CHAPTER FIVE
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KIRA'S PART IN THE JOB WAS SIMPLE: go to the Emerald Palace and listen for whispers.

Simple? Yes. Easy? Fuck no.

Kaz wanted her to go to the Emerald Palace and try and get to Pekka's office (if he even had one at the establishment). He wanted her as a backup plan in case they didn't find anything at Henrik's office. He wanted her to go into the lion's den with nothing except her quick tongue and ability to turn men's jewelry and greed against them. It wasn't an unmanageable task, but surely the staff at the Emerald Palace would be warned against her.

Yet, first, she had been summoned to the roof. Kira opened the door to the roof of the workshop and saw Kaz standing there, overlooking the city.

"Let me guess? Did you plan another explosion?"

She could imagine him rolling his eyes at her. Kaz didn't turn to look at her. So Kira didn't make a move to get any closer—she had taken the time to come up here at his request (poor Wylan had to be the one to give her the message and apparently Kaz was in a mood), she wouldn't do anything more than stand in the doorway and wait for him to acknowledge her.

At last, Kaz's head turned to the side. "Sturmhond," he said. Kira raised an eyebrow his way and Kaz turned on his heel to face her, scowling at her. "He's your brother."

"That's not a question, Brekker. Is that why you called me up here? To inform me I have a brother?"

"You didn't tell me," he said after a long pause, as if he was searching for something in his head—anything at all—so she wouldn't leave him on the roof and go back to preparing her ruse for the Emerald Palace.

"I didn't know I had to."

"You didn't think I would like to know that we're making deals with royalty?"

"Sturmhond isn't royalty," replied Kira with a shrug. "He's a privateer."

"Well—" He cut himself off and Kira glanced to the side to see Inej standing beside her. The Wraith gave her a smile before it fell off her face as Kaz asked, "What did you find?"

"There's a doorman even after hours, and a pair of roving guards in the halls. But I can get you in through a window if Nina watches the front."

Kaz nodded. "If this goes sideways, tell the others to regroup at Black Veil. Get the Heartrender. We leave in ten."

"No," replied Inej and Kira smiled. "Not until you tell me what happened between you and Pekka."

"All you need to know is that I have a reason."

"There's enough secrecy in this crew as is."

"Secrecy is the only way to survive the Barrel."

"So why did I have to tell you about Sturmhond?" challenged Kira. Kaz glared at her. "You can't expect us to follow you blindly, Kaz. Because at some point we won't be following you anymore. We'll get lost."

Kaz's jaw twitched, and his grip on his cane grew tighter. Kira merely raised a challenging brow. "You're not blind. You know what's at stake."

Sighing loudly Inej left them with a parting proverb, "Trust is the other side of secrecy, Kaz. Remember that."

It wasn't a second later that Kira and Kaz were left alone, a staring match between the two. Kaz's eyes were dark in the night, a void full of secrets he would never share with her. Due to pride? Or arrogance? Or sheer stubbornness? Kira didn't know. But she knew he trusted her. At least she hoped he did.

"I never pry into your past," began Kira, not taking her eyes off him, "I figured if I didn't you wouldn't ask about mine. But my life is bare to you now, Kaz. I have no other secrets for you to find or steal from me."

"I don't owe you my secrets just because you can't keep yours," he replied coldly and Kira only gave him a tight smile, shrugging her shoulders.

"You don't owe me anything, Kaz." She turned to the door, breaking the moment that had passed between them.

Her hand reached for the knob and she sighed before turning her head to the side, seeing Kaz turn his back on her. Good. She would rather not see the look on his face at what she was about to say. For if she was utterly wrong about what was happening between them... She could not bare to see the pity in his eyes—she might've killed him if that happened.

"Someday," she spoke, lowly, but as he raised his head she knew he heard it, "when you crave something other than revenge—when you find a reason to live that doesn't revolve around destroying Pekka Rollins—I'll be here... And I'll listen to anything you'd like to share. Not because you owe me, but because you want me to know. Then it'll be our secret... And I'll still look at you the same way."

•••

The mission Kaz gave her was to try and sneak into Pekka's office. It turns out, Pekka's office was easily found—third window on the third floor. The man had an oak desk and endless bookshelves, and nothing whatsoever incriminatory. He merely used it, it appeared, to stash away unimportant receipts and the billings of the Crow Club (Kaelish Prince) that were now useless, seeing as it had been blown up.

So, Kaz's mission for her was easily forgotten, and Kira decided to go with her own plan. Chaos.

And because of her ingenious plan, she'd find something rather curious:

The Emerald Palace didn't have dungeons. It had 'holding' rooms.

After all, how could she not find out about this when she had been recognized as soon as she entered the establishment? Well, if she hadn't been recognized she would've been unpleasantly surprised. Especially when she was wearing black trousers tucked into her black boots and a white billowing shirt underneath a rather daring black corset. She was making an entrance. And why wait for the dramatic flare when she looked this good?

She sat at an emerald armchair in the middle of a well-decorated room, humming to herself as she peered over at the metallic handcuffs on her hands. Two guards were standing by the door of the room, their gazes fixed somewhere above her head.

Kira turned to look but it was merely a particularly interesting wallpaper. She turned back to them with a frown. "Shouldn't you be watching me? The wall is rather nice, but I should hope I'm a better view."

The satisfying feeling that welled in her face as she saw a blush cover one of the man's necks was one of the reasons why she had gotten herself caught in the first place. There were two more main ones, though:

First. She was hoping to keep Pekka Rollins distracted long enough for the others to work—but it seemed he had taken the night off his favorite little palace, as he was nowhere to be seen and her entrance had been rather dramatic. And painful. The security at the Emerald Palace really did hate her, Kira was sure bruises were covering her back from the hits of one of the guard's batons (the corset didn't help).

Second. What better way to get secrets on the inside of Pekka's business' than from the inside? Even if it meant getting slightly beaten up, at least they hadn't hurt her face, or made her bleed. It was all positive, really—she was nearly sure none of her ribs were broken, sore at most.

She figured she would find a way out of the Emerald Palace. Otherwise, she had a few of Wylan's bombs in the pockets of her trousers, so at least, she would have her explosions in the unlikely event of her dying—she was particularly glad the whole beating hadn't triggered any of the bombs.

The guard that didn't blush, or that hid it well behind his red beard, cleared his throat and made the mistake of looking into Kira's eyes. She was smiling softly at him, her eyes hopefully looking kind. He pursed his lips. "We've been advised not to speak to you."

"Why not?" asked Kira, an incredulous look on her face. "I'm lovely at chit-chat."

"You're the Whisperer," the blushing guard, with the tan skin, said. And Kira could swear she could taste the fear and desire in his voice.

"And huge guards, such as yourselves, believe me, a young woman, could defeat you? That I could whisper you as a Snake Whisperer would a snake?" Kira made sure she sounded surprised as if her name was only a rumor as if everything whispered on the streets about her ruthlessness was the biggest lie of all.

"I've heard stories," replied the bearded man. "You killed Rollin's men."

"See? I killed them. Without handcuffs. I did not use some mythical power of allure to attract them to their deaths."

She sighed and leaned back on her chair, ignoring the hissing pain on her ribs and back and crossing her legs as she tilted her head at the two men shuffling on their feet. "What I don't understand is why Rollins isn't here to see me himself. Is he afraid I'll lure him into my Whisperer trap?"

"Mr. Rollins has business to attend to," replied the blushing man.

"What kind of business is more important than the Whisperer he's been trying to catch since... forever?"

"The kind that involves the bastard that's become a pebble in his shoe," said the bearded guard.

Kaz. Her curiosity spiked. She frowned, her eyes going wide in horror and she gasped dramatically. The men shared a glance and a smirk grew on the bearded man's face.

"Oh, yes, Whisperer," the bearded man continued. "Your friend Kaz Brekker isn't as smart as he fancies himself to be. Not only will Rollins have you by the end of the night but he'll get rid of the flock of birds polluting the sky."

"What makes you think Rollins will have me?" replied Kira, standing up with a groan. Definitely bruised, she thought bitterly as she touched her ribs softly and hissed. The two men raised their rifles at her and Kira rolled her eyes, raising her cuffed hands in front of her. "You can't shoot an unarmed person, gentlemen. It's a dishonor of the highest quality."

"Don't move," the blushing man barked at her.

"Darlings, it was a pleasure seeing you squirm, but I'm afraid I have a flock of birds to help." She let the handcuffs fall to the ground after having broken them with her bare fingers.

Two gunshots echoed off the room.

Kira gasped.

In offense.

And the two bodies of the guards keeping watch on her fell forward. Two loud thumps followed the remaining resounding echoes of the riffles being shot. Kira looked down at them with a frown.

She was expecting them to shoot her as the handcuffs fell. Which was why she was ready to shift the path of the bullets and aim it at their heads. But she was hoping at least the blushing man had fallen further into her trap. Grimacing at the blood that started pooling on the ground, Kira adjusted her corset so the pain became more bearable, before escaping out of the window and climbing up a metal pipe to the roof of the Emerald Palace.

Running through the roofs of Ketterdam took longer than expected and by the time Kira reached the roof where Inej was watching over Kaz, was to find the Wraith lying on the ground a maniac over her and leaning to the side to grab a knife as he stepped on her hand.

Kira closed her eyes, locating the metal on the straps of his clothing. When she opened her eyes she swept her hands in the air and the man went flying to the glass window on the roof, which shattered under his weight, making him fall through it.

Quickly, Kira ran over to Inej, helping her out.

"How did you know?" Inej rasped, panting from the fight.

"Guards like to brag," Kira replied. "You're alright?"

"Battered and bruised," Inej replied with a shrug. Kira grinned.

"We should compare bruises, then. But I warn you, my fair skin gets particularly nasty."

Inej raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would you be bruised? You were supposed to be quiet and observe?"

"Was I?"

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