Sacred prayer - Chapter two: Don't let the sun catch you crying
As patient as Kaz tried to be, waiting for Inej’s return after five months away proved to be a challenging task. Keeping himself from leaving it all behind to search for her was nearly an impossible feat.
It wasn’t a matter of wondering if Inej was dead or alive— he knew the answer to that without too much effort. News about The Wraith had begun traveling the gambling halls and the harbor faster and faster in the past few years, the investors becoming more eager than ever to know if their precious cargo had been the target of the fearsome pirate queen who haunted the True Sea, the passengers sharing ghost stories after witnessing the remains of ships on their way to Kerch — or even worse, the bodies of the sailors floating away and the dark blue water stained with their blood.
When Kaz had the time, he enjoyed taking a walk on the docks, trying to catch whatever the sailors had to say about her when they thought no one was listening. Weeks prior, he had heard about the safe return of ten young girls to Novyi Zem a mere two days after they'd been taken by slavers. Two dozen sailors were brought back to Ravka where Queen Zoya herself sentenced them for slavery and decided their fates. No news of any casualties ever since. It was good.
And yet, not one piece of news, not one letter had arrived. No visit either.
There was no reason to be worried about her. Inej had been a survivor since she was fourteen and had been brought to an unknown country without speaking the language or being aware of what she had come here to do. Kaz had no doubt she was alive and thriving. No news of her was a good sign in these situations — news of her downfall would come much faster than that of her success.
He wasn’t worried.
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