CHAPTER SEVEN
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DRIVING MEN TO MADNESS WAS HER SPECIALTY. Kira loved watching them squirm under her gaze, watching them stumbled over their words as she smiled, watching them hand over their will to her on a golden platter.

However, Kira never imagined Kaz would be one of her victims. She was well aware of her own reactions to him. His closeness. His rare but oh-so-exhilarating touch. His raspy voice and his intense eyes, that darkened to endless pools of black. And now, she was aware of what she did to him. Or, completely aware, as she knew there had always been something there.

After their moment in the crypt. When Kira let all her walls down, baring herself to Kaz like she had to no other, Kaz had become unhinged.

The best kind of unhinged. The kind that made him look crazed and sinister. It was as if he'd found the motivation to finally destroy Pekka Rollins. As if... And at that moment Kira allowed herself to hope... As if he had found something he finally craved more than revenge.

When she arrived back in the crypt, late at night, after a long day of trying to convince the children on the streets of the Barrel to take down the Wanted posters, so her face wouldn't get shared throughout the city and eventually get back to Ravka's, she found Kaz looking handsomely beaten up. It confirmed the whispers she'd heard about the Dregs' having been defeated by a man with a cane and her theory that Kira could drive any man to madness.

He had fought a gang on his own, defying every odd against him, unleashing the beast inside him that was merciless and ruthless and absolutely captivating. He was the devil incarnate and Kira was ready to throw herself into hell. With a maniacal smile, edging on a sneer, he had also declared that suffering was the weapon he'd found to destroy Pekka Rollins once and for all.

This wasn't Kaz Brekker, it was Dirtyhands coming to see the rough work done. And he had never looked more attractive in her eyes.

There were no Saints that could help Kira now. She was too far gone. Dirtyhands had stolen her heart and she had no intention of getting it back.

Kira entered the Slat whistling an old Ravkan tune to herself, twirling her fingers in a wave at the men by the bar—it was safe to say the Dregs already liked her. She turned to see Jesper and Wylan setting up at a table and approached them with a smile just as Inej arrived with her teal costume.

"Smells like these haven't been washed since last year," she said with a grimace and Jesper shrugged sheepishly.

"They probably haven't," replied Kira as she leaned over to smell the Wraith's clothing before gagging. "Saints. That's bad."

Kira's head snapped up as Kaz walked into the room, ignoring everyone, as he went around Jesper, and opened the crates full of spray bottles of the concoction Wylan had prepared so they could fake an outspread of the plague.

"It'll mimic it in every way?" Kaz asked as he glanced up at Wylan. The boy hummed in confirmation. "Good."

Kaz turned his head to the side, his eyes meeting hers for a split second before he turned to Jesper. The latter beat him to it.

"You're gonna say you can't do this without me, yeah?" he said with a small smile. "And that you hate it when we're angry at each other, but sometimes brothers fight. And that when all this is over, you'll open a tab for me at the club of my choosing, 'cause when Pekka's gone, you'll take it all. That's what you were gonna say. Yes?"

There was a moment of silence before Kaz spoke, and Kira couldn't help but grin brightly at the barely conceivable enthusiasm on his face at the prospect of taking Pekka down. "There's a cap on the tab. But otherwise, yes. To all of that."

Jesper grinned. "Then let's go take down the king."

"The plan is this. Jesper and Wylan, you're gonna hand out Komedie Brute costumes and vials of the compound to all of the Dregs—"

"Per Haskell's gang—"

"—our gang now. By sunset, the streets will be crawling with Sankt Emerens revelers. They'll provide us with the cover we need. Hit all of Pekka's businesses, the clubs, the brоthеls. All to destroy Pekka's reputation. Inej will cover Fifth Harbor, and when the chaos begins, she'll hand the note to Pekka's driver. Kira, your job is to get the chaos moving, cause a scene—"

"—my specialty," replied Kira with a grin.

Kaz nodded. "Nina and I will handle the Emerald Palace. See you there."

"No mourners," said Jesper.

"No funerals," they all replied.

Before following the others out Kira handed Kaz the little train she'd stolen from little Alby when she'd stopped by the Rollins estate at Appelbroek that morning. "Are you sure you don't need me to stop bullets?" she asked him.

Kaz took the train from her hand and slipped it into his pocket before smirking at her. "Little Alby is all the leverage I need."

"You should know... I love it when you go all Dirtyhands," she said lowly, winking at him, and was overjoyed to see the tip of his ears turn red.

•••

Wearing one of the brightest dresses she'd had since arriving in Ketterdam, with a mask of crow to match, Kira walked the streets of the Barrel. Her dress was the color of blood, bright blood, fresh blood, a color that stood out amongst the dark colors of Ketterdam.

Necks turned to look her way as she passed the streets, and with each surprised face her grin grew wider. She climbed up a platform for performers in a little square near East Stave. The Dregs had set it up for her during the day. Kira watched as people began turning her way, curious as to what she was going to do. It was Sankt Emerens, a holiday widely celebrated in Ketterdam.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Kira spoke into the crowd. More people gathered around the little square. Kira grinned, "How are you enjoying Sank Emerens?"

Cheers rang around the square, people whistling, tankards smashing against each other in the pub by the corner... One that happened to belong to one Pekka Rollins. And happened to be the first establishment to be hit by the "plague".

Kira took off her mask, causing gasps around the crowd as people began recognizing her. "It's the Whisperer!" She saw Stadwatch guards start to make their way to the stage through the crowd and peered over to the pub as she saw the first person rushing their way out of it.

"It seems like the plague has returned to Ketterdam!" she shouted into the crowd, and people furrowed their eyebrows. The guards were closer now. "Enjoy!"

Right on cue, the sirens of the plague began blasting. And screams erupted through the square.

With that, Kira took off the stage and began running through the crowd. People began shouting, running around, shoving people off their faces, and trying to scatter off the crowded area.

Soon enough she was being chased again, not only by the Stadwatch guards but by Pekka's men that had heard her little spew. She laughed as she turned the corner into an alley that led towards the open door of an abandoned warehouse.

Instead of going in, Kira used a chain she had planted purposely on the side of the building, to lift herself up and off the ground, landing on the roof just as the men chasing after her barreled in the Alley.

They shouted at each other as they found it empty. Some of them left to search the streets but most of them fell right into her trap. Walking through the open door. The only way out of the Warehouse. Kira grinned widely and spun circles with her hands from the roof, closing the door behind them and welding the lock to the doorway, locking them in.

With a happy sigh, she shed her skirt, leaving herself only in the pair of trousers and the corset of her dress. She slipped onto the streets again and nicked the hat of a man's head, tucking her hair into it as she pulled it on her head and then swiped away a jacket hanging for another man's arm, and throwing it over her shoulders.

Without thinking she began making her way to the Emerald palace. She found Jesper about to slip into the room. He winked at her when Kira grinned at him before both of them quietly made their way inside. Due to the commotion in the room, no one noticed her presence and for the first time, Kira was glad it happened.

Nina was the only one who looked over to the side, but Kira wasn't focused on her. Pekka Rollins had just pulled a pistol and aimed it at Kaz and Kira's hands automatically raised, Jesper grabbed her wrists, pulling them down.

"I'd reconsider," said Kaz, and though she could not see his face Kira could perfectly picture the sneer on his face. "If you want to see your Kaelish prince again."

"Oh. What are you gonna do? You gonna blow it up again?" Pekka scoffed. "You need to learn some new tricks."

"Your other Kaelish prince." Kira's lips tugged up into a smirk. "Fond of sweets. Blond hair. Alby."

Rollin's hand trembled, and he took a cautionary step in front, making sure to properly aim the gun. He was clearly affected by what Kaz had said, and trying and failing miserably not to show it. "I will kill everything you love, Brekker."

"The trick is not to love anything," replied Kaz. Kira's jaw clenched and she looked away. She knew it was a play, a ruse... She had to know that because Kaz... She looked up at Jesper when he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave him a tight smile. "Your mistake was that you let someone get in. Someone you'd burn the world for. Someone you would sacrifice everything for and it makes you weak."

Kira's heart stopped, and she looked back up at Kaz. She couldn't see his face but those few words told her what she needed to hear. He didn't even know she was in the room and he had said them. Someone you'd burn the world for. Because love made him selfish. She smiled. Heroes sacrificed the ones they loved for the world. Kira would gladly be a villain. Kira would gladly love a villain. Her Dirtyhands. Kaz Brekker was her villain, and he would burn the world for her.

"Then I'll just kill you."

"Do that... and you'll never find your son in time."

The hold Pekka had on the gun slipped, and he lowered it in shock. "What did you do?"

"I buried him," Kaz replied, his voice taking a turn into sinister territory. Sending a shiver down her spine. "Six feet deep. He went into that box so easily. Didn't even cry, until I took this from him." He took out the train she had stolen from his pocket, holding it up.

"Where's my son?" asked Pekka, his hand trembling.

"Make smart choices, and you might just reach him before the air runs out."

"You trifling piece of Barrel trash. What the hell do you want?"

"I want you to remember."

"Remember what?" asked Pekka.

Kira glanced at Jesper as they shared a look. She turned back, and she knew... Answers were going to tumble down that night, a look into Kaz's past, and like the greedy thief she'd become, Kira was going to take everything he gave her. Every piece of information. "A con you ran... on two farm boys. Orphans. A promise to replace the family that they'd lost. And then you duped them out of everything. They ended up on the streets and they both died." Kaz paused. "But one of us was reborn."

Kira fidgeted with her rings as she listened to Kaz's words. As Pekka grimaced, scrambling through his mind trying to remember.

Kaz scoffed. "Too many pigeons to remember? Let me help you... Jakob Hertzoon."

"That was a long time ago," Pekka muttered. "So that's what this is all about? Why you look at me with murder in those shark's eyes of yours? You were just two pigeons who I just happened to have plucked, and if it hadn't been me, it would've been somebody else."

"Bad luck for Alby that it was you."

Pekka snapped, grabbing Kaz by the collar and pushing him against a wall, and shoving the gun against his throat. And Kaz let him. Because he, as well as Kira, knew he was the one with power. He was the one in control of the situation. He was the one shattering every brick of Pekka's empire.

"You... you tell me where to find my son!"

"It's a simple trade, Rollins. Speak my brother's name and your son lives." Pekka let him go, stepping away and Kaz kept taunting him. "How about another hint?" he asked as he tore himself off the wall, walking around Pekka like a predator. His eyes met hers for a single second, and other than a twitch in his jaw he didn't react. "You called your daughter Saskia. She wore red ribbons in her hair."

Nina came over to the little bar where Kira and Jesper were as Pekka was quiet, only his breathing audible as he thought. Finally, it appeared it clicked in his head, he pointed at Kaz, "Okay, two b... Two boys from Lij. Yeah. You had a piddling little fortune. Your brother, he fancied himself as a trader, wanted to get rich quick like every other nub who steps foot in the Barrel—"

"I want you to say his name." Pekka went silent, shuffling around and Kaz appeared to be losing his patience. "Come on!"

"I... I don't remember his name! I just want my son. He's all I have. I'll give you whatever you want, Brekker," Pekka said desperately. "I'm begging you."

"Are you?" asked Kaz, looking down at the man in distaste.

Kira smirked at the sight of him and Nina elbowed her in the ribs. When Kira turned to the Heartrender she was giving her a knowing look and Kira merely shrugged with a sly smile.

At last, whilst every one of his men watched, Pekka Rollins, the King of the Barrel knelt in front of Kaz Brekker. Signing away his dignity.

Kaz took some papers out of the pocket of his quote and spoke loudly. "A confession for the murders of Tante Heleen and Constable Sem." His eyes met hers before he added. "And a quitclaim deed for Inej Ghafa."

Kira bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from grinning like a fool and Kaz turned away from her, looking down at Pekka Rollins like the filth he was. He threw the papers at his feet before making a pen appear out of nowhere. "Sign both... if you want to find your son alive."

He let the pen fall to the ground. Kira watched, overjoyed, as Pekka bent down, signing the papers before reluctantly giving them to Kaz. "Where's my son?"

"Black Veil Cemetery. You'll need all your men digging to find him in time."

With that, Pekka rushed out of the room, his men following behind and sooner rather than later only the four Crows remained at the Emerald palace.

Kira grinned widely as Kaz turned to them and she threw her hat in the air, leaning over the bar for a bottle of whiskey. She poured four shots and picked two up.

Making her way to Kaz she handed him one, ignoring her blush as his gloved fingers grazed her own before turning to the group. "No mourners," she said.

"No funerals," the other three answered before they each swung their shot back.

Jesper and Nina were the first to begin leaving the room, So, Kira turned to Kaz.

She tilted her head as she analyzed his face, and Kaz's eyes didn't waver from hers. There was blood running down the side of her face, his jaw had the shadow of stubble growing and his skin was sleek with sweat. Her gaze fell to his lips and Kira had to fight the urge to raise herself and touch her lips with his. She settled with looking back into his dark eyes.

"That'll surely bruise," she said with a sly smirk, "if you need any help, do let me know."

"I can handle a few bruises, Whisperer," he replied, a smirk of his own tugging at his lips.

"You can handle a lot more than you think you can, Kaz," she told him, not a single ounce of pity in her tone. "Pekka Rollins is on his way to Hellgate... All we have now is time to handle... things."

"I thought you weren't particularly patient," said Kaz.

Kira didn't answer. She just gave him a smile and reached over to his jacket, adjusting the lapels, and making sure not to touch him directly. When he didn't even flinch or shudder, she spoke, "Getting Inej's freedom... that wasn't morally indecent of you."

Kaz didn't reply right away, his eyes bore into her soul, as her fingers slid down the fabric of his coat, and fell to her sides. He clicked his tongue. "It had nothing to do with morals."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I was being selfish," he replied simply. But the way he said it made her heart beat faster. "You can tell her yourself she's free."

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author's note:

honestly, not my favorite chapter
but i like the last part
i mean, it's basically a whole chapter about
kira getting turned on by psycho kaz.

anyway,
next chapters are in the works,
and i'm still trying to
figure out how to fit kira
into the whole sword plotline
i would say it would probably
take a while but to be honest
it might as well take a couple of hours.
i'm so unpredictable with writing it hurts.