CHAPTER THREE:
GRAND ESCAPE

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MATTHIAS DIDN'T STAY DOWN for long. He was dazed, that much was obvious, but his eyes still managed to focus on Savni with a furious glare. He was caught between her and Nina now, fingers twitching like they couldn't quite decide who to strangle first. Kaz made the decision for him, producing a pistol to hold against the back of Matthias' neck.

"Hands to yourself, Helvar," he muttered, sounding more impatient than concerned.

Matthias didn't spare him a glance. "Go ahead and shoot me."

With that, he reached for Nina again, seemingly deciding that his hatred for her outweighed any petty resentment towards Savni for hitting him. She sighed and glanced at Inej, who was reaching for one of her knives with caution.

"If you've actually lost your mind, this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought."

Kaz didn't hesitate this time. He stepped up beside Savni and, in a series of movements that occurred quicker than she could blink, he shot Matthias in the left shoulder with what looked like a tranquiliser dart. Matthias gasped, though it didn't seem to cause him any pain. He fell forward, nearly crushing Nina if it wasn't for Kaz latching onto his collar and unceremoniously dumping him on the ground a few feet away. Keeping the gun drawn just in case, he held out his other hand to Savni.

"My cane," he snapped when she frowned at him, confused.

"Oh," she mumbled, handing it to him with flushed cheeks.

He turned back to Matthias. His gaze was narrowed like he was trying to decide if any of this had been worth it. At last, he said, "Get a hold of yourself, Helvar. We're here to break you out. Now, I can do to your leg what I did to your arm and we can drag you out of here, or you can leave like a man, on two feet."

But Matthias was already shaking his head. "No one gets out of Hellgate."

"Aren't you quite the optimist?" Savni scoffed.

"I'm realistic," he corrected. "You--"

"Well, tonight, you're getting out," Kaz cut in with an impatient tap of his cane.

"You can't just walk me out of here. The guards will recognise me and I'm not losing fighting privileges to be carted off Djel knows where with you!"

"You'll be masked."

"But if the guards check--"

"They're going to be too busy to check," Kaz said with such certainty, tinged with a malicious sense of glee, that it stopped Savni short.

"What have you done, Dearest?" she asked uneasily.

That was when the screaming started. Matthias' head jerked up in shock. Savni gasped. Nina groaned, only just coming to, while Inej eyed the door cautiously. They heard the unmistakable rumble of thundering footsteps as people fled from the arena. Guards were shouting in a flurry of confusion and alarm. Then, the trumpet of an elephant and a cacophony of other animal noises.

"You opened the cages," Nina's voice shook with horror.

Savni could scarcely believe it. "How on Earth...?"

"Jesper was supposed to wait until three bells," he told them, indirectly managing to answer the question Savni had intended to ask.

"It is three bells, Kaz," Inej pointed out with vague amusement.

"Since when is Jesper punctual?"

Savni grinned. "There's always a first time for everything."

"Maybe, but it's bloody inconvenient," Kaz said without missing a beat. He turned back to Matthias. "On your feet, Helvar. Come on."

He offered him a gloved hand, catching Savni off guard with the pacifying gesture. She stared at his hand in shock, her expression surely mirroring Matthias' as he hesitated. Kaz, the boy with his defensive walls extending so high he had no hope of seeing light again. Would he lead Matthias out of this nightmare just to drag him down a path of destruction alongside the rest of them? It was likely, but at last Matthias was seeing sense. He picked the lesser of two evils and grasped Kaz' hand in an iron grip. Inej stepped up to sweep a cloak around his shoulders and cover his face with a mask while Savni helped Muzzen lay in the cot Matthias had abandoned.

"It's not too late, you know," she told him, unable to keep the words to herself as they played on repeat in her head.

Muzzen croaked out a resigned sigh. "I know."

Nobody looked back at his sorry figure as they filed out of the room and into the chaos occurring in the passageway -- that is, no one but Savni, who Kaz stopped and waited for with another impatient tap of his cane.

"Savni, hurry up," he barked when she hesitated.

Out in the passageway, costumed men and women surged past in a haze of frantic screaming and shoving. A few of the guards had their guns out but none looked twice in their direction, allowing Kaz to quickly pocket his own pistol in case it was noticed. He led the way to the far right archway where he guided them back into the cavernous space of the arena. They had no time to prepare before Matthias surged forward. He was immediately hauled back from his attempt to flee, scowling when Kaz merely tutted under his breath like a disappointed parent. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised.

"Boys like you weren't meant to get ideas, Helvar."

"Harsh," Savni commented.

"But true nonetheless," he said. "Now, that staircase leads to a bottleneck. You think the guards won't check under that mask before they get you through, Helvar?

Matthias was silent beyond an answering glare, somewhat proving Kaz' point. They continued on their way. Savni struggled to keep up with Kaz' quick footsteps as the chaos surged to an all-time high. If it wasn't for Inej doubling back to grab her hand, Savni was sure she would've lost her friends (if you could even call this rag-tag bunch a friend group) in the crowd.

"Thanks," even with a hyena chasing a guard across the sand -- the unholy place where Matthias had fought so hard for freedom only to receive so little in return -- Savni found it in her to smile at Inej.

She was always there, Inej Ghafa. In fact, she was probably Savni's closest friend. The only person she had left in the world who she could trust without a moment's hesitation. It was an abrupt thought, suddenly hitting her out of nowhere with just how true it was.

Inej's grin mirrored her own. "Any time, Sav."

All of a sudden, Kaz stopped. Ahead of them, at the mouth of the tunnel where freedom loomed like a beckoning hand, taunting them, the desert lizard emerged with wickedly gleaming eyes. Its lust for blood had returned with a new sense of fervour as some of its monstrous pals succeeded in finding themselves a meal, and now it had its sights set on not one but six of them.

Inej disappeared before Savni could blink. She vaulted over the lizard's back, meticulously striking the soft spots between its scales with two of her deadliest daggers. Just like that, she had it collapsing on its side in defeat. Savni couldn't bring herself to pity this particular dying animal. Neither could Kaz.

"Come on," he nodded at Inej (which was the most Savni had ever seen him thank someone. Inej should've felt honoured, really.) "This way."

He led them down the tunnel past where the empty cages stood, their doors swung wide open in the echoing silence. Savni didn't look too long inside any of them as they raced past. She had no interest in finding anything looking back at her. No, she was counting down the seconds until they got to leave Hellgate and this madness behind. The Slat seemed like a palace compared to this.

At long last, the stench that clung to Hellgate's entrails gave way to the tangy scent of salt water. The tunnel opened up into the greater darkness of the night sky. The cobblestone floor was slick with puddles of water that Savni was careful not to slip on, though Matthias wasn't so lucky. Tentatively, she hoped they had made it. This was it. They had done what no one else had managed to do.

"About time you showed up," Jesper's cheerful voice was out of place there, but familiar and comforting (not that Savni would ever tell him, Ghezen knew his ego didn't need it.) He was sitting with his bony uncomfortably pressed against the wooden bench of a boat. At the sight of them, he raised a hand and eagerly waved.

"You were early, Jesper," Kaz argued while pushing Matthias towards him. Savni's suspicions only grew when she realised he wasn't resisting. Surely he'd try to resist again.

"I was on time!"

"For you, that's early. Next time you plan to impress me, give me some warning first."

Jesper threw his hands up in an 'I just can't win' gesture. "The animals are out and I found you a boat. This is when a thank you would be in order."

Of course, Kaz remained stubbornly tight-lipped. It was Nina who spoke. "Thank you, Jesper."

Jesper winked at her, already recovered. "You're very welcome, gorgeous. See, Kaz? That's how the civilised folk do it."

Savni giggled and Kaz rolled his eyes but Nina and Inej were busy watching Matthias. He took a deep breath, his large chest expanding with the movement, then he threw his weight at Inej in an attempt to knock her into the water. Savni gasped. Inej didn't even flinch. She stepped aside like she'd known the attack was coming, hooking her heel behind his ankle so he was the one to faceplant instead.

"Matthias," Nina hurried to try and help him but was stopped by Savni latching onto her arm.

"Let him be," her narrowed eyes flicked over him sourly.

"But--"

"Nina."

Thankfully, she didn't argue. They had too much on the line to be trying to patch up old unattended wounds. Besides, Matthias was proving himself to be an irrational idiot who just didn't know when to quit.

"He's a clumsy one, isn't he?" Inej commented as he attempted to push himself to his feet on his own.

Kaz' hard eyes raked over him. "Put him under, Nina," he ordered much to her own dismay.

"Don't," Matthias' panic knocked the air out of his lungs, staring up at Kaz in what could've been mistaken as a plea for help, if not desperation.

But Kaz just shrugged, unmoved as always. "You're dumb enough to capsize the boat."

Nina stepped forward.

"Stay away from me, witch," howled Matthias.

Savni tutted and shook her head. "There's that name again. Maybe I should've left your ribs broken, Helvar."

Kaz turned his smirk her way. "For once, you're seeing sense, Darling."

"Stay away," Matthias said again, voice raising into a shout that would inevitably get them caught. "Don't--"

"Nina," Kaz snapped.

She gave a tight nod as Matthias continued to ramble. "With pleasure."

She lifted her hands and he went out like a light. For a moment, nobody moved.

"Well, that was eventful," Jesper commented, staring at the unconscious Fjerdan. "He's... something."

"Yes," Savni said. "Really worth all this effort, isn't he? No offence, Nina."

Nina didn't reply but it wasn't like she could disagree. She merely looked sad. Her hopes had been crushed brutally beneath the heavy, bruised fists of her lover with the cold, dead heart. She stepped over him and into the boat with glistening eyes. Kaz watched her go boredly, having to bite his tongue from the looks of it.

"Jesper," he said. "Get him in the boat."

"What?" Jesper huffed, hands on his hips. "Why me?"

"Well, I'm not doing it," Savni declared as she brushed past Kaz, lifting the hem of her skirts so she could easily swing down into the boat opposite Nina. She nudged Jesper with a scoff of impatience, longing for the warmth of her room back at the Slat. "Get to work, Jes!"

Jesper's dismal stare turned to Inej, who offered him nothing but a sympathetic smile. "She's becoming more like him everyday."

Savni blinked at his back. She knew he was joking but sometimes she liked to mess with him. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing!" Quickly, he scrambled out of the boat. Savni's stomach lurched with the waves his exit created. "You know I love you, Sav."

Savni merely hummed, amused, and watched him do as she asked. After much huffing and puffing, Jesper managed to drag the weight of Matthias' hulking frame into the bottom of the boat. As soon as he was unceremoniously dumped into a puddle of water, Jesper got to work rowing them away. This trip would be a lot slower than the previous one, where they'd had Muzzen there to provide some muscle, but nobody was complaining about this rare moment of peace and quiet. Hellgate was soon out of sight and Savni got to breathe a fleeting sigh of relief.

"Don't go relaxing too much," Kaz warned from beside her. He had been the last to board the boat, leaving him no other option but to take the last seat beside Savni. So far, she hadn't bothered to pester him, but he knew it would happen sooner or later with Inej and Nina deep in a whispered conversation at the other end of the vessel. Of course, he was right. The boredom soon caught up with her and she was unable to resist. "The night's only just beginning."

"Oh?" she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "You've got something in store for me, do you, Dearest?"

He scowled as Jesper, overhearing them, threw his head back and cackled in amusement. "Don't be crude."

"Me?" she smiled. "Never."

They were quick to leave the row boat behind once they docked in the bowels of Fifth Harbour. Nina helped Jesper carry Matthias through the shadowed streets, trusting herself near him now he was completely knocked out and had been for some time. Savni couldn't help but watch her as they reached the Slat and made their way out the back to one of the private gambling parlours. They dumped Matthias into a chair and quickly settled in themselves. Kaz had disappeared when they reached the harbour, allowing Nina some time to quickly patch up some of Matthias' bruises and cuts now that he wasn't hovering around disapprovingly.

Savni wasn't going to do it, but she figured Nina needed some kindness after the events of the evening.

"Here," she kneeled down beside her friend, whose hands had started to shake as they hovered over Matthias' exposed skin. "Let me help."

Nina moved aside to watch her, murmuring a 'thank you' that got lost in the silence as she, Jesper and Inej observed Savni's steady hands. They moved on instinct, these work-worn fingers, never quite able to forget the routine of fixing something. Once she was done, she sat back with a sigh.

"Kaz is going to hate this," Jesper pointed out once she was done.

Nina shrugged. "Let him."

"It's too late now anyways," Savni said. "Where did he go anyways? Does he expect us to just wait for him all night?"

"You say such lovely things behind my back, don't you, Darling?" Kaz' familiar voice drawled from the doorway as he returned -- of course, with the worst timing. Behind him was Wylan Hendriks. Savni didn't know much about him, but he'd been nothing but kind to her the few times they'd interacted and she found herself ignoring Kaz and smiling at him instead.

"Hello, Wylan," she greeted, aware of the others' silence towards him. Wylan was their new demolition man, replacing Raske on the more important jobs, and Savni knew that neither Jesper or Inej appreciated the change. Still, Savni knew what it was like to be the odd one out among the group. Sometimes, she still felt that way. She'd hate to project that feeling onto someone else. "How are you?"

"There'll be time for chatting later," Kaz snapped before Wylan had a chance to reply. "Someone tie up Helvar. As Savni put it, I don't want to keep you waiting 'all night.'"

Savni, her cheeks tinted pink, sunk into the seat beside Wylan while Jesper ran off to find some rope. He returned a moment later and Kaz gave Nina the signal to bring Matthias back to the land of the living. His eyes fluttered like he was coming out of a dream, only to narrow the second they landed on Nina, who'd moved to stand with Inej by the window.

"Have a nice sleep, Helvar?" Kaz smirked down at him, gloved hands folded neatly over the head of his crow cane.

Matthias remained tight-lipped, glaring but allowing Kaz the opportunity to start talking. Savni, despite knowing most of what Kaz had to say already, still felt the shock then the dread pool in her gut as she mulled over his words -- Jurda Parem, the promise of an impossibly high reward at the cost of raiding the Ice Court. Was this seriously the only solution to Savni's problems? They'd have to make it there and back alive first.

In the end, it didn't matter. Once Kaz finished up, Matthias only had one thing to say.

"No."

"Believe me when I say this, Helvar," sighed Kaz, clearly trying his best to extend his patience. "I know getting knocked out and waking up in strange surroundings isn't the friendliest way to start a partnership, but you didn't give us many options, so try to open your mind to the possibilities."

Matthias huffed out a laugh. "You could have come to me on your knees and my answer would be the same."

"Kaz Brekker on his knees," Savni murmured, sharing a conspiratorial smirk with Jesper. "That, I'd love to see."

"You do understand I can have you back at Hellgate in a matter of hours?" Kaz pointed out, ignoring her. "Once poor Muzzen is in the infirmary, the switch will be easy."

"Do it," Matthias leaned as far forward as he could in his chair. "I can't wait to tell the warden your ridiculous plans."

"As if they'd believe you," Savni scoffed, and she meant it. They'd think him insane.

Matthias glared at her, his expression intensifying when he seemingly remembered who -- or, rather, what -- she was. Kaz regarded him curiously, almost amused. "And what makes you think you'll be going back with a tongue?"

"Kaz--" Nina began.

"Do what you want," Matthias interrupted.

"I told you," Nina sighed, shooting Kaz a look.

"Don't pretend to know me, witch," Matthias bristled but he kept his eyes trained on Kaz, like he was unable to stand the sight of her. Nina's shoulders slumped.

Jesper unfolded himself from the corner, getting bored of the back and forth. "Without him, there's no job. We can't break into the Ice Court blind."

Matthias laughed. "You can't break into the Ice Court at all."

Savni hated to agree with him, but he did have a point. The Ice Court wasn't an ordinary building. It was home to an unbroken succession of Fjerda's ancient kings and queens, repository of their greatest treasures and most sacred religious relics. It was known for being impenetrable. What kind of ambition (or foolishness) made them believe they could do what everyone else over the years had failed? Who were they to bring this place to its knees?

"Come now, Helvar," muttered Kaz, ignoring Jesper's point. "Surely there's something you want. The cause is righteous enough for a zealot like you. Fjerda may think they've caught a dragon by the tail, but they won't be able to hold on. Once Bo Yul-Bayur replicates his process, Jurda Parem will enter the market and it's only a matter of time before others learn to manufacture it too."

"It will never happen," Matthias shook his head, clinging to his stubbornness. "Yul-Bayur will stand trial and if he is found guilty he will be put to death."

"Guilty of what?" Nina broke the silence, her voice soft but cautious.

At long last, he looked at her, aiming every word at her with vicious contempt. "Crimes against the people."

Savni's blood ran cold.

"Which people?"

"Natural people," came his retort, as expected. "People who live in harmony with the laws of this world instead of twisting them for their own gain."

Savni was so tired of hearing this same ideology over and over again. She thought of her mother's healing hands then, the movements Savni had learnt from her. Her mother never went to the Little Palace, never trained her gifts like they were some kind of weapon. She merely acted with what was in her heart -- kindness, compassion, the urge to fix what others broke.

Then, because thinking of her mother always lead to thoughts of her father and Ritu, Savni's mind drifted to her sister. Ritu was much like Nina, a heartrender with the ability to cause the injuries her mother and sister healed, but she was so full of warmth that it was hard sometimes to believe that Ritu Brennan would ever want to harm anyone.

Fionn liked to say they were his powerful girls; his wife and daughters, the apple of his eye. Savni despaired at the idea of them both, these powerful women, reduced to nothing but unnatural people on a Fjeran pyre. Burning because the real demons, ones who paraded around like Matthias, believed themselves righteous.

She couldn't help the hatred that overflowed. "And Drüskelle live in harmony, do they? I didn't realise murder was a natural part of the world."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Matthias glared.

"Do you?"

"You're being shortsighted about this, Helvar," Kaz intervened. "Another team could get to Yul-Bayur first. The Shu. Maybe the Ravkans. All with their own agendas. Border disputes and old rivalries don't matter to the Kerch. All the Merchant Council cares about is trade and they want to make sure Jurda Parem remains a rumour and nothing more."

"So leading criminals into the heart of Fjerda to steal a valued prisoner is a patriotic act?"

Savni sighed, her eyes squeezing shut in frustration. There really was no getting through to him. Kaz seemed to be realising this. His voice was thick with impatience when he replied. "I don't suppose the promise of four million kruge will sway you either."

Matthias spat at his feet. "You can keep your money. Choke on it."

As soon as the words came, his face lit up with an idea. Savni didn't trust it for a second. She exchanged a look with Wylan, who'd paused in whatever he was drawing to frown at the side of the Fjerdan boy's jaw.

"I'll make a deal with you."

Kaz stared at him. "I'm listening."

"I won't go with you--" Savni rolled her eyes. "But I'll give you a plan for the layout of the Court. That should at least get you past the first checkpoint."

"And what will this valuable information cost me?"

"I don't want your money. I'll give you the plans for nothing." It seemed to shame Matthias to say the words, but he spoke them anyway. "If you let me kill Nina Zenik."

Savni froze, sickened. Her contempt rippled through the others at lightning speed. Inej made a sound of disgust and pushed as far away from Matthias as she could get. Wylan's mouth fell open. Jesper's eyes were wide. Nina just looked sad, but not surprised. Kaz remained blank-faced but in contrast to his friends seemed pleased.

"I can give you something better," he countered, though Matthias was already shaking his head.

"There's nothing else I want."

"I can make you a Drüskelle again."

"Are you a magician, then?" he snorted. "A wej sprite who grants wishes? I'm superstitious, not stupid."

"You can be both, you know, but that's hardly the point."

Savni smirked. Kaz mirrored her expression as he slipped a hand into his dark coat and produced a plain piece of paper.

"Here," he passed it to Inej. "Let him see it."

Inej stuck the paper up in front of Matthias' face for him to read, her vicious glare a rare sight on the soft contours of her face. His treatment of Nina -- and, by extension, Savni -- had earned him no respect from her. He barely had time to skim over the words before she stepped away, holding his dream in a tight fist.

"What new evidence?" Matthias managed to say in breathless awe.

Savni hadn't read the note but she had a feeling she knew what its content would be. Nina's head hung low as Kaz, who'd sat down opposite Matthias and was now lounging back in his chair, answered him. "It seems Nina Zenik has recanted her statements. She will face charges of perjury."

"Perjury?" he echoed. "How long will you serve for that, Zenik?"

"Two months," Nina whispered.

"Two months?" Now he did laugh, long and hard. His body twitched with it, as if it were poison constricting his muscles. The others watched him with concern.

"Just how crazy is he?" Jesper asked, fingers drumming on the intricate pearl handles of his twin revolvers.

Kaz paused. "He's not what I'd call reliable, but he's all we've got."

"Unfortunately," Savni muttered.

Matthias' laughter continued for another few seconds before fading into a delirious sigh. "She can't be trusted, you know. Whatever secrets you hope to gain from Bo Yul-Bayur, she'll turn them over to Ravka."

"Let me worry about that, Helvar," Kaz insisted, though he didn't seem too concerned. "You do your part and the secrets of Yul-Bayur and Jurda Parem will be in the hands of the people best equipped to make sure they stay rumours."

At last, Matthias seemed to be considering it. Finally. Savni was well and truly ready for bed.

"What if Bo Yul-Bayur is dead?"

"Van Eck insists he isn't."

"But what if he is, Brekker?" Matthias urged.

"You still get your pardon."

Matthias' shoulders dropped. Savni knew, then, what he would say.

"I'll do it."

The heavy weight of them pressed against her chest. She'd have no choice but to deal with him now, this Grisha-hating man who'd sooner leave her to die if it came down to it. At least Savni knew that if something was to happen to her in their journey to the Ice Court, Kaz Brekker -- regardless of his feelings towards her -- knew the value of her life. So long as she was useful to him, she'd trust him to fight tooth and nail to keep her heart beating in her chest. But Matthias? She couldn't trust him as far as she could throw him, which certainly wasn't very far.

"We're going to untie you," Kaz told him, revelling in his victory as he folded up Matthias' lifeline and tucked away in his pocket. "I hope prison hasn't robbed you of all your manners or good sense."

Matthias nodded, holding steady as Inej took out one of her knives and cut through the ropes that bound him. She didn't seem pleased to be freeing him, making sure she kept her distance. She moved to stand as close to Savni as she could get.

"I believe you know Nina," Kaz continued as Matthias tentatively rubbed at the irritated skin of his wrists. "The lovely girl who freed you is Inej Ghafa, our thief of secrets and the best in the trade. The glaring girl beside her is Savni Brennan, or Sav if you're her friend-"

"We aren't friends," Savni declared harshly.

Kaz winced in faux sympathy. "Seems you've gotten on her bad side. She's our Healer, even fixed up your wounds."

Not that he deserved it, Savni thought but for the moment decided to keep to herself. Matthias was already looking at her curiously, surely plotting her demise for using her Grisha 'curses' on him. Savni rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Jesper Fahey is our sharpshooter, Zemeni-born but try not to hold it against him," Kaz was saying when Matthias managed to tear his eyes away from Savni to move on to the next new face. "And this is Wylan, best demolition expert in the Barrel."

"Raske is better," Inej disagreed, making Savni frown.

Wylan looked up at her, his golden hair flopping in front of his eyes. "He's not better. He's reckless."

"He knows his trade."

"So do I."

Savni smiled, pleased to hear him standing up for himself.

"Barely," came Jesper's retort.

Matthias watched the scene unfold with evident confusion.

"Wylan is new to the scene," Kaz explained, not that it mattered. Wylan hadn't failed them yet.

"Of course he's new," Matthias scoffed at that. "He looks like he's about twelve."

"I'm sixteen," corrected Wylan with a sullen frown.

"We should be using Raske," Jesper insisted. It seemed like he'd brought this up with Kaz before, as Kaz sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between gloved fingertips. "He's good under pressure."

"I don't like it," added Inej.

"Come on, guys, don't be harsh," Savni sighed, wanting to put a comforting hand on Wylan's shoulder but figuring it would only do him more harm than good in terms of taking away his independence in this sudden face-off against the group. "I doubt you came out of the womb guns blazing, Jesper. We can give him a chance to prove himself."

"Actually, Sav-"

"It doesn't matter," Kaz interrupted before Jesper could say something stupid. "Besides, Wylan isn't just good with the flint and fuss. He's our insurance."

"Against what?" asked Nina, the first thing she'd said in a while.

Kaz grinned, relishing in their apprehension. Savni turned to Wylan curiously when he uncomfortably shifted in his chair.

"Meet Wylan Van Eck," Kaz revealed the cards he'd so far kept to himself as the tension skyrocketed. "Jan Van Eck's son and our guarantee on thirty million kruge."