CHAPTER ELEVEN
▪▫▪▫▪

KIRA WAS BORED OUT OF HER MIND and fairly annoyed that she hadn't been part of the heist. It was a simple plan that could even have worked without Kaz's presence, and they got the map while she lay in bed and dramatically groaned occasionally.

It was the dead of night and if she was in Ketterdam it would be Kira's favorite time of the day. The darkness upon them cast by the absence of the sun was enough to hide her in the shadows of the crampy streets of the Barrel and allow her to become the Whisper she could be.

She roamed through the streets, shoving drunkards off her, and basking in the delight that it was to not have to fake a smile or flirt shamelessly instead she just robbed men blind and left them in the gutter. She would spin around in the chaos, sometimes being hit by the whiskers of rain of Ketterdam.

Was it ruthless? Perhaps. But the nights in the Barrel were nothing short of that and Kira matched that ruthlessness with all she had.

But Kribirsk? Well, nighttime in the shabby Ravkan city, was severely lacking any sort of excitement.

She didn't even feel like leaving the room she was sharing with Inej at the Inn because one look at the window, one strain of her hearing, and all she could sense was calmness.

Ketterdam was never quiet, it burned with the screams of its victims and the proud yells of its victors. Kira craved that chaos. She hated the serene silence of the Ravkan city, no matter how pretty the sunrise was.

Which was why she was glad that sleep consumed her, and let the chaos of her nightmares take over instead. They were frigid and relentless, like a wave that wouldn't let her breach the surface for the air she gasped for. Her nightmares were the punishment of the Saints, a reminder of the parts of her soul she had lost.

And as she drowned in despair, and felt cold water filling her lungs, stinging from the inside out like the hot hiss of metal against her skin, Kira felt blissful. The chaos she craved came from within. Left her whimpering in her sleep, in cold sweats, but at least it wasn't quiet, at least it made her feel something.

She woke up with a gasp, a tear slipping through her eye, one she briskly wiped away. She lay in bed for a few moments, gathering herself, and smiled. It wasn't a good night of sleep. She was far from relaxed. She felt like she was drowning. But a smile crept up her face nonetheless because even in her mind she escaped Death.

She never let herself be consumed by the shadows yanking at her ankles to drag her into the shadows of her own misery. It was chaos in her head, but it was still her chaos. She was in full control, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

•••

"Got any plans up your sleeve?" Inej asked Kaz as they gathered along the bar they had found in Kribirsk.

Kira was swirling around her tumbler, letting the amber liquid inside run free, as she pursed her lips. Apparently, even though she had been asleep to be there anyway, they had not a clue how to get into the palace. Kira, however, did have a plan up her sleeve and perhaps it would allow her a plus one, but not a plus four. So she kept her mouth shut and waited for Kaz to get the impressively shiny gears in his head to work.

"I mean, Kribirsk isn't the worst," Jesper muttered and immediately laughed at Kira's horrified face. He shrugged. "We can open up a bar. Brew East Ravkan beer for the Westerners?"

"Shut up, Jesper," all of them said at the same time.

Jesper sighed. "I miss Milo."

"I miss Ketterdam," Kira added and Jesper nodded.

"Friends," the incredibly annoying voice of the Conductor was heard, as he made his merry way to them, a short man behind him. The man had long hair and a beard and had Kira tiling her head. He looked exactly like a character from a fairytale she read when she was little.

"What are you so cheery about?" Kaz demanded to know as if it would cheer him up too.

Obviously, Kira knew only kruge, and perhaps one of her smiles would. Or the least, the latter would pull a scowl into his face and cause the tip of his ears to flush.

"This is Marko," the Conductor said pointing at the man beside him.

Kira smiled, "Hello, Marko, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said smoothly stretching out a hand for the man to shake. Which he did, giving her a beaming smile even as she saw tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

Arken cleared his throat. "Marko is the leader of the traveling troupe known as the Pomdrakon Players. They have been invited to perform in this year's winter fete."

"A lifelong dream," Marko said with a nod.

"Yes, yes," the Conductor said sympathetically, "A chance to get inside the Little Palace. But they lost their star performer due to an unfortunate freak accident."

Kira nearly rolled her eyes. Freak Accident. She had seen the acrobat slip, she had seen the look on the Conductor's face—even if she was serenading her friends as she stood on the bar drunkenly mumbling a Ravkan tune (that soon after the shock of the acrobat slipping had every drunkard in the bar joining in). It wasn't hard to connect the dots especially since the Conductor wasn't good at hiding his smugness as he talked.

"They are in desperate need of someone with the skills to replace their star performer, and as Ketterdam's premier talent manager, I had an idea."

Turning her head to the side, Kira's face broke into an encouraging smile as she looked at Inej. The latter took a deep breath and nodded before turning to Kaz and her and slipping her daggers into their hands. "As a friend once said, 'If I can't crack this, none of us are going anywhere.'"

•••

Sooner rather than later, Kira's jaw was practically sweeping the floor in awe of her friend. The Suli girl, was beyond talented, practically flying through the air with the assistance of a "scrap" of fabric. Kira knew well how effortlessly Inej did anything but watching her perform, instead of being under the pressure of heists or Ketterdam was a whole other thing. It was mesmerizing and Kira wasn't the only one who noticed.

The crowd cheered as Inej's feet touched the ground and she was pulled into the tight embrace of their new friend Marko who looked to be on the verge of tears. "The Saints must have sent you." He pulled away. "Yes. The show will go on. Now..." He snapped his fingers and someone brought him a colorful leotard, "Can you... fit into this?"

"Of course, she can," Kira said immediately, just as Jesper threw his arm around Marko.

"Those are her colors, but the thing is, Inej..." Jesper trailed off as he pulled away and gestured to Kira, Kaz, and Arken, "comes as part of a package deal."

"No free rides," Marko said with a purse of his lips. He looked at them, narrowing his eyes, and then something glinted in them. "What are your talents?"

Kira watched as Jesper, the cocky bastard, smirked.

She then watched as he was able to fire a gun, aiming at a card perched between Inej's lips as she stood midair and upside down, only seeing the reflection of a particular bad mirror. She narrowed her eyes through the entire process but said nothing in the end. It was none of her business whether she thought Jesper was like her or not. If he wanted to tell her he would. And perhaps when he did she would tell him too.

He stood up and hugged Marko and then turned to Kira, "Do better, your highness," he said with a smug smile.

Kira turned to Marko and frowned, "Marko, darling, do I really need a talent? Can't I just be the pretty face?"

Marko's cheeks flushed and he pursed his lips. "I'm not one to give free rides. You must have some talent."

Tapping a finger to her chin, Kira pretended to think for a bit before shrugging helplessly. "I know how to dance ballet, but I haven't got the costume or shoes for it. Would you be able to take my word for it?"

Marko eyed her for a moment and tilted his head before reluctantly nodding. "Alright then, but you shall be in charge of getting everything you need before we leave."

A victorious smile appeared on her face, "I will, thank you."

And as the man turned to Kaz, Kira shot a wink at a gaping Jesper.

"Stage is yours, sir," Marko told Kaz.

The latter did not hesitate, "I'll make my own way."

"You know how to dance ballet?" Inej whispered from Kira's side as Marko began walking away from them.

"Barely," she replied with a smirk. "I took classes as a kid but Ketterdam knocked all the grace out of me."

"It's not fair," Jesper grumbled as he threw an arm around Kira, "you didn't even have to do anything."

"She's the Whisperer, Jesper," Kaz said, "She didn't need to do anything that Marko would have handed over his entire circus if she'd asked."

It was hard to find the grin wanting to creep onto her lips and downright impossible to hide the flush in her cheeks. Kira shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's not a bad idea. If this madness doesn't work it's a fairly better option than Jesper's bar."

"You'd rather own a circus than a bar?" Jesper asked her incredulously.

"A circus has people swallowing swords and jumping through blazing rings," Kira said with a deadpan expression.

"Yes, yes. But picture me as a bartender, Kira, darling," Jesper said with a wink and Kira shoved him off her. "Picture it! I'd be so handsome!"

•••

By the time Kira managed to convince the old seamstress she had found in Kribirsk to alter one of her gowns in order to fit her, the sun was already setting. She stood on a little bench, dressed in a pale teal gown adorned by pearls down the skirt, and was desperately trying to hold her breath to not to get stung by the needle.

"Thank you again, Aya," Kira muttered with a smile as the old seamstress made another nearly invisible adjustment to the hem of the dress. "I can't believe I was so careless. Mother is always yapping about the importance of dressing important and I forgo that until the last minute."

"Your mother sounds wise," Aya said with a grunt and Kira nearly laughed.

"She's... a mother, I guess. She would never help a young lady by offering a dress on such short notice though."

"Dear, the case you pleaded had me saying yes by the first smile," Aya said batting away Kira's hand as she tried to fiddle with a loose pearl. "This gown is old-fashioned, but I believe it's scandalous enough no one will notice. However, this young man you talk about will have to keep his hands to himself, the pearls are fragile. I wouldn't dance either."

Kira let out a chuckle. Kaz would surely keep his hands to himself. She had used him again as part of her ruse, using his words from the carriage plan to include in her dance with the truth. "Can you imagine? He called me his wife! Oh, marriage is unreal."

"Do you have jewels made of pearls?" Aya asked absentmindedly.

Nodding Kira glanced at the satchel by the corner of the room. "Oh, I found just what I needed after you showed me the dress."

She had tried on the gown and allowed Aya to see what needed adjusting before she put on her old dress and slipped out of the boutique, to go and steal some other woman's pearls as the seamstress worked on what she could without her there. Now they were just going over the last details and soon, Kira would be joining the crew to enter the palace.

But certainly not as a ballet dancer (she would not put Marko's show on the line with her ungracious moves). She would walk in as part of the crew and present herself as part of the nobility.

After everything was taken care of and the dress was properly packed up in a box along with the jewelry, Kira took a hold of it and smiled at the seamstress. "Thank you very much, Aya, may the sun summoner bless you."

Aya waved her off, "It was my pleasure. Have fun at the Winter Fete, dear."

Beaming, Kira hugged the woman and left the little boutique.

▪▫▪▫▪