CHAPTER EIGHT
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KIRA HAD LEARNED ONE IMPORTANT thing in her life. Everyone was born ignorant but remaining so stupid required a lot of effort. Thank the Saints the drüskelle were so strong.

The prejudice they had against Grisha, one that, given, transpired from Fjerdan borders, was something Kira hated. Men always feared that which they couldn't comprehend. That was the main reason she had been ripped away from her family, the reason why she didn't even call her skills by their proper name, the reason seeing the pin of a drüskelle in Nina Zenik's bed, next to her suitcase made her heart drop.

She couldn't begin to fathom what Nina would be put through at the hands of the Fjerdans, but she knew it would be much worse than anything she had ever done. Because the Fjerdans treated Grisha like some creature, one that they treated worse than dogs, on the chain of power. Like some beasts that had to be put down and they held trials for said 'beasts'. Not only did they kill them, but they also judged their very existence in a way only Saints should.

"What is it?" Jesper asked as he peered over the pin in her hands.

"Drüskelle," the Conductor said. "They are ruthless Grisha hunters."

"Explains the Fjerdan krydda the innkeeper was counting when we arrived," said Kaz. "It's likely he ratted her out."

"She's probably captive on a ship to Fjerda by now," Arken said with a sigh as Inej peered over the window.

"They had a clear line of attack."

Kaz nodded, "Take a look. Make sure there aren't any more surprises."

Inej put her hood over her head and slipped out the window as the Conductor sat heavily on the bed. "Well, that's that. We've lost our way into the Little Palace."

Kira pursed her lips, she met Kaz's eyes and he rose an eyebrow her way. Are you going to be our way into the Little Palace? it said and rather infuriatingly so. Kira glared at him.

She didn't say anything as they moved downstairs, exiting the inn just as Inej dropped in front of them, giving them the 'all clear'.

"This seems like a reasonable juncture to abandon this whole Sun Summoner plan," Arken said and Kaz turned back to look at the Conductor.

"Abandon? We're in this now. And I know what a million kruge means to me. What does it mean to you?"

"Freedom," Inej said.

"Fun," Jesper added and winked at Kira as he added, "Like, at least a few months."

The Conductor sighed. "Retirement."

They all looked at Kira, expectantly and the blonde shrugged. "An easier life?" she offered and Jesper snorted at her.

"Right, so we press on," said Kaz. "Get us across the Fold and I'll figure out the rest on the other side."

"Fine." The Conductor took a notebook from his pocket and began skimming it over. "To cross, I'll need 20 pounds of alabaster coal. A peck of Majdaloun jurda—Uh, not the kind from Kerch. It's too weak."

He peered over at Jesper, looking at him up and down and added, "And, uh... a goat."

Kira burst into a fit of giggles at the look on Jesper's face. He shoved her with a scowl and she yelped as she was shoved against Inej, who caught her arms. "You Zemeni brute!"

"Ravkan menace."

Kaz cleared his throat just as Kira was about to throw another insult. She shut up, and glared at Jesper who was smirking down at her.

"Now, we meet in the dead of night," the Conductor continued. "There's a wreckage of a skiff northeast, on the edge of town. So, who gets what?"

"Inej, jurda. I'll get the goat," Kaz said and took money from his pocket as he turned to Jesper. "And Jesper... just the coal, no detours."

"Hello?" Kira called out waving a hand. "What about me?"

"You're with me," Kaz said promptly as the others set off on their way, leaving the two of them behind.

"Kaz, don't you think it's too soon for us to get a goat together?" Kira asked teasingly and Kaz scowled at her.

"You're not getting a goat with me." He looked ahead, making sure they were alone. "You're going to follow the Conductor and see what he's up to."

Kira frowned in disappointment. "That job has Wraith written all over it."

"Which is why it would be the obvious choice," Kaz said.

Kira sighed. "Fine."

•••

Kira pulled the hood of her cloak further down, and was reminded of the way Kaz used his hat—tilted down so it was hard to see his eyes.

She wasn't trying to hide her eyes; she was trying to hide her whole existence as she stopped in a little square where a man was giving a speech and looked up at the mural on the wall behind him.

She was supposed to be following the Conductor, and she was (to a certain extent), but the mural she was looking at was big enough to be a distraction.

It was a painting of a young girl, no younger than eight. She was framed like some dainty little Saint. Her eyes were big, hazel and hypnotic in their innocence. There wasn't a frown on her lips, merely a soft smile that graced every tourist and resident that passed by. The girl was wearing a white dress, her golden hair seemed to be moving with the wind, and she was glowing as the darkness of the Fold stood behind her.

And in that moment Kira felt like a monster.

A murderous monster who had killed the girl on the painting. They had put her on the mural like she was some divine intervention on the Civil War. A symbol of what the Lantsovs were willing to sacrifice—their own flesh and blood.

"They want you to believe the Sun Summoner has been found to finally tear down the wall that divides us," the man on the stage, Zlatan, was saying.

Kira shifted her attention to him just as the crowd roared in agreement.

"How many times have we been fed a story like that? Has the princess not taught us a lesson?" he asked.

Kira watched in bated breath as the crowd went quiet. She saw women wiping tears away, and people looking up at the sky as if praying. Her jaw slackened.

"The sacrifice of the princess showed us what they really are! They think themselves above the Fold! How many times have we in the West been told to send our sons and daughters through the Fold for another year?"

Her body froze as she felt a presence behind her and Kira didn't have to turn to know it was Kaz. She glanced around at him but Kaz wasn't looking at her, his eyes were fixed on the mural of the princess—of her.

He had a goat tucked in his arm, a cute little thing, and Kira wanted to melt and simultaneously giggle at the sight, but Kaz's eyes were dark, and his jaw was clenched. Not in the good way.

"It is time to accept that we need to break away from the old country. Now is the time to form our own country, to keep what we make and what we earn, instead of sending it to the East!" the man kept on speaking and Kaz's eyes were still on the mural. "For the true Ravka!"

The crowd was cheering, "True Ravka!"

"Kaz," Kira called in between the cheers and Kaz's eyes snapped to hers. He was looking at her differently. Kira winced.

"We'll talk later," he muttered and tore his gaze from hers, sweeping across the crowd, until they fell on a suspicious encounter Arken was having with the screaming general. Kira didn't care.

"Kaz, we can't talk later," she hissed. "What if we don't make it across the Fold?!"

"It wouldn't be the first time you died there, Princess," Kaz snapped at her and began limping away from her. Kira bristled.

"Kaz!"

He turned around briskly, and glared at her. "You told me I'd piece everything together. I did it. But you weren't just talking about that," he jutted a finger at the mural, "you knew I'd recognize your face."

Her face. Her younger face. The one stamped on the mural. The one she had grown out of through the years. The one she hoped Kaz would never recognize.

"Kaz, you have to understand—"

"You could've told me," he said dangerously. "What did you think I would do? Kill you?"

"Yes!" Kira glared up at him, the same way he was, "Yes. I did think you'd kill me. Because I'm the only person on this Earth who knows and I could destroy you with a whisper. Even though I would never do that."

"But you didn't trust me enough to trust you," Kaz finished, his voice cold. He turned his back from her and began walking.

"Kaz, don't walk away!"

But he did. Kira felt her chest tighten as he saw him disappear between the crowd. She fisted her hands, in suppressed anger and startled when she heard the ringing of bells and looked up to see the bell in the clocktower rocking from side to side. At fifteen past.

She took a deep breath and looked around, spotting Inej. Kira walked out of the crowd, and made her way to the Wraith standing before the memorial of the people who crossed the fold. Kira turned and saw a single golden plate in between the masses, her name scrawled upon it. Faina Kira Lantsov.

They were really milking the sacrifice thing.

"It's you, isn't it?"

Kira jumped in place, her hood nearly falling as Inej stood beside her.

"I haven't been her in a long time," she muttered, wiping the dust off the plate. "The princess died in the Fold."

Inej put a hand on Kira's shoulder but didn't answer. Kira smiled thankfully at the girl.

"He's cross, Inej," Kira whispered, her eyes not wavering from her name. She knew Inej knew who she was talking about. "Now do you understand why I didn't want to come?"

Inej nodded.

"Do you think he'll hand me off to the palace? For some sort of reward?"

"Kaz wouldn't do that." Kira turned her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. Inej gave her an annoyed look. "He wouldn't. Not to you."

"I wouldn't be so sure. He probably hates me now."

Inej was quiet for a few moments and when Kira turned to look around her lips were tugging into an amused smile. "Faina. That's your name. Very royal."

Kira scowled.

"It's a family name," she grumbled. "Only my family called me that." She let out a nostalgic laugh. "Well, my brothers only did when they were cross with me."

"So, all the time?" Inej asked in amusement and Kira elbowed her in the ribs, a laugh leaving both of them.

"We need to go."

Both girls turned around to see Kaz standing behind them, goat in tow.

"He's adorable," Inej said with a small smile and Kira let out a laugh, that she quickly hid with a cough.

"Don't get attached," Kaz said. "I didn't think I'd have to specify no detours to you."

"Even if just a few minutes could end a lifetime of questions?" Inej asked.

"Your parents are Suli. They don't cross the Fold. They go around."

"I know." Inej sighed and reached for the necklace around her neck. "I just thought... that if I saw their names on there, I could let the idea of them go. This thing? This was all that I had when I was sold to the Menagerie. And if it was worth anything, Heleen would have taken it. But this is just a simple token of faith that my mother stitched. Kaz, this is all that I have left of them. Unless..."

"Hope is dangerous," Kaz said. "It clouds your judgment. Pray, scream, do whatever you have to do to push this out of your mind and move on. We all have debts to pay," he added and looked over at Kira, coldly.

She glared at him.

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