CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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WEAKNESS HAD NO PLACE in Kira's life but it managed to shove itself on board either way.

They were few, her weaknesses. The obvious ones were physical, she could bleed out just as well as anyone else, her bones would break and shatter like anyone else, she could drown and she could burn. Being human was a weakness no one had the luxury of escaping.

As much as she refused to admit it, the blow to her head had weakened her physically but other than that it had been exhilarating. It didn't take away her charms or her ability to smile but it affected her in some way she wasn't quite ready to admit to anyone.

She had never been there. So close to Death she could see Him. Death looked dark and dirty and like magical havoc. It was ready to steal her soul away, but the truth was Kaz had gotten there first. Like the thief he was, he'd stolen that last bit of her the moment he picked her up.

However, coming back from a near one-way trip to the realms of Death... It was as if the chaos within her nightmares had been unleashed inside her mind. She craved that feeling now more than ever. Being so close to Death made her feel alive.

The thrill of clawing her way back to life... Because she had one. A life. She finally had a life to claw her way back to.

She wasn't surviving anymore. Not really. She'd found her home. Wasn't that what it was? Not where you're from but where you're wanted. Kira felt wanted amongst the Crows. Her family. And she would crawl back from Death every time just so she could keep living with them.

But she was scared.

Now more than ever. Because what she had realized during those moments in limbo, was that she had more to lose than she cared to admit. How she had gotten to this point she didn't know. But love didn't really ask permission. It hit her over the head like a bag of bricks with every friend she'd picked up along the way. And how terrible it was to love something death could touch.

Jesper grunted from beside her, as the four of them stood below deck on the skiff. He was frantically cleaning his guns and Kira was watching him amused.

Weakness is a guise, her brother's voice echoed in her head, wear it when they need to know you're human, but never when you feel it. Kira would hide every one of her weaknesses behind bright smiles and laughter, and at some point, she started to believe her guise herself. It was easier. To laugh in the face of fear than cower before it.

"This is a bad idea," Jesper muttered.

"Every good plan starts with a bad idea," Kira replied and smiled when Kaz nodded.

"I think it's rather practical," he said.

"What? Why?" asked Jesper, incredulously.

"I don't see how we step off this boat without you pulling those guns," replied Kaz. Jesper let out a humorless chuckle. Kira bit her lip in order not to laugh. "So, cleaning them is a good idea."

"I don't mean this. I mean this." Just as Jesper finished speaking volcra growled from above. "We are in the worst place in the world, on a ship full of people who want us dead, surrounded by monsters who want us in their gullets."

"I for one don't want us dead," Kira replied and Jesper narrowed his eyes at her. She shrugged.

"I should have brought Milo."

Inej frowned. "Who's Milo?"

"The goat," replied Jesper and Kira at the same time.

"How many bullets do you have?" Kaz asked Jesper as volcra continued to growl and howl from beyond the skiff's walls, and Kira took a pouch from inside her dress's pocket where she had pocketed every metal button she'd found in the boutique where she had stolen her dress from.

"Not enough," replied Jesper.

"Stop being dramatic, Jes," Kira said waving him off as she stood up. "The General won't be paying attention to the likes of us. Especially when he's trying to accomplish... Whatever the opposite of destroying the Fold is."

"What did you just—" Inej was cut off as a loud blast from above was heard and they all looked up to see blue light shining from above.

"So?" asked Jesper. "What's our play?"

"We wait," Kaz replied.

"For what?"

"Did you not hear what I said?" Kira asked, gaping at the sharpshooter. She glanced over at Kaz and the latter rolled his eyes at her but nodded.

"We wait for whatever the general has planned. Kira is right. Consider the scenario," began Kaz. "The Sun Summoner fled from his palace, now she's tied to the deck. We're sailing for a city where another Ravkan general hired Arken to kill her. And I saw his face as he boarded. I know that look." A muscle in Kaz's jaw ticked and Kira's smile fell. "He's a man consumed with vengeance."

"See it enough in the mirror, do you?" said Jesper, raising an eyebrow in his direction. Kira tore her gaze away from Kaz's face.

Regret played no part in Kira's life. There was only one thing she regretted and that was letting revenge become Kaz's will to live.

What happened afterward? After he had ripped Pekka Rollins off every brick and had destroyed his empire. What did Kaz Brekker look like without revenge in his soul and ghosts in his ears? Ghosts that remained a secret he didn't share with anyone—not even her. What would Kaz live for then?

"So? What kind of revenge is he planning, exactly?" asked Jesper.

"We know it requires the Sun Summoner, which makes her valuable to us," replied Kaz. "She's the one keeping everyone safe in here. If we have control of her, then we call the shots."

"We need to threaten her life, then," Kira concluded.

"What?!"

Kira reeled back to find Inej pointing a gun at the head of a ragged-looking pretty boy with a buzzed haircut. It was a peculiar sight, but the look on the boy's face made Kira frown. He wasn't someone trying to get to West Ravka. The look on his face was clear, and that meant he was in the skiff on a mission. One that she could bet would have something to do with the Sun Summoner.

"Who's this?" asked Jesper. "Who are you?"

"A stowaway," answered Inej. "Why pick this of all skiffs?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kira asked and the boy looked at her with a frown. She smiled at him. "He's here to kill the general and save Alina. Aren't you?"

His jaw slackened but he pulled himself together quickly before nodding. Kira smiled triumphantly.

"I'll ask again." Jesper cocked his gun, pointing it at the boy. "Who are you?"

"Mal Oretsev."

"You know Alina?" asked Kaz.

"I do."

"Who's in control of her?"

"The general I'm going to kill."

Kaz nodded. "Inej, give him his gun."

"Why?"

"Because if he isn't with Kirigan's crew, he's with ours."

"Welcome aboard, Oretsev." Kira clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm afraid we don't have a welcome basket. I hope saving Alina is enough."

Mal grinned wryly at her and when Kira looked around she saw Kaz looking at her with a scowl. She smiled widely at him and winked.

However, her smile was soon to falter. For what the General had in mine was in fact the opposite of destroying the Fold.

It was a weapon, Kira had realized. The biggest weapon Ravka had. Kirigan knew it too. However, unlike Kira who'd never dreamed of using it, the Darkling had probably been imagining this moment for centuries. Probably since he created the Fold, Kira thought to herself.

She didn't know what made her connect the dots. Not entirely but she remembered her days at the palace. She remembered the stories of the Darklings that stood behind the kings of Ravka. Genya had once told her powerful Grisha could live a thousand lives, the more power one had the more years one harvested from Death. If the Black Heretic had been powerful enough to create the Fold, he would easily manage to live a thousand lives afterward.

It was the moment the Fold moved forward, and the agony-riddled screams were heard as Novo-Kribirsk was consumed by the Shadows that Kira realized the Darkling and the Black Heretic were one and the same. Only the latter created the Fold as an accident, and the former had a thousand years to realize what he could do with its powers.

His hatred for the crown is as obvious as his hatred of color, Kira remembered thinking that at the Winter Fete. Hatred like the Darkling had, one a nine-year-old nosy little princess could see as she sneaked into the Little Palace to hear the whispers within its walls, was something that took time to create.

And perhaps, Kira was wrong. And they weren't the same men at all. Perhaps all her deductions were hit or miss. But the shouting of pain and agony in Novo-Kribirsk was real. And it made her shiver in horror. Kira feasted in chaos. But this wasn't it. This was a slaughter. This was madness and cruelty.

"What now?" asked Jesper.

"We wait."

"Kaz," Inej called, "you can hear him slaughtering a city."

"So you understand the scale of his power, then? Good."

"The bold move is to strike now," Mal said, his fists clenched.

"And the smart one is to get clear of the damned Fold first," Kaz replied.

Mal nodded before walking away. "I never said I was smart."

"Can you believe him?" Jesper asked just as Inej dropped the jacket.

"I'm going with him," she said.

Kira cursed under her breath. "I'm going to regret this."

With that, she took off running after Inej.

She found the Suli girl stuck in a duel with a Heartrender on the upper deck and the Grisha who had nearly killed her commanding the ship's sails. Kira met her eyes and glared at her, the latter raised her hands in surrender just so she could blast wind at the Heartrender fighting Inej and send him overboard. "That's not enough to get us even," Kira told the girl as she ran to help Inej up.

"That doesn't matter now," the girl said, "Help me stop him."

Kira and Inej nodded and the wind around them picked up, gusting through the sails as the ship moved forward.

"Zoya?" was heard from down below, the General speaking. "Zoya!"

Gunshots were fired and Inej moved quickly out of Kira's side throwing a dagger right into General Kirigan's chest. Kira held her breath as he stumbled backward but as he looked up, she knew. He wasn't down yet.

Without another thought, she raised her hands in the air, drawing them together before firing shot after shot with the buttons in her pouch on her pocket, ripping through the fabric.

The buttons clattered around the General's keftas' but were successful in making him stagger backward, but as soon as one hit the side of his neck, drawing blood, he groaned in frustration and another second caught the incoming button she had thrown his away.

His nose flared as he met Kira's eyes. "Buttons, princess?"

Kira rolled her eyes, and pushed her hands forward, melting the metal he held in his hand, welding it onto his skin, and making Kirigan scream. "You always underestimated the Durasts, Black Heretic. A shame really."

"ENOUGH! It will take more than this!" He ripped the dagger from his chest even though Kira kept on digging the metal of the button deeper into his palm. Stretching out his arms before him, Kira's concentration faltered as the light around them began receding. And suddenly she was in the dark.

Kira glanced around as volcra got louder around them. And then Zoya was thrown to the floor at her feet and in an instance, Inej was there next to her, both girls crouching down next to who should've been the enemy in different circumstances (given the attempted murder and all).

Inej took her daggers out and passed one to Kira. The latter nodded in appreciation before they both stood up, back to back as they threw the daggers at the volcra. Kira making them come back every time.

And as a volcra got much too near, in one second they were three. Kaz stood beside her. He lunged forward with his cane and bashed the volcra's head in, making Kira grin as it started scrambling away.

"I thought I told you I didn't need you to keep my grave empty," Kira mused as they took a fighting stance once more. Kaz glanced over his shoulder at her.

"A deal is a deal, Whisperer. I'm helping you live."

That you are, Brekker. Kira's grin widened.

And then the light around them grew stronger as Alina regained control. Volcra stepped back and some of the tension in their shoulders left. Kira fell to her knees next to Zoya's body and without a second thought, she slapped the girl in the face.

Zoya gasped as she woke up and turned to Kira with a glare. "Saints, what is wrong with you?!"

"I thought that might wake you up," replied Kira as she held out a hand for Zoya. The Squaller gave her a long steely stare before accepting and Kira pulled her up. "That might even the score a tad more."

"I cannot believe you are a Lantsov," Zoya mumbled.

"Because I'm dashingly beautiful and not at all pretentious?"

"Because you don't hide behind a crown to hurt people."

"Why hide?" Kira asked, the grin not leaving her face. "I'd probably just hit you with the crown."

"I recommend we get moving," Kaz cut through their conversation.

As Zoya gathered her energy to keep the skiff moving, Kira turned to see on the deck as Jesper's heart was stopped by a Heartrender after he'd tried to save Alina. Without a second thought, she ripped the buttons off Jesper's coat, and hit the Heartrender in the face, throwing him overboard.

Jesper gasped, looking up at her, his lips parted. "You're a... You're like..."

"Later, Jes," Kira said as she jumped onto the deck, using her powers to land swiftly on the ground with the help of her boots.

Just then Mal passed by her, breathing loudly as if he'd just come out of a fight, and ran towards Alina's unconscious body. The Sun Summoner was out and they were in the dark again.

Kira ignored as Mal nearly wept over Alina's body as she prepared to show volcra just how creative she could be with yielding metal. Then the light returned, because, of course, Alina Starkov wouldn't die at the hands of a Heartrender, and the skiff was moving out of the Fold.

•••

"So... will you still be trying to kidnap me?" Alina asked as they stood around the fire, eyeing each of the crows with a healthy amount of suspicion (all except Inej who had just confirmed her undying faith in her new Saint).

"'Course not," said Jesper.

Kaz stared at him, looking mildly disgusted. "Have you found religion, too?"

"No, it's just..." Jesper sighed. "I'm exhausted. Besides... it'd be bad form to kidnap someone after they saved your life."

Kira let out a laugh. She looked at Alina and smiled. Genuinely. "I'm not above kidnapping a Saint. But... I am above kidnapping a pseudo-new friend."

Alina gave her a smile.

"You are quite valuable, you know?" asked Kaz, ever the businessman.

Alina rounded the fireplace and approached Kaz, taking out a piece of jewelry Kira only saw in her nightmares. "So is this."

"That's my mother's," Kira said with a grimace.

"It's not a gift," Alina added.

"Of course not, that technically belongs to me," Kira said incredulously.

Zoya coughed loudly. "Technically, you're dead, your highness."

"Oh. That's right. And I'd like to remain unalive. Let's call it the start of our secret-keeping friendship," Kira said with a smile and turned to Alina. "I'm guessing you're giving it to Kaz so he keeps quiet about who you are?"

Alina nodded. "And where I go from here."

Kira's eyes met Kaz's and she raised an eyebrow at him. Kaz's jaw clenched but he nodded, pocketing the jewelry. "The deal is the deal."

•••

"We set out with a clear mission, a prize of a million kruge," Jesper recited as they boarded the ship taking them to Ketterdam, after saying their heartfelt goodbyes to Zoya, convincing Inej not to abandon them for the Sun Summoner, and hearing a lot of yapping that wasn't Kira's doing. "And a new member on our crew. So..."

Jesper took a seat on a wooden box and Kira followed suit, along with Kaz and Inej.

"What did we learn?" Jesper asked. "People with trains are evil. You can't kidnap a human sunbeam. And maybe, just maybe, greed is a poor motivator. True wealth is the friends you make along the way."

Inej smiled, "I just might be impressed."

"I'm talking of Milo, of course," Jesper concluded with a wink. "But I won't have my smelly friend when walking into Ketterdam."

"Where Dreesen is waiting for our return," said Inej.

"And Pekka Rollins," added Kaz.

"They'll both want our heads once we show up without the Sun Summoner," said Inej.

"Pekka Rollins already wanted my head," Kira pointed out. "I just have Dreesen to add to my tally."

"Well, I'm sure the boss has a plan," Jesper said with a nervous laugh. "He wouldn't send us into a death trap. Tell me you have a plan. I don't care if it's a lie."

Kaz nodded. "I have a plan." Half-lie, Kira concluded. "And, just how this all started... we're going to need a Heartrender."

"What? I won't do?" Kira asked offended.

"No. For this to work, it has to be someone neither of them knows, and someone who can actually stop a heart," replied Kaz.

Kira scoffed. "I stop hearts everywhere I go, Kaz. People break their necks to get a better look at me."

"Whilst that may be true, we need someone who can rely on more than just appearances. A Heartrender. Someone desperate for work, with loyalties only to us," Kaz finished.

Kira sighed loudly, placing her head on Inej's shoulder. "Fine. But I'll have you know you just admitted I'm dashingly, and mortally gorgeous, Kaz Brekker. You will never be able to take that back."

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author's note:

that's the last of act one.
i hope you enjoyed it as
much i enjoyed writing it.
i have a bunch of ideas for act two,
but i still have to plan it out so it
may take me a few days to get started.

how did you like season two?

cause i f*cking loved it!
it was way better than i'd expected.
and nikolai! and kanej!
and wylan! and nina!
and the lines they took right from the books!
i just loved it. can't wait to write act two.