Inej stared listlessly into the flickering fire of the hearth. Her deep brown eyes followed the snaps and crackles of the sparks as they danced over the flames. Her fingers brushed over the refuses of ash littering the floor, clearing a space big enough for her to kneel. With a heavy sigh, she bowed her head and began to pray.

Inej had a deep reverence for the saints. Kaz called her foolish and Jesper made fun of her but it did nothing to sway her from her beliefs. Now, as she offered penance, she was forced to realise that Kaz's plan involved plenty of sin, sin that perhaps penance didn't cover.

Her hands had been folded in prayer, now they were fingering the many blades that she kept hidden within the folds of her clothes. She had named them, one for each saint, and found that saying their names, over and over, helped quell the restless and uneasy thoughts of her heart.

But this time it was different. Those thoughts didn't go away.

Damn it, Kaz. You and your impossible jobs.

Inej shook her head and opened her eyes. Her mind was running in circles and she couldn't think in complete sentences.

Their relationship had always been like that though...confused, complicated, tense. There was no easy way to describe the two trickiest criminals in the Barrel, fighting everything and everyone around them, especially their feelings for each other.

They had had many conversations about it but they had all ended the same and nothing changed. Kaz wasn't easy to talk too at the best of times and emotional Inej trying to explain why she cared about him so much was basically a recipe for disaster.

Inej ground her teeth together in frustration as her mind flitted back to the days of cold, damp rooms, stale tasting bread, and fake scented silks. She shivered. That's what Kaz had saved her from and maybe that's why she felt so deeply for him. He had rescued her from the clutches of slavers and saved her from a dreaded promiscuous lifestyle. He had paid off her indenture to the Menagerie, a pleasure house deep in the evil clutches of mistress Tante Heleen. He had brought her under his wing and taught her how to fight, to fend for herself, to be deadly, to be vicious, to be feared, to be like him...

Or maybe it boiled down to the same old typical thing - he was the first one who showed her broken fourteen year old self a tiny shred of love and she had clung to it, become dependent on it, and oh, how she despised it; despised the fact that she felt so much for a man who would never look at her the same way.

Kaz - stupid, brilliant, selfish, remarkable Kaz. People saw the monster, she saw the gentle lamb. They saw the murderer, she saw a good man covered in scars. They saw the bastard, she saw the flawed heart of gold.

Jesper was right. There was no denying it for she, too, would follow Kaz wherever he went whether it be on this ludicrous job or the next one.

He hadn't told Jesper and Inej everything though - she knew that. But that was just him. He preferred to surprise them with further developments as they went along.

It had all started with a hushed rumour, one spun from the girl in the red dress who lived across the way. Inej had seen her before, dark wavy curls, green eyes as deep as emeralds, white, flawless skin. She worked as a therapist, helping to ease the distressed minds of many. She also demanded a high price for her services. Inej had no doubt that she was living quite luxuriously compared to the rest of them.

Inej didn't know why Kaz had been compelled to go over there, but he had and it was there that he'd heard the news of a competition being held in Great Britain six months from now. The prize? Worth more money than any of them had seen in a lifetime. And Kaz was determined to be the one to get it.

"What use is that information to us if we can't even get out of Ketterdam?" Jesper had complained. "Kirigan has men posted everywhere, men that are too frightened for their lives to be bought by any bribe or shameful secret. Not that we have any money to bribe them with anyway."

Kaz had just smirked, that small, wicked smirk. "Do you think I expect Kirigan to let us just walk out of here with matching hats and all the trimmings? It's obviously going to be a big job but I have no doubt we'll get it done."

"Kaz," Inej had offered gently. "I don't mean to be the pin in your plans but the only ones you can truly trust with this job are the ones in this room. We're going to need help if we're going to pull this off."

"Exactly," he had affirmed. "And help is what we're going to get."

Needless to say, Jesper and Inej had both been incredibly confused and suspicious. But that's where Kaz had left it and they both knew better than to argue with him when he was scheming. No man in all of Kerch did that better than Dirtyhands.

That morning Kaz had left before the sun was up. Inej had awoken to hear the click of the front door as it shut behind him. Softly, her bare feet had padded over to her bedroom window that overlooked the street.

Just beyond the roof of the buildings she could see Fifth Harbour, littered with Kirigan's navy and over-run with check-points. There only used to be fishing boats piled with nets and tackle boxes there once. Inej could actually see the ripple of the clear waters then. It had been one of her favourite things to do in the early mornings - to walk on the soft sand and to get her ankles splashed by the waves. Now, she refused to go to that dirty, contaminated place that smelled of curdled beer and cigar smoke.

It was only because Jesper didn't want to check out all the sailors on his own that Inej consented to go - just that once. And that's how they'd found Arken, bundled in fishing nets and floating on the surface of the water. One look and Inej knew - the situation reeked of Kaz Brekker.

But somehow, finding a body was a lot less disturbing than what she had witnessed from her window. Kaz had been standing at the door of the therapist's house, watching her as she flicked her hair, nodding as she talked, smiling as she laughed...wait...

Inej had screwed up her face.

Kaz was smiling?

"Whatcha doing there, stalker?"

Inej had given a surprised start but when she had seen that it was just Jesper, she had snorted and turned back around. "I'm not a stalker, Jesper, I'm a spy. It's kind of in my job description."

"Well, whatever you're looking at, let me see," Jesper had insisted as he sidled up beside her. "Unless, of course, you're looking into the distance thinking of a way to get into Kaz's pants..."

Inej had shoved him then. "Shut-up! I am not."

But as she knelt by the fire in the main room downstairs, Inej couldn't help but wonder what Kaz really thought of her. What was she to him? A friend or something more? A spy? An assassin? A deadly assailant the gangs feared and called the Wraith? His right-hand? His information? His investment?

Inej's heart sank as the last word popped into her mind. An investment. Surely, she was nothing more than a valuable investment to Dirtyhands. It was, after all, the only reason he had saved her that fateful day - so he could use her and her talent for being invisible. Her shoulders sagged a little. She had to face the cold, hard truth. There was no other plausible reason that Kaz Brekker had looked her way.

Bang.

The front door flew open and Inej leapt swiftly to her feet, flicking out two blades from her belt.

She paused when she saw Kaz in the doorway. "Why the grand entrance?"

"Where's Jesper?" Kaz queried as he limped into the room. "I have someone I want you both to meet."

Inej swallowed and lowered her knives. "Who?"

Kaz turned and held out a hand. The girl in the red dress stepped into the room and flashed Inej a beaming smile.

"Hi," she waved a bit awkwardly. "Heard a lot about you, Inej. Great to finally meet you."

Inej couldn't bring herself to say anything in reply so she just nodded. She tried to avoid looking at her but she couldn't help it. Something about this girl was absolutely captivating. No wonder Kaz couldn't stay away.

"Oh, where's my manners!" the girl laughed as she swept forward and held out a hand. "I'm Nina."

~~~

"See? I told you I would get help," Kaz smirked triumphantly.

Inej gave him a dirty look as she paced agitatedly around the room. "No one doubted you, Kaz, but do you really think this is a good idea? We don't know her! She could be working for Kirigan for all we know!"

"She isn't," Kaz spoke confidently, perhaps too confidently. "I've done my research. She's only just arrived here from Great Britain and I should think you two would get on well as she's also a believer."

Inej scoffed. "She could be a believer in many things. It doesn't make us the same."

"Hate to say it but I actually agree with Inej," Jesper shrugged. He leaned back in his chair and plonked his legs on the round coffee table in front of him. "We know nothing about this girl..."

"Nina," Kaz corrected.

"...Nina," Jesper relented.

"What is it that you're not saying, Kaz?" Inej demanded. "You're hiding something, I can tell. Out with it."

"Kaz is a man of many mysteries, Inej," Jesper laughed. "I doubt one more secret should faze us."

Kaz sighed and settled himself down on a chair, laying his cane across his knees. "Nina is from Ravka. She's Grisha. One of the few still left in hiding that Kirigan hasn't forced to work for him. She's been sojourning in Great Britain for the last few years. She barely missed going through all the shit that's happened here."

Inej paused. "She's Grisha? Like..." she trailed off and Kaz nodded.

"Yes, exactly like her," he said. "She's a Heartrender, capable of monitoring heart rates and healing wounds. She's quite powerful. I've seen what she can do. She'll help us get out of here."

"Why come back here at all?" Inej inquired suspiciously.

"She wanted to see her homeland again, she just didn't realise that Kirigan was in power," Kaz returned. "Now, if we pull off this heist, she can use her share of the money to go straight back to Ravka and help her people."

"And what will you do with your share of the money?" Inej raised her eyebrows. "Reopen the Crow Club? Go straight back to ruling the streets of Ketterdam while Kirigan lurks in the shadows?"

Kaz tightened his grip on his cane and shook his head. "No. Never. Once we leave, we can never come back."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well, I'm down," Jesper cut in cheerfully. "As long as Great Britain has betting tables, I'm a happy man. When do we leave, Kaz?"

"The sooner, the better," he replied grimly. "Now, let's all get to work. We have a lot to do before nightfall."

"What?" Inej inhaled sharply. "We're leaving tonight?"

"We have no other choice," Kaz told her. "Kirigan plans to leave Kerch for Novyi Zem tonight and when his boat sets sail, we'll be on it."