and Wylan climbed onto the tank. Jesper looked down at Aeolian. "You letting me drive?"

"If you insist." She smirked moving aside so he could climb behind the controls.

"Oh, hello, darling," Jesper said happily as he placed a soft kiss on her head. He pulled another lever, and the armoured wagon shudder to life.

Then they were moving. Aeolian squeezed in next to Wylan in the domed turret and aimed the second small gun, helping to lay down cover as guards burst into the enclosure.

Jesper was turning the tank, backing up as far as possible. He fired the big gun once. The mortar smashed the enclosure glass. He fired again. The second mortar hit hard. Jesper had made a dent in the ringwall.

"Ready?" Jesper called.

"Ready," Aeolian and Wylan replied in unison.

They ducked beneath the gun turret. Wylan had scratches from the glass all over his cheeks and neck. He was beaming. Aeolian grabbed his hands and squeezed. "We've made it Wy."

"Yes, we did, Lin." He placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

They'd come to the Ice Court scurrying like rats. Live or die, they were going out like an army.

They slammed into the Ice Court's legendary, impenetrable wall. They were through.

Wylan was laughing. He'd pushed out of the niche of the dome and was looking back at the Ice Court. Aeolian joined him, she saw the hole in the ringwall, men running through, firing futilely at the tank's dusty wake.

Wylan clutched his middle, still snorting laughter, and pointed downwards. Trailing behind them was a banner, caught in the tank's treads.

STRYMAKTFJERDAN Fjerdan might.

➖➖➖➖➖

They emerged from the darkness, soaked, bruised, and gasping in the bright light of the moon. Nina's dress had frayed to nearly nothing, and if she hadn't been so desperately, giddily happy to be alive and breathing, she might have worried about the fact that she was standing barefoot and practically naked, still a mile and a half from the harbour and safety. In the distance, she could hear the bells of the Ice Court ringing.

Kuwei was coughing water, and Matthias was dragging a limp, unconscious Kaz out of the shallows.

"Saints, is he breathing?" asked Nina. Never in her wildest dreams did Nina thought, she'd see an unconscious Kaz Brekker.

Matthias flipped him onto his back none too gently and started pressing down on his chest with more force than was strictly necessary.

"I. Should. Let. You. Die," Matthias muttered in time with his compressions.

Nina kneeled beside them, "Stop!" She pressed her fingers to his throat. "His pulse it's fading. Get his shirt open."

Matthias helped tear the drüskelle uniform away. Nina placed one hand on Kaz's chest, focusing on his heart. She used the other to pinch his nose shut as she tried to breathe air into his lungs. More skilled Corporalki could extract the water themselves, but she wasn't a skilled Corporalki.

She pressed her lips to Kaz's again, timing her breaths with the beats she demanded of his heart. She couldn't believe what she was doing, Kaz was the last person she thought she'd be giving mouth to mouth. Come on, you rotten Barrel thug. You've fought your way out of tougher scrapes.

She felt the shift when Kaz's heart took over its own rhythm. Then he coughed, chest spasming, water spewing from his mouth.

He shoved her off of him, sucking in air.

"Get away from me," he gasped, wiping his gloved hand over his mouth. His eyes were unfocused. He seemed to be staring right through her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Don't touch me."

"You're in shock, demjin," Matthias said. "You almost drowned. You should have drowned."

Kaz coughed again. "Drowned," he repeated.

Nina nodded slowly. "Ice Court, remember? Impossible heist? Near death? A million kruge waiting for you in Ketterdam?"

Kaz blinked and his eyes cleared. "A million and half."

"I thought that might bring you around." Nina puffed.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. "We made it, Djel performs miracles."

"You don't deserve miracles," said Matthias with a scowl. "You desecrated the sacred ash."

Matthias still couldn't believe what the hell they all went through, this must be a never ending terrifying nightmare. He thought.

Kaz pushed to his feet. "It's a symbol, Helvar. If your god is so delicate, maybe you should get a new one."

Nina threw up her hands. "You're welcome, you ungrateful wretch."

"I'll thank you when we're aboard the Ferolind. Move." Kaz was already dragging himself up the boulders. Aeolian's name ringing on his head, she had to make it along with Jesper and Wylan.

Nina shook her head, caught between annoyance and admiration. Maybe that was what it took to survive in the Barrel. You could never stop.

They all followed after Kaz, making slow progress. Nina had never been so exhausted, but she couldn't let herself rest. They had the prize. They'd got further than any crew. They'd blown up a building at the heart of the Ice Court. But they'd never make it to the harbour without Aeolian and the others.

A rumbling began from somewhere in the direction of the Ice Court. A tank rumbled over the hill. Two figures were waving to them from its gun turret. Aeolian and Wylan were yelling and gesturing wildly from behind the dome.

Nina let out a victorious whoop, at that moment she thought she might die of happiness as Matthias stared in disbelief, caught between admiration and shock of what he's witnessing. When they looked at Kaz, they couldn't quite believe their eyes.

"Saints, Kaz, you actually look happy." Nina said.

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. But there was no mistaking it. Kaz Brekker was grinning like an idiot.

The Tank halted before them, Aeolian pushed a strand of her hair and looked down at Kaz. And the look they exchanged, even Matthias could tell that, 'just friends' don't look at each other like that.

"We have a tank," marvelled Nina. "Kaz, you creepy little genius. You got us a tank."

"They got us a tank." Kaz said and Nina could clearly see how proud he was of Aeolian, Jesper and Wylan. They did the impossible, possible, together.

"We have one," Matthias said. "They have a lot more."

"Yeah, but you know what they don't have?" Kaz asked as Jesper rotated the tank's giant gun. "A bridge."

Then a violent, bone-shaking boom sounded and collided with the bridge. The big gun fired again. With a groan, the trestles collapsed completely.

If the Fjerdans wanted to cross the gorge, they were going to have to fly.

They boosted themselves onto the sides of the tank, clutching at any groove or lip in the metal for dear life, and then they were rolling down the road towards the harbour at top speed.

"I can smell the sea," Kuwei said happily, his face with bright joy.

Kuwei is Shu and has black hair that falls on his forehead, a wide brow, and gold eyes. He is shorter and looks younger than Wylan.

(Kuwei Yul-Bo)

Aeolian smiled at the Shu boy, she knew that he wasn't the prized scientist they were after but he was here for a reason and they could discuss about it when they were on the Ferolind.

Kuwei smiled back at Aeolian, he had not smiled at any of them and was not intending to. But seeing the heavenly Shu girl, smiling at him, he couldn't help it. She had an aura that he couldn't explain and he was glad for once to see a Shu.

Nina could smell it, too. Ten million kruge, with her share and Matthias they could go anywhere they wanted, live any life they chose.

The tank jolted to a halt, the quay lay directly before them, and beyond it the harbour, the flags of a thousand ships snapping in the breeze. The quay was crowded with troops, row after row, and every barrel of every gun was pointed directly at them.

"What the hell is this Matthias?" Wylan asked.

"I've never seen Black Protocol engaged," Matthias growled. "Maybe they always had troops stationed in the harbour. I don't know."

"How can you not_" Wylan clenched his jaws.

A voice echoed over the crowd. It spoke first in Fjerdan, then Ravkan, then Kerch, and finally Shu. "Release the prisoner. Put down your weapons and step away from the tank."

"They can't just open fire," said Matthias. "They won't risk hurting Kuwei."

"They don't have to," said Nina. "Look."

A prisoner was being led through the rows of soldiers. He wore a ragged red kefta and was clutching the sleeve of the guard closest to him, lips moving feverishly.

"A Heartrender," Matthias said grimly.

"I can see the Ferolind," murmured Aeolian as she saw the ship at a distance, Raske would be waiting for her, wanting to hear all about their adventure.

They could all pick out the Kerch flag. They were so close. Yet, so far.

Jesper could shoot the Heartrender. They could try barrelling through the troops with the tank, but they would never make it to the ship. The Fjerdans would gladly risk Kuwei's life before they ever let him fall into anyone else's hands.

"Boss?" called Jesper from inside the tank. "This would be a really good time to say you saw this coming."

Kaz looked out over the sea of soldiers. "I didn't see this coming." He shook his head. "You told me one day I'd run out of tricks, Helvar. Looks like you were right." The words were for Matthias but his eyes were on Aeolian.

"I've had my fill of captivity," Aeolian said the least bothered. "The Fjerdans won't take me alive."

All eyes were on her, she was the bravest of them all, they all knew that. But right now, all that they need was an inspiration or a glimmer of hope from the Shu girl but she seemed to have had enough of the Fjerdans and the Ice Court.

"Better to go out with fists swinging than let some Fjerdan put me on a pike," said Kaz.

Matthias nodded. "Then we agree. We end this here."

Jesper couldn't belief that he was even agreeing with this shit but Aeolian had spoken, and the rest were following as always. Wylan nodded in agreement as well. Except for Kuwei who was staring at the crew.

Nina spoke to Kuwei rapidly in Shu.

"Nin's!" Aeolian hissed.

The others didn't understand until they saw Kuwei produce a little leather pouch from his pocket.

"No!" Matthias shouted. He grabbed for the parem, but Nina was faster.

The voice echoed out from the Fjerdan ranks once more. "You have a count of ten. I repeat: Release the prisoner and surrender yourselves. Ten_"

"Don't be stupid," said Aeolian. "No!"

Nina said. "Kaz is out of tricks." She plucked open the pouch. "But I'm not."

Aeolian gave Kaz a desperate look, they haven't spoken a single word to each other ever since their great escape. But they didn't need words to communicate and Kaz had promised her, he'd get her and the rest of the crew out of the Ice Court safely. But he hadn't anticipated this and now what Nina was about to do, was the last thing Aeolian wanted and somehow he had failed her.

"Nina, please," Matthias begged. Nina had seen the same anguish on his face that day in Elling when he thought she'd betrayed him.

The first dose was the strongest, the high and the power could never be replicated. Nina would be chasing it for the rest of her life. Or maybe she'd be stronger than the drug.

"If it gets bad, find a way to end it, Helvar. I'm trusting you to do the right thing." Nina smiled. "Again."

Then Nina poured the parem into her mouth, downing it in a single hard swallow. The world broke up into tiny flashes of light. She could see the true colour of Matthias eyes, pure blue beneath the flecks of brown she'd put there. She saw the sweat on Kaz's brow, the nearly invisible pinpricks of the tattoo on his forearm. And the rich colour of Aeolian's eyes, the moonlight gleaming off her raven black hair.

Nina looked out over the lines of Fjerdan soldiers. She could hear their hearts beating. Their bodies were a map of cells, and she knew only answers. She sensed the Heartrender in the crowd, he would be the first.

➖➖➖➖➖

Nina stepped down from the tank. The air around her seemed to crackle, her skin glowing as if she'd tapped a vein of Djel directly. She went for the Heartrender immediately. Nina flicked her wrist, and his eyes exploded in his head.

Nina glided towards the soldiers. Matthias moved to protect her. She lifted her hands. "Stop!"

They froze.

"Lay down your arms." As one they obeyed her.
"Sleep," she commanded. The soldiers toppled without protest, row after row.

Slowly, Aeolian climbed down from the tank. The rest followed, and they stood in stunned silence, all language dissolved by what they'd witnessed, gazing out at the field of fallen bodies. It had happened so quickly.

There was no way to reach the harbour unless they walked over the soldiers. Without a word, they began to pick their way through. Nina let Matthias lead her, behind the crew.

Beyond the quay, the docks were deserted. As they headed towards the Ferolind, they saw Rotty, jaw slack with fear. Raske and Anika were equally terrified and Specht was waiting to unmoor the ship.

"Matthias!" A man screamed and Matthias recognised his voice it was Jarl Brum.

He turned. A group of drüskelle stood on the quay, their black hoods raised. They wore masks of dully gleaming grey chainmail over their faces, their features obscured by the mesh.

"Traitor," Brum said. "Betrayer of your country and your god. You will not leave this harbour alive. None of you will."

Nina raised her hands. "For Matthias, I will give you one chance to leave us be."

Brum said. "Every stitch of clothing we wear is reinforced with Grisha steel. You cannot force us to your will, witch! You cannot harm us."

Nina lifted a hand. Nothing happened, and Matthias knew what Brum was saying was true.

"Go!" Matthias shouted at them. "Please! You_"

Brum lifted his gun and fired. The bullet struck Matthias directly in the chest. The pain was sudden and terrible, then gone. He saw the bullet emerge from his chest. It hit the ground with a plink.

Nina was walking past him. "No!" he cried.

"Nin's!" He could hear Aeolian yelling from behind, and Jesper and Wylan trying to hold her back.

The drüskelle opened fire on Nina. But she did not fall. As fast as the bullets tore through her body, she healed herself, and the shells fell harmlessly to the dock. The drüskelle gaped at Nina.

She laughed. "You've grown too used to captive Grisha. We're quite tame in our cages."

Nina, then raised her hands. Behind the drüskelle, the Fjerdan soldiers she had put to sleep rose. They snatched the hoods and masks from the startled drüskelle's faces, rendering them vulnerable.

Nina flexed her fingers, and the drüskelle dropped their rifles, screaming in pain.

"For my country," she said. "For my people. For every child you put to the pyre. Reap what you've sown, Jarl Brum."

Matthias watched the drüskelle twitch and convulse, as the other Fjerdan soldiers looked on impassively. They were monsters, he knew it, but boys as well, boys like him—taught to hate, to fear.

"Nina, please." He pleaded.

"You know they would not offer you mercy, Matthias." She told him.

"I know. But let them live in shame instead." He looked at her. "You taught me to be something better. They could be taught, too."

Nina shifted her gaze to his. Her eyes were ferocious, as if she was alight with some secret flame.

"They fear you as I once feared you," he said. "As you once feared me. We are all someone's monster, Nina."

For a long moment, she studied his face. At last, she dropped her arms and the ranks of drüskelle crumpled to the ground, whimpering.

Specht shouted commands and the Ferolind drifted into the harbour, picking up speed as the sails swelled with wind. No one ran to the docks to stop them. No ships or cannon fired. They vanished into the vast black shelter of the sea.

➖➖➖➖➖

As soon as they were on deck, Raske embraced Aeolian for the longest time. Kaz walked right past them towards Specht as Anika trailed behind him keeping a safe distance. It was the first time she was seeing him in clothings, she couldn't recognise on him. He always wore his dark suits or coats or uniforms at times but never a dull, colourless prison uniform.

Even though none of them said a word to the crew on the ship, Anika could sense—something heavy clung in the air, not only did Nina change but they all did in their own ways.

They'd been blessed with strong winds.

Matthias asked Kuwei. "How long does she have?"

Kuwei knew some Kerch, but Aeolian had to translate in places.

Nina was distracted, her eyes roving over everyone and everything.

"The high will last one hour, maybe two. It depends how long it takes her body to process a dose of that size." Kuwei explained.

"Why can't you just purge it from your body like the bullets?" Matthias asked Nina desperately.

"It doesn't work," said Kuwei. "You'd need another Corporalnik using parem to accomplish it."

Kaz crossed his arms, "How will the withdrawal start?"

"Body aches, chills," Kuwei explained. "Followed by tremors and the craving."

"Do you have more of the parem," Matthias asked. "Enough to get her back to Ketterdam?"

Kuwei said. "If she take a second dose, there is no hope at all. This is her one chance. It's possible her body will purge enough of it naturally that addiction won't set in."

"And if it does?" Matthias asked.

Kuwei looked around uneasily. "Without a ready supply of the drug, she'll go mad. With it, her body will simply wear itself out."

Aeolian took longer than she should've to translate, as she was trying to wrap her mind around what Kuwei was saying and brace herself as well. When she finished translating, there was a long pause.

"I don't want to hear any more," Nina muttered as she drifted away towards the prow.

The rest of them watched her in silence. Matthias felt useless as ever watching Nina walk away.

➖➖➖➖➖

Nina was gazing out at the sea. "Your highness," she said without turning.

Aeolian halted. "You heard me approach?" No one heard the Ghost, especially over the sound of the wind and sea.

"It wasn't those silent feet that gave you away." Nina said. "Every heart sounds different. I never realised that before."

Aeolian joined her at the rail and handed over Nina's coat. Above them the stars shone bright. Aeolian was ready for dawn, ready for this long night to be over and the journey too. She was surprised to find she was eager to see Ketterdam again. She wanted chocolate syrup waffles and a hot mug of dark coffee. She wanted to hear the rain on the rooftops and sit snug and warm in her room.

Nina buried her face in her coat's collar and said, "I wish you could see what I can do, doll. I can hear every body on this ship. I can hear the change in Kaz's breathing when he looks at you."

Aeolian turned to Nina.

"It catches every time, like he's never seen you before." Nina continued.

Kaz is the only person who's not surprised by Aeolian's presence. It was like once Kaz had seen her, he knew how to keep seeing her. So she couldn't belief Nina and she didn't even want to believe her.

"And what about Matthias?" She asked, eager to change the subject.

Nina raised a brow, unfooled. If it was any other night, she wouldn't have stopped but tonight was not the night. They'll had been through hell and the last thing Aeolian wanted was to talk about Kaz Brekker. And that's why Nina replied, "Matthias is afraid for me, but his heart thumps a steady rhythm no matter what he's feeling."

They watched the waves for a while.

"Ready?" Nina asked.

Aeolian pushed up her sleeve baring the White Rose tattoo. It took the barest second, the softest brush of Nina's fingertips. Just like that it was done.

"Are you sure about the others?" Nina asked cautiously, Aeolian nodded without another word Nina gently pulled up her tunic and erased the tattoos on her back. The itch was acute but once it had passed Aeolian felt like it was a new part of her. If only every wound could be banished so easily.

"Thank you Nin's." She rested her head against Nina's shoulders.

They were silent for a while as Aeolian listened to the crashing waves. A memory sparked in her; she on Sturmhond's ship, the infamous privateer, a young captain. The man who caught the siren for her, the man he betrayed for General Kirigan and in the end she ended up betraying General Kirigan after finding out he was the Dark Heretic himself.

Nina kissed Aeolian's cheek as Aeolian came back to her sense. "I'm going to find my Fjerdan before things get bad."

But as she walked away, Aeolian saw Nina had another reason to depart. Kaz was standing in the shadows near the mast. He had worn his dark clothings and was leaning on his cane—he looked almost like himself again. Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands the Bastard of the barrel.

Kaz murmured a few words to Nina, she made an exasperated sound and vanished belowdecks. Aeolian didn't have to ask, she knew Kaz was sending Nina to work. Pragmatic Kaz. Why let empathy get in the way? But maybe, Nina will be glad for the distraction.

Kaz joined Aeolian at the rail. She could smell the scent of leather on him again. And somehow, it comforted her. They stood together, gazing out at the waves, silence stretching between them.

Kaz never thought he'd find comfort in a scent until her, he'd never thought he'd find comfort in a voice until her and he'd never thought he'd find comfort again until her. He didn't know what to say to her after everything that had happened. "We're alive," he said at last.

"It seems you prayed to the right god." She said.

"Or travelled with the right people." He spoke quietly.

"Still not a religious person," she shrugged.

He ran his gloved thumb over the rail. "No."

They were silent for a while. Finally, she said, "I'm going to learn to sail."

Kaz's cast her a surprised glance. "Really? Why?"

"I want to use my money to hire a crew and outfit a ship." She explained. She didn't want to care what Kaz thought, but she did. "I'm going to hunt the operations."

"Purpose," he said thoughtfully. "I almost pity them, they have no idea what's coming for them."

Kaz always knew she was dangerous. She had been a spy her whole life and if she wanted to hunt the operations of the spies, there was so much going on that he had no knowledge about. Whatever it maybe, he knew that if she wanted to hunt them down, she had a good reason behind it.

She balanced her elbows on the railing and rested her chin in her palms. "I'll go home first, though."

"To Shu Han?" He was surprised.

She nodded. "I've unfinished business there."

She would have left it at that, respecting their unspoken agreement to tread lightly in each other's pasts. Now she said, "Was there no one but your brother, Kaz? Where are your mother and father?"

"Barrel boys don't have parents. We're born in the harbour and crawl out of the canals." He said.

She shook her head, she knew she'll never get a straight answer from Kaz ever. She watched the sea, after this journey something she needed was waiting for her on the other side. What did Kaz need?

"You're about to be rich, Kazuki. What will you do when there's no more blood to shed or vengeance to take?" She turned to him.

"There's always more." He said his eyes fixed on the sea in front of them.

"More money, more mayhem, more scores to settle." She said. "Was there never another dream?"

He said nothing. What had carved all the hope from his heart? She might never know.

Aeolian turned to go. Kaz seized her hand, keeping it on the railing. He didn't look at her. "Stay," he said. "Stay in Ketterdam. Stay with me."

She looked down at his gloved hand clutching hers. Everything in her wanted to say yes, but she would not settle for so little. She wasn't someone who'd stay in Ketterdam, just because Kaz Brekker wants her to, without giving her a valid reason. "What would be the point?" She asked.

He took a breath. "I want you to stay....I want you."

"You want me." She turned the words over. She wasn't expecting this from him at all but he said it and she needed to know the truth. She squeezed his hand. "And how will you have me, Kaz?"

He looked at her then, eyes fierce, mouth set. It was the face he wore when he was fighting. She knew, Kaz wasn't the type of person who likes to talk about his feelings but she needed to know what he really feels, if he wanted her to stay.

"How will you have me?" she repeated. "Fully clothed, gloves on, your head turned away so our lips can never touch?"

He released her hand, his shoulders bunching, his gaze angry and ashamed as he turned his face to the sea. She was frustrated because when she finally made the decision to leave Ketterdam for good, Kaz confuses her again with half truths. And maybe it was because his back was to her or maybe, she had thought about this all along, that she could finally speak the words. "I will have you without armour, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all."

Speak, she begged silently. Give me a reason to stay. For all his selfishness and cruelty, Kaz was still the boy who had been there for her, gave her a place among the Dregs, saved her. She wanted to believe he was worth saving, too.

The sails creaked. The clouds parted for the moon, but the words she wanted to hear would never come. She felt like a fool. Feeling anything for Kaz Brekker was the worst kind of foolishness. Aeolian left Kaz with the wind howling and dawn still a long while away.

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

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Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one, if you want me to
Anywhere, I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all
And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl
Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Anywhere, I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye
Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
And anywhere, I would have followed you
Ooh, ooh say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something

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