“Wow! Two illiterate orphans?? In the same heist? We should start a club,” Kilorn says enthusiastically.
Jesper rolls his eyes. “Technically his dad is still alive.”
Wylan cracks a smile. “And I hate seafood.”
Kilorn looks wounded to his core.
_______
“So, you’re certain you can control that fire,” Kaz presses, folding his hands under his chin.
Cal responds by sparking his flamemaker. “I would say so,” he says, tossing a decently sized fireball between his hands like it’s nothing more than a tennis ball.
“What about, say, an explosion?”
“Kaz-” Inej interjects. “Don’t make this like the Addison job again. Pim and Seeger were in bed for a week with second-degree burns.”
“The Addison job was a fluke. This time they won’t be expecting us to have an Inferni.”
Kuwei pipes up from the back. “I’m standing right here!”
“A ‘what-eye?’” Kilorn pops in at the same time.
“Inferni,” Nina adds. “They’re Grisha who can summon combustible gases and control a flame.”
“Well, where we’re from, they’re called Burners,” Kilorn responds.
“Burners. Inferni. Silvers. Grisha. They all look the same to me,” Matthias intervenes.
“Are you kidding Matthias?” Nina looks at him, incredulous. “I would love to have silver blood! Imagine how many people I could mesmorize with my magical, sparkling blood.”
“I doubt there’s many who could resist your charm as is,” Matthias says, kissing the top of Nina’s head.
“Still here!” Kuwei continues.
Evangeline adds from the back, “People would be cutting you open just to get a look. I wouldn’t necessarily call that sensual.”
With that, the whole team goes back and forth, the room a rumble of conversation, debating Grisha versus Silvers versus Newbloods versus Summoners.
“I don’t need any superpowers to kick a–” from Farley.
“I wonder if I could silence a Heartrende-” from Cameron.
“I was told there’d be snacks at this little meet and greet-” from Shade.
“When have we ever had snacks??” from Jesper.
“There was that one time-” from Nina.
“I’m going to electrocute something if everyone doesn’t pipe dow-” from Mare.
“Mare, what did we say about electrocuting our allies-” from Cal.
All exiles and thieves and convicts and rebels of their respective worlds, brought together by circumstance and a common goal.
“I see a scheming face,” Inej says suddenly.
The whole rooms turns its attention to Kaz, who hadn’t said a word the entire time.
“Well if you’re certain you’ve got a handle on that Calore-”
Cal looks insulted for a moment. “Kaz, I’ve trained my whole life with my ability. My family’s been ruling our country to for centuries. I was raised to be king of Nor-”
Kaz interrupts. This kid was way too full of himself. “I’ve met kings. Wasn’t overwhelmed, but at least they have money,” Kaz’s eyes scan Cal. “Can’t really say the same for you.“
Cal scoffs and turns to Mare. “Can you believe this–”
Farley interrupts. “Can’t you guys just try to get along?? I swear men nowadays–”
“I hear ya,” Evangeline agrees.
“Wait what?” pipes up Shade.
Kaz clears his throat. “AS I was saying, if Calore can control fire as he claims to….” at that he pulls two flamemaker bracelets out of his pocket and throws them on the table.
Cal’s eyes widen in panic. “Where did you–” he frantically scans his wrists only to find them bare. “How did you–”
“You may have grown up in a castle, fire prince, but I’m the one who rules Kettardam,” Kaz explains.
The room goes silent, awaiting Cal’s reaction.
He stares momentarily at his flamemakers, which have hardly left his side since childhood. You take them away, and he had nothing, no power.
“…then we’re gonna talk about blowing stuff up now,” Kaz finishes.
“Finally,” Wylan whoops.
Cal snaps his bracelets on and looks at Kaz. No one got the better of him. At least that’s what he thought.
Really, one once he could push past his wounded ego, he realized how truly worthy Kaz was of his namesake. Dirtyhands.
Imagine the headaches he’d give Maven.
______
“You know Kilorn, once this is all over, my invitation still stands,” Inej reminds him.
He scoffs. “You’d really let me be your first officer?” he replies. I’m a fishermen’s apprentice, not a pirate.“
But it was tempting offer. To be out on the sea. With a crew, his crew. It’s what he was meant to do, where he was meant to be. The wide open oceans with their ever-furthering horizons would always be home to him.
But he had another home. In a country divided by blood and houses and war. In a rebellion. In a house in the Stilts.
“Think about it,” Inej says softly.
Looking at Mare and Gisa, laughing with Shade, Bree, and Tramy on the shoreline, he already knew his answer.
_______
“They’re beautiful,” Evangeline says, turning each of Inej’s knives over on her hands. There was a certain softness in her voice, reserved only for deadly weaponry.
“Can you really… control them?” Inej says in wonder.
Evangeline eyes her suspiciously. She hadn’t told Kaz of her power, simply because she was done being other people’s puppets. “How did you know I could–”
“I’m the Wraith. I know everything.”
Fair enough.
Instead of responding, Evangeline slowly, floats each of the knives one by one out of her hands into the air. And in that moment they are no longer elegant weapons of destruction and misery, but acrobats, spinning and twisting gracefully in the sky.
Inej is mesmerized.
“That’s an interesting trick you’ve got Evangeline,” Kaz stays, breaking the silence as he steps in the room. The knives clamor to the floor, and Evangeline narrows her eyes at Inej.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m also HIS Wraith,” Inej explains with a smile on her face.
“Whatever,” Evangeline says, rolling her eyes. “If you think I’m about to parade around in this little team and go fight the bad guys, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“What if I told you we are the bad guys?” Kaz replies, quirking his eyebrow.
“Tempting….” she says, offering what Inej thinks is either a smirk or a snarl. “But I’m done being other people’s slaves.”
Both Inej and Kaz understood that more than they’d like to admit.
“I don’t know how it works here,” she continues. “But the only thing in my world you can trust is power. The only reason I’m on this little heist is to get the boy king who’s on my throne off it.”
“Fair enough,” Kaz says. “Even though your abilities would be particularly useful in this one…”
“Save it,” Evangeline says, moving to walk out of the room.
Kaz presses his lips together into a line, clearly not getting anywhere with this girl. He turns his glance to Inej hoping she can do something to turn Evangeline to their side.
“What if I let you have Sankta Marya?” Inej quirks.
