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chapter sixteen | dangerous waters
episode one

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Despite the darkness, Neave felt like she was home.

Though, there was no home in the stretch of the Fold that had grown, engulfing a nearby village. Neave heard the screams; felt the eerie chill of the sea of darkness, but it all came with that familiar feeling of comfort within the shadows.

Squinting her eyes, Neave tried peering through the neverending storm of shadow.

Who — or what — she was looking for, she didn't know. Not when the creator of the Fold was dead, killed by his own monstrous creations.

Dead until...

"Lidia."

All it took was the one name to cause Neave to still, feeling her bones turn to ice. No matter how much she feared the voice, a part of her still longed for the impossible.

The Darkling was dead, Neave reminded herself again.

Yet, as she turned, her eyes fell on his familiar form as if he was still alive and unscathed. He stood close to her with eyes so dark that they blended with the Fold, but those irises hung on Neave as if she was the stars.

If this was a dream or a nightmare, Neave wasn't so sure.

"You have a habit of slipping through my fingers," her father told her.

Neave took a step back from him. "You're not real."

And the Darkling stepped closer. "I called and you answered."

"That doesn't make any sense," Neave said.

"That's not surprising," said the Darkling. "You're untrained, Lidia. If you had stayed with me, then I could have shown you everything."

"I don't want to see everything," Neave argued.

"Oh, but you will," the Darkling promised. "The power calls to you and you can only resist it for so long. One day, you will willingly return to my side."

"I'm never coming back," Nevave told him. "You're dead."

His lips twitched as if amused. "I'll see you soon, malen'kaya zvezda."

Little Star.

Then, with that, a Volcra cried as Neave jumped to turn, ready to protect herself. However, before the creature even appeared, Neave's body was darting upwards as she woke up from her nightmare.

They were still on the ship as Neave panted, flinching at the slight frob that remained in her ribs from the aftermath of the Fold. While they had been travelling, Neave had been healing and was almost back to normal.

Now, her eyes fell on Kaz, who was the only one awake amongst them. He gripped his cane, recognising the aftermath of a nightmare, but he didn't comment on it.

"We're back," Kaz informed her instead.

So Neave's eyes slid to the familiar glow of Ketterdam.

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The plan for Neave had been simple: if anyone had suspected anything before, then there was no reason to arouse any further suspicion, so she would return to the Crow Club as a barmaid again. However, what came next for Neave as a crow, she was yet to be told.

Ketterdam was a welcomed sight for the four, who were eager to return, yet they couldn't help but walk through the city on edge, knowing their comeback without the Sun Summoner would not go down well.

"Home sweet home," Jesper commented as they walked through the city. "Straight off the boat from Ravka and no one was waiting to kill us as soon as we arrived. Yay. That's a good sign. I think I might celebrate with a little dice and debauchery."

Even though Neave wanted to believe it was a good sign, she was still apprehensive.

"No debauchery," Kaz told him.

"Dice then," Jesper said.

"No dice," said Kaz. "We have stops to make."

"What's first?" Inej asked. "Tante Heleen?"

That caused Neave's heart to flare with hope, more than happy to handle that first.

"We get to the Crow Club," Kaz informed them.

"Oh, I can't wait," said Neave with a happy smile. "I do hope Rotty has missed me."

Though, as they reached the part of the Barrel where their Crow Club was, Neave's smile vanished with all hope of no trouble disappearing too. A new sign had replaced their one, which caused Neave's dark eyes to fall on Kaz.

"Where's our sign?" Jesper questioned.

"It's been replaced," Kaz answered.

"The Kaelish Prince?" Inej read.

"What sort of name is that?" Jesper demanded.

"Dime Lions," Kaz replied.

"Pekka Rollins owns the Crow Club?" Inej realised.

That wasn't a good sign as Neave felt her stomach twist, unable to look away from Kaz.

"Do you think everyone's okay?" Neave questioned, thinking of Rotty and the other members of staff that they had left behind. "Kaz?"

"Where does that leave us?" Jesper added. "Are you saying we have no home?"

Kaz was silent, staring ahead as he processed the new information. There was a hint of fear on his face, but it was overshadowed by the pure look of rage.

"My suits," said Jesper. "All my hats."

"Split up," Kaz told them. "It's not safe."

A whistle had blown, where Kaz's warning had been too late. Neave's eyes had shot wide, knowing it was time to run. Even after everything, Marian's words echoed: run, don't be caught.

"Halt!" The constable shouted. "You four! Hands up!"

They were surrounded by the Stadwatch which made any escape impossible when guns were pointed at them. Neave wondered if she was supposed to do something, but Kaz raising his hands in surrender told her that now was not the time to expose her power.

So, with that, Neave felt her bottom lip wobble and her eyes swelled with forced tears as she rose her hands in surrender too. If anything, Kettterdam still knew her as the Darling of the Barrel, so Neave would let that charade continue.

"Kaz Brekker. Jesper Fahey," the constable continued. "Inej Ghafa. And Neave Villena. It was only a matter of time before you turned up."

"Is there a problem?" Kaz questioned.

"For you?" The constable replied. "Yeah. You're wanted for murder."

"What?" Jesper questioned in exasperation from the accusation. "We just got back in town."

"M-murder?" Neave repeated, voice trembling.

A gun barrel clicked into place as Neave fell silent, keeping her eyes wide with fear as she was quick to look away, appearing frightened. Her hands remained above her head, truly hoping this was just a mistake.

"Unless it's a crime to kill Volcra," Jesper said.

Neave really did feel the chill of fear at the mention of those monstrous creatures.

"Very funny, gunslinger," the constable said. "Now, slowly, hand over those shooters. And you, give up the cane."

Neave was still checked by the guards, where the knifes attached to her boot were confiscated, and her father's necklace was discovered. As they tried touching her skirts, Neave yanked herself away from them, shooting them a glare.

"And you, spy—"

But Inej was gone, which Neave could have laughed at if she wasn't trying to shake the guards from her last blade that was strapped to her thigh.

"Oi! Where'd she go?"

They looked around, but the wraith was long gone and that made Neave feel better. If any of them got away, then it would be Inej.

"Yeah, she does that," Jesper commented.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Neave added, proudly.

"Three's enough for now," said the constable as he reached for the metal handcuffs that started to rattle. "Come on. Off to Hellgate to await trial."

"Hellgate?" Neave repeated with the fear real now. The constable locked the handcuffs in place as Neave felt the tears slide down her cheeks, trying everything possible that she had in her. "Please," she begged. "I'm innocent."

"You won't survive the night anyway, sweetheart," said the constable.

Neave continued to cry as they put her in the back of the wagon with Jesper and Kaz following. Though, Neave knew that if any of them would survive Hellgate, then it would be Neave. Kaz too, but Neave would get them out.

But for Neave to escape, Hellgate would have to burn.

Already in the cart, she was the only woman, and she knew she stuck out like a sore thumb without seeming a single bit worthy of being sent to Hellgate. Still, that left her too vulnerable, where the prisoner's eyes already lingered on her.

Neave tried keeping herself as close to Jesper as she could.

"Let's all go back to Ketterdam, it'll be fun, they said," Jesper said, sounding bitter. "Now I'm off to Hellgate. Hellgate."

Kaz remained silent, but his handcuffs rattled.

"Pekka's got his grotty fingers in every part of that pie," Jesper continued as he sighed.

"Why am I even here?" Neave questioned. "Pekka never knew about me."

For a second, Kaz caught Neave's wide-eyed stare with his mind whirling with the thought too. No one had known that Neave had left with them as she had never been a part of the original plan — all she had been was a last-minute add-on.

Yet, the carriage shook as Kaz's focus fell down to his hands, where Neave's eyes were glued to him, sensing that his breathing started to shake.

"We end up there, we're as good as dead," Jesper continued.

"Jes," Neave warned.

A prisoner next to Kaz moved closer with Neave noticing Kaz recoil. If Neave was a heartrender, then she knew his heart would be erratic at that moment. Even Jesper noticed now with the two concerned for him.

"Boss?" Jesper questioned.

"Kaz?" Neave spoke his name softly, full of worry.

Though, there was no response from Kaz.

"Hey, stop this wagon!" Jesper shouted, starting to bang his hands against the wood.

"Please!" Neave pleaded. "Stop!"

"Shut up!" A prisoner shouted at them.

"Now!" Jesper continued, voice loud.

"Oi!" The constable's voice rose.

"Settle down," another prisoner warned them.

The wagon stopped as Jesper and Neave exchanged a look, surprised that they were even being listened to. A lock was opened before the door swung open to reveal the constable, who looked about fed up with the drama of the night.

"You three," he pointed at them. "Out."

"Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure," Jesper said, happily.

"It really hasn't," Neave corrected, yanking her skirt from the hands of the prisoner next to her as she glared at him.

"Come on," Jesper ushered them out, eager to leave like Neave was.

Though, it wasn't completely good news as the three were ushered into a building with the handcuffs still firmly in place. Neave's hands could still easily touch to call to the shadows, but she knew Kaz would give the signal when it came to playing their last card.

The guards pulled out three chairs in an open space, forcing them to sit. A guard was gentle with Neave, but she wasn't sure what kind of act she needed to survive.

"Watch the coat," Jesper complained. "What's all this then?"

"Somebody paid good kruge to spend some time alone with you three," the constable told them.

Behind him, the door opened with Neave not recognising the man. Whoever he was, then Neave was confused to why she was being dragged into this, but then again, she supposed she had joined the crows, so whatever trouble they were in, so was she now.

"Criminals."

"Dreesen," Kaz said.

Now that made sense. Dreesen had been the one to hire the three to capture the Sun Summoner and now they had returned emptyhanded. Still, Neave was surprised that they knew about her involvement since it wasn't ever confirmed to Dreesen.

"Hmm," Dreesen started, walking towards them with his hands on his hips. "Ten minutes alone."

Then he turned, handing the constable a stack of kruge. "Out you go."

Taking the stack of money, the constable and his guards quietly left. Though, Dreesen's own men remained as Neave's eyes flickered around them all, landing on the one other woman in the room. Her brown eyes were stuck on Neave. Even in the uniform, the face felt familiar, but Neave was clueless.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Dreesen questioned, capturing Neave's attention again, but the woman's gaze still remained locked on Neave.

"We've been framed for murder?" Jesper guessed.

Dreesen scoffed. "I'm not asking about that. Where is Alina Starkov?"

"We don't have her," Kaz confessed.

"Obviously," Jesper added.

"It wasn't our fault," Neave insisted.

"You left with an advance on my million kruge," said Dreesen, eyeing all three of them, where Neave knew by that look she was just as guilty as the others. "With passage on my ship and you dare to return empty-handed. The deal was meant to include one Sun Summoner in exchange for the advance. And you step off the ship with no such person in your possession. Clearly, you must have something of value to me or else you would not have dared—"

"It wasn't your money, Dreesen," Kaz cut him off.

Neave's head darted to the left, shocked eyes falling on Kaz, who was sitting in the middle of them.

"You were brought in as an intermediary," continued Kaz. "Someone to hire the likes of us. But this operation wasn't yours. It was his."

Neave followed Kaz's gaze, where her dark irises fell on one of Dreesen's men. His hands were clasped in front of him and his face held no expression.

"Wasn't it?" Kaz questioned.

"Outrageous," Dreesen argued.

"Yes, yes," the man silenced him as he stepped forward, leaving Neave staring at him in a stunned state of shock. "Totally convincing. Thank you, Dreesen, but I'll take it from him."

However, there was no movement or even an acknowledgement from Dreesen as they all looked at him, waiting for the man to leave now that he wasn't needed. Neave's eyes fell back to the blonde, noticing how young he was, but she wondered if this was a new enemy of theirs.

"That was me politely telling you to get out," the man told him. "So, go on."

Dreesen scoffed, not liking to be told to leave. Keeping his chin high, Dreesen addressed the rest of his men to leave with him. Only Neave's eyes fell on the Shu Han woman, who only moved closer to the blonde man. Again, her eyes were stuck firmly on Neave, where she felt her heartbeat quicken.

"Well, this is much easier," said the man, turning his back to them as he removed his hat to place it on the side before he closed the door. "Tell me, what gave it away?"

"You dress too well for a bodyguard," Kaz told him as the man listened, walking closer to the three again. "And you were hanging on every word like it was your money on the table. You wanted to hear our story, but we don't know you. We know him. So you kept up the charade until now. My question is: who are you?"

"What? You don't know me?" The man replied. "Maybe in profile."

He turned to the side as if the pose was supposed to make it obvious.

The woman rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face.

"What? No?" The man questioned, shocked. "Very well. The name's Sturmhond."

"I've heard of you," Jesper realised.

"Yeah, I should hope so," Sturmhond replied.

"And who are you?" Neave questioned the woman.

"Sturmhond's guard," she replied as Neave frowned.

"He's a very rich pirate," Jesper explained to them.

"A privateer, actually," Sturmhond corrected. "It's an important distinction."

"The question remains," Kaz insisted. "Why is the Sun Summoner so important to a privateer?"

"Well, you may not be aware, but half the world is looking for her," Sturmhond said. "Or even just confirmation of death. And the rewards gone up," he pulled out a poster from his pocket to show them. "Twenty million to hand her over to Fjerda. Turns out they weren't particularly pleased with Kirigan and the Sun Summoner's plan to weaponize the Fold."

Neave's eyes landed on the sketched poster of the Darkling and the Sun Summoner. At the sight of her father, Neave felt her blood run cold, but there was that tug deep within her heart with the reminder of grief.

"Alina never had such..." Jesper was laughing until he realised his mistake as he cleared his throat, failing to cover up. "You were saying."

"You're on first-name terms," said Sturmhond before his eyes were on Neave again. "And by the look on your face, you're a little too attached too. Where is she now?"

Jesper groaned. "We don't know where Alina is. She's gone."

"Honestly," added Neave. "Please. You have to believe us."

"What was your name again?" Sturmhond asked.

Neave felt her throat tighten, eyes landing on the woman again, who remained staring. "Neave."

"Neave," the man repeated, smiling. "You're a better liar than your friend, I'll give you that."

For some reason, Neave felt exposed, but she wasn't sure why.

However, Sturmhond's eyes were on Kaz again. "Escaped? I know you've gotten out of those cuffs. And if I had time, I'd insist you tell me how."

Neave felt her heart still, knowing what Sturmhond's play was: he was going to give them time to escape in exchange for information about Alina. Even though she knew in her heart what Kaz would do, she kept her gaze focused, trying not to reveal anything.

The handcuffs Kaz wore fell to the floor with the sound rattling.

"Thanks," said Sturmhond, turning away from them as he stood with the strange woman again, who remained a silent companion. "My intel informs me that the Sun Summoner was wearing this when she entered the Fold," he held up the jewels, as well as the ones Neave originally had in her pockets that had been confiscated when she had been searched and he walked back towards them. "It's part of the Queen's collection. A well-known piece, the fabled garnets of Ivets. And this happens to belong to the General. Do you want to hear what my intel told me about that?"

Neave froze, feeling the ice of her secrets already.

"A second woman was sighted entering the Fold with the General and the Sun Summoner," he continued, eyes focused on Neave. "The rumour is that the Darkling's daughter has returned from the dead."

It felt like a test as Neave kept her face expressionless, knowing rumours had a habit of spreading like wildfire. If it had already reached Ketterdam, then perhaps Neave had been too naive to think that she would live freely.

"And you just happen to have Annette Ninomae's necklace," Sturmhond's eyes fell back to Kaz again. "So, either the two used these to pay you off to keep quiet about where they were going or you found their bloody corpses and stole them from their necks like vultures."

"How dare you?" Jesper responded, outraged. "How even — we are not vultures, we are crows."

Sturmhond laughed in response.

"And that makes more sense with context," Jesper added. "But my point is, we're not grave robbers."

"Which means it was a pay-off," Sturmhond realised. "So you know where the Sun Summoner went?"

"Just the Sun Summoner?" Neave questioned.

"Just the Sun Summoner," Sturmhond confirmed. "I have no need to go chasing ghosts. Now if you tell me, I'll give you twenty seconds alone here before the Stadwatch comes back in."

Neave knew he knew who she was and she suspected Kaz had come to the same conclusion. It left Neave on edge, fighting the urge to fight or flee, where she smothered her mother's voice. Neave would run, but it had to be at the right time.

And Sturmhond, as well as his companion, would have to die.

Jesper laughed. "You can't bribe us."

"Leave the necklaces," said Kaz. "Give us twenty seconds and I'll tell you."

"Kaz?" Jesper warned.

But Neave's voice felt thick with the grief of their choices. Right now, they only had two plays: Neave exposed herself and saved them or they gave up Alina's whereabouts.

"Kaz," said Neave, hoping that speaking his name was enough to tell him that the only way out was for the two to die.

"Neave," Sturmhond warned. "I thought we could be friends."

In response, it was the strange woman who was first to act as her hands rose, revealing that she was a heartrender as Neave felt her heart being pulled. Her eyes shot wide, feeling the familiar pain as her arms went numb, unable to move her hands to summon the shadows.

Already, she felt her vision starting to fade.

"Let her go!" Jesper shouted.

"The bribe she paid you to keep quiet about her next move in exchange for your next move," Sturmhond continued. "I like it. Still, there is the mess of having to fence royal jewels."

"You keep the necklaces in exchange for leaving Neave out of this," Kaz offered.

"Kaz," Jesper warned, not liking how this was playing out.

His eyes were stuck on Neave, who was half-conscious now as the blood dripped from her nose. Jesper turned, looking towards Sturmhond's companion, who looked upset about having to harm someone for the sake of stopping them from using their powers.

"Who is Neave?" Sturmhond replied, smiling brightly. "You three stepped off the Edam tonight. Was the Sun Summoner with you then? Is she in town somewhere?"

"Kaz, don't," Neave whispered, but she heard no sound.

"She stayed on the ship to Noyvi Zem," Kaz snitched.

Satisfied with that, Sturmhond moved towards the door with his female companion following.

"Good luck," he told them. "And don't worry, I have as much reason as you to keep your Neave a secret. Trust me, though, I have every reason to come back too."

Then, with that, the two were quick to leave with Neave finally free from the entrapment of her heart. Neave gasped, struggling to breathe enough to keep up with her suddenly rapid heartbeat as it tried to catch up again.

Neave truly hated heartrenders.

"Neave," said Jesper as Kaz was standing, knowing the clock was ticking. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she reassured him, breathlessly as she wiped the blood from her nose. "Kaz, they have to die."

"We don't have time," Kaz told her.

"Any help with these?" Jesper responded as Kaz threw a coin at him, to which he easily caught. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Kaz simply looked at Jesper with the silence confirming that they knew about Jesper's secret. It was sad as Neave knew how he felt, but they all needed to be in the open with each other to survive.

"You knew," Jesper said.

"About you being a Durast?" Kaz replied. "Your gun misfired in Arken's train. You fixed it without moving. You repaired my cane with no tools. And when you shoot, you never miss. Of course, I knew. Just like Neave."

"Welcome to the club," Neave said.

Jesper stood, opening his hand to reveal that the metal had changed shape to create a key.

"Let's leave it at that, yeah?" Jesper said.

Kaz nodded at that. "I've no interest in letting others in on your secret."

"But it's so easy to spill the beans on Alina," Jesper said as Neave stood, finding her limbs shaky from the lack of blood flow with her heart still trying to catch up.

"He'd already deduced it," said Kaz. "He knew the name of the ship that we were coming in on. And he knew about Neave."

"Kaz, we have to kill them," Neave reminded him, watching as he placed a chair under the handle of the door, ready to block the guards that would be returning to them. "Anyone who knows has to die."

"That's a problem for another time," Kaz told her before his eyes fell on her. "You chose to join us, now you have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

Neave knew that her head and her heart were telling her two different things.

"I trust you," Neave promised him. "But what about Alina?"

"She's half a day ahead and he's a pirate," Jesper added. "We should warn her."

"How?" Kaz demanded. "And where do you intend to post a warning? She could be anywhere by now. And the point is that he's going after Alina, not Neave. We have enough on our plate here."

The doorknob started to rattle, signalling that their time was up.

"Speaking of," said Kaz. "Shouldn't you be concentrating?"

Jesper freed himself from the bonds as Neave looked down to her own chains in wonder to what she could do. As her hands briefly touched, she called on the shadows as the blackness appeared like smoke. It wrapped around the chains, cracking through the metal as the handcuffs dropped to the floor.

"That was impressive," Jesper commented.

Neave grinned. "It was, wasn't it?"

However, they had no time as they were quick to flee before the guards broke in. This time, they were able to get away, but Neave wondered if she had truly blown her luck.

Being a crow truly meant she was in dangerous waters now, especially with rumours of her secret threatening her exposure.

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Looks like Neave's not as safe as she thought! I'm honestly so excited for Neave to embrace her powers more in this season & figure out who she really is. I wanted to find a way to keep the Darkling still in Neave's life, but the "dreams" are not the same as the bond with Alina, so it will be explained!