★ ° CHAPTER TWO !
──────── A MILLION KRUGE

FOR ONCE, THE ZVEZDA WAS QUIETER THAN USUAL. Adrijana suspected that Madame Goranka had ordered for the doors to be shut after the remaining clients inside left and turned away everyone else. She was trying to make the building as empty as possible; the number of guards had dwindled down to only one standing at the front door and the two outside of her office. Some of the girls thought they might have been closing early, but the Tailor knew better.

They were preparing for Pekka.

"I don't understand."

Mirre's soft voice recalled Adrijana from the door to her room. She'd been peering down the hallway for the last fifteen minutes, anxiously waiting to see if she'd catch a glimpse of the Dime Lions showing up unannounced. At the sudden sound of Mirre's voice, she bit her cheek in an attempt to force down some of her anxiety. The last thing they needed was their Heartrender being nervous, too.

"Why would Pekka Rollins be coming here? And why does he need a Heartrender?"

Adrijana would never call Mirre naive, but even after all this time, she didn't seem to bother herself with how things worked in the city. The golden haired Heartrender was born on a farm in Southern Kerch, and up until a mercher from Ketterdam found out about the Grisha, she'd never known a life of the city. She was sought out like some kind of prized animal, and she would have been dragged back to Ketterdam on a leash had word not spread to Madame Goranka about a runaway Heartrender whose family had been murdered.

Mirre was soft-spoken, and the Zvezda's clients adored her innocence. She'd speak to them in a quiet tone and ease their anxieties, offering them an ear to listen to their problems. Madame Goranka never made any of her girls sell themselves in order to make a quick profit, but it had never even been a thought for Mirre; people came from all over just to hear her soft accent and feel her gentle touch on their hearts as though kissing them with her kind spirit.

"He needs to get information out of someone. Why else would Pekka need a Heartrender?" Adrijana said simply.

She looked at where Mirre was seated in front of her vanity. With no clients left for the evening, the Kerch farmgirl had been getting ready for bed. Adrijana found her in her room brushing out her curls in front of her mirror, her body covered in a champagne silk robe with fur trim. Her abrupt intrusion meant that now, Mirre was dressed in a dark navy dress and was using the mirror to slide a hat-pin into her hair.

"But it's almost midnight," the blonde complained, her voice almost sounding like a whine. "I hope he's paying double for just this hour alone. And his little Lions better not try anything."

Adrijana bit her tongue to keep from telling the Heartrender why Pekka would need her so late. They didn't need all the girls in the house knowing everything she and Madame Goranka had found out that day.

Instead, she smiled and walked away from the door. She stood in front of Mirre at the vanity, making the blonde turn and look up at her. Adrijana took the pin from her hands and carefully slid it into the hat.

"Pekka coming here means he's desperate, and no matter what he says, he's afraid of Madame Goranka," she reassured her. "He's afraid of us. He wouldn't risk anything happening to you."

Mirre smiled up at Adrijana as though she believed her. She was right, Pekka was too scared to bring any harm to Madame Goranka's Grisha out of fear. The Dime Lions were strong, but even Adrijana didn't think they could take on the Grisha at the Zvezda without risking retaliation.

She fixed a pinned-up curl at the side of Mirre's head.

"You look beautiful."

The Heartrender's smile grew. Since she'd found a home at the Zvezda, the Tailor had always looked out for her.

Out of the current group of girls, Adrijana had undoubtedly been there the longest. She'd been by Madame Goranka's side since she was thirteen, and it was only a few years later that she started being her informant. Then, there was Kadje, the Suli Tidemaker that Madame Goranka saved from becoming a criminal after she caused the shipwreck of her owner, a wealthy mercher who abused her. Natasha fled from Fjerda to Ravka after discovering she was a Squaller, and she had narrowly escaped to Kerch while she was awaiting trial for war crimes she'd never committed. Madame Goranka found her living on the street, fighting against a man from the stadwatch after he tried to kick her off the street. Lottie and Robyn were twins, Kaelish Healers that were bought from a wealthy mercher with failing mental health.

Mirre was the youngest. Everyone watched over her with keen eyes, eyeing the patrons that dared to cross the halls into the Heartrender's lounge downstairs. If anything were to happen to her tonight, the full wrath of the Zvezda's Grisha would likely bear down on the Dime Lions.

There was a harsh knock on the door that made both women turn their heads.

"Come in."

Upon Mirre's permission, the door to her room opened. One of the house's guards peeked his head inside.

"What is it, Klaus?"

"Pekka Rollins is downstairs, ma'am," he answered Adrijana.

"Why isn't anyone bringing him up?" she asked.

"The madame wanted you to bring him to her office. Said he'd seen you the most and wouldn't get too jumpy."

She stifled any criticism towards the decision and nodded her head. Klaus dismissed himself, though Adrijana knew he was waiting out in the hallway for her to leave Mirre's bedroom.

"Wish me luck."

"You won't need it." Mirre gave the woman's hand a soft pat before letting her walk out of the room.

As suspected, Klaus was waiting for Adrijana outside. He wordlessly followed the Grisha as she made her way down the stairs, trailing a few feet behind like a lingering shadow.

The third floor of the Zvezda was relatively quiet. All of the girls had bedrooms on that floor, and all of them had been relieved of their duties early that night to prepare for Pekka's arrival. Madame Goranka didn't want any stray pigeons threatening to clog-up business, and if anything terrible were to happen, the Grisha were more than capable of handling themselves.

Adrijana descended the stairs at the end of the hall, though she would have enjoyed nothing more than to throw herself into her room and lock the door. Madame Goranka didn't really need her for business, but she knew that the woman felt more comfortable with the Tailor around.

When she reached the balcony of the second floor, she saw glimpses in the entryway that made her want to turn and run. Pekka and his Lions looked like black stains against the warmth and luxury inside the pleasure house. No one dared sit on the plush velvet seats spread clustered together in the foyer. Instead, gloved hands opted to touch anything their greedy fingers could find.

"Don't touch that."

One of the Lions snatched his hand away from the leaves of the exotic plant he'd been admiring. All three heads swivelled to look at Adrijana, who rested her arms against the golden railing at the second floor balcony. Usually, the doors down the hall behind her were locked as the Grisha entertained guests. Now, she was backdropped by the hall's yellow light, appearing as though the saints themselves had placed her.

"It's a lotus from Ravka. One of the last flowers from the Tula Valley. There's only a few left in the world."

She watched a sickly grin form on Pekka Rollins' face. "I thought they only grew in water?"

"They do, but Kadje tends to it every day. No one else is allowed to touch it," Adrijana answered. Then, she stood up straight, letting a forced smile linger on her face. "We've been expecting you, Mr. Rollins."

She'd had few dealings with the leader of the Dime Lions, but he had a memorable face. He wasn't much taller than the Tailor, but he was just as menacing as any other gang leader. His reputation in the streets of Ketterdam was that he was cunning and ruthless, and every time Adrijana saw him (including now), there was an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Have you, now?" He asked. "May I say, you do look ravishing, Miss Rosya."

Whenever Pekka saw Adrijana, it was always under the golden glow of the Zvezda. She was always snug in a corset that accentuated her lean figure, and there was never a hair out of place or a smear of makeup out of line. He never noticed her when she tailored her face to look like the young boy who scampered across the Barrel to and from different gang territories, or the sickly old woman who sometimes lingered a bit too close to the docks.

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

She gestured for Klaus to go downstairs and retrieve Pekka and the two Lions beside him. The guard quickly trotted down the stairs and patted down each gang member before giving Adrijana a nod to signal that they were clean.

"No tricks tonight," Adrijana warned as Klaus began to lead the three men up the staircase. "The madame doesn't want to clean up messes."

"I'll make sure to be on my best behaviour," Pekka replied, though it was clear he was being sarcastic.

It wasn't the first time he'd come into the Zvezda looking for the services of a Grisha. It was actually the third.

The first time, he'd needed a Healer after a failed meeting in the Exchange left some of his Lions battered and bloody. He'd tried to buy Lottie and Robyn that same night, but Madame Goranka refused. He might have sent the Dime Lions after the girls had he not thought that slaughtering a Ravkan woman and her six Grisha would cause an uproar in the city. When he came by a second time, he'd needed Adrijana to tailor one of his men into looking like a wealthy Kerch merchant for a con he was running. She made sure not to worry too much about the outcome.

Adrijana led them to the office down the hall. The two guards standing there gave her a curt nod before one reached to open the door.

Madame Goranka was sitting at her desk, rifling through a few pages of paperwork. The Tailor assumed that it was an effort to appear busy as Adrijana led the Dime Lions deeper into the room. The girl took her place at her boss' side, whilst Pekka stood across the table with his officers.

"I hear you're in need of a Heartrender, Mr. Rollins," Madame Goranka said. She didn't directly look up from her desk, as though she was mindlessly addressing the man, but she did give him a quick glance out of the corner of her eye.

"Have a seat."

Pekka took his hat off his head and set it aside on one of the chairs before occupying the other. Adrijana would say that he seemed relaxed with the way he let himself settle into the back of the chair. Perhaps, he didn't feel threatened enough inside the Zvezda to hold any other kind of posture.

"I need her for a job."

"Yes, I'm well aware." Madame Goranka halted the business she hid in her papers and finally looked up at the man.

"My only question is why you're asking for a Heartrender when Dressen is the one who needs it."

Something flashed in Pekka's eyes. Adrijana couldn't tell whether he was impressed at the woman's knowledge or confused at why she was asking for the reason. The room was lined with tension when he moved in his chair, leaning forward with his elbows against his knees now.

"The job's for a million kruge."

In these kinds of meetings, Adrijana usually stayed silent and observed. It was easier to pick up on mannerisms that way—things she could mimic in the future when she took on another persona. But at the mention of a million kruge, she was sure Mirre could hear the Tailor's heart racing from her room upstairs.

Things were beginning to fall into place in her mind. Dreesen was searching for a Heartrender after bringing someone back to his house in the Garden District. Pekka Rollins was looking for a Heartrender for a job worth a million kruge, and Jesper Fahey, the sharpshooter Kaz Brekker always kept at his side, was looking for a way to cross the Fold.

Certainly, Dreesen wasn't looking for someone to cross the Fold, right? It was only ever successfully crossed by Grisha with years of experience fighting the monsters inside. What could be so valuable on the other side that it was worth a million kruge?

"Adrijana, get the contract papers."

She snapped out of her spiralling thoughts when she heard Madame Goranka's voice. She promptly nodded and fled to a small supplementary desk near the lit fireplace. Turning her back to the Lions wasn't ideal, but she was glad Pekka couldn't see the shocked expression on her face anymore.

"I'm afraid I haven't come here to rent your Heartrender. I've come to buy her off you."

Adrijana stopped searching the organised files in the desk drawer to turn around and stare at Pekka. She was seconds away from opening her mouth in protest, but her boss spoke first.

"None of my girls are for sale. You know that, Pekka. You've been trying for years."

"This is different."

His voice had turned to steel. Their first business transaction had gone like this. Adrijana thought that Madame Goranka was going to have Mirre stop the gangster's heart with the way he pestered her about buying Lottie and Robyn. This one felt different—like this time, Pekka was willing to do something if he didn't get his way.

"If I bring her back, she'll tell you about the job. Next thing you know, everyone is talking about the damn job."

"My girls hardly leave the house. There'd be no one to tell about the job," Madame Goranka argued. She sounded calm, but Adrijana knew that she was fighting the urge to reach across the desk and strangle Pekka.

The man laughed bitterly, unconvinced.

"I've offered you a deal before, Larya."

"And I've always turned it down."

Adrijana didn't know many who addressed Madame Goranka by her first name. Her anonymity was her shroud and shelter, but Pekka had always known. The Grisha liked to think he used it so he got under her skin during business transactions.

He'd tried to buy out the Zvezda before. Not long after he discovered the two Kaelish girls living in the house, he wanted Madame Goranka to surrender over fifty percent of the business to the Dime Lions. Her refusal always meant the relationship between Pekka and the mistress was filled with tension.

Madame Goranka stood from the desk, hands gripping the edge so tight that Adrijana could see her knuckles whiten. "It would seem you have no other cards to play, Pekka. I have what you need. Either you rent out Mirre for the evening, or you find yourself another Heartrender."

She spoke so assuredly, with such confidence, that Adrijana almost believed that she meant every word she said. The Grisha could see the tremble in her hands, afraid tonight might finally be the day that Pekka decided that he didn't care about the backlash he'd get from killing a house filled with Grisha. The Ravkan Embassy might get spun into an uproar, and there would surely be backlash from the Ravkans that lived in the city's 'Little Ravka' district.

Pekka rose from his seat. He didn't dare say a word, but both women could see the thoughts rolling around in his head. The Lions behind him tensed. Adrijana thought they were going to risk it.

Klaus burst through the door to the office. Pekka's antsy officers raised their weapons, and the barrels of their guns were aimed at the guard's head. Madame Goranka looked ready to scold him, but his face was red, and there was panic set in his eyes.

"What is it, Klaus?"

"It's Mirre," he breathed out, leaning over to put his hands on his knees.

"What about Mirre?" Adrijana quickly stepped forward, sweeping past the desk. She thought her heart was going to stop.

"She's gone."

"What?"

For once, Madame Goranka's voice had a shrill tone as she shouted at the guard. Adrijana raced out of the room and towards the stairs at the end of the hall. Everyone else seemed to follow, tumbling out of the office.

All the doors on the third floor of the Zvezda were open, and the Grisha of the house were lingering in the doorways. Lottie and Robyn were clearly woken up from a deep slumber, their hair loosely knotted down their back, and Kadje and Natasha were lingering near the door to Mirre's room.

Adrijana assumed the worst. Would Dreesen have hired someone to take Mirre if Madame Goranka took too long to reply to his request? Perhaps they'd find a pool of blood where the Heartrender once sat at her vanity with a ransom note pinned to the mirror.

"What happened?" She asked the Squaller and Tidemaker that clutched each other by the door.

"I don't know," Natasha said. Her Fjerdan accent was usually a show for patrons. In reality, she'd lost so much of it over the years that she sounded more like a Kerch native than a woman of the North. "We heard a noise and told Klaus, and Mirre just... wasn't there."

Madame Goranka pushed past the three Grisha. Pekka wasn't far behind, and Adrijana instinctively pulled Natasha and Kadje back. There wasn't much she could do if he actually decided to do something, but at least there was another layer between him and the two women.

"All this just to keep me from getting a Heartrender," he sneered.

"I assure you, Mr. Rollins, I am an honest businesswoman."

Adrijana stole a glance inside the room. It was exactly as she'd left it earlier. All of Mirre's belongings were as they'd always been. The floor was pristine, clear of any mud or dirt—and, most importantly, no blood. However, the sound of a soft, sudden rainstorm outside wasn't normal in the room, and Adrijana looked to see the window beside her vanity was open.

Mirre never leaves her window open, she thought.

"Ma'am."

Egbert, another guard that usually lingered near the front doors of the house, swept through the doorway and shuffled through the Lions to Madame Goranka's side. He tried to be discreet, but after years of gaining information on the streets, Adrijana had learned to read his lips.

"One of the men thinks they saw Mirre a few streets over with two men. Couldn't get close enough to see, but they bracketed her. One of them looked like that gunslinger from the Club."

Madame Goranka kept her expression calm, but her eyes looked over at Adrijana who finally left Kadje and Natasha (who were more than capable of defending themselves if Pekka tried anything). If Jesper, the same Zemini sharpshooter that had seen the Tailor before, now had Mirre, it meant that he didn't take her for himself; he took her for his boss.

Kaz Brekker.

The Ravkan woman plastered a sickeningly sweet smile onto her face, one everyone in the room saw through. "Well, Mr. Rollins, since there's no Heartrender here for you to take, you'd best be on your way. Try the Orchid. I hear the owner keeps one."

Pekka looked likely to snap his head and tell his officers to kill everyone, but he knew he was outnumbered. There were Grisha in these halls, and though he had more of his Lions outside, it was likely the lingering Squaller and guards would've killed those in the room.

"Klaus, Egbert, take a few men and see Mr. Rollins out."

The guards did as they were told, one gathering other men from the hall to aid in throwing the Dime Lions out of the pleasure house.

"You'll accept the offer one day, Larya," Pekka said.

"Is that a threat, Mr. Rollins?"

"It's a promise."

Once Pekka and his two officers were out of the room, Madame Goranka turned towards Adrijana. The Tailor let herself fill their space in Mirre's bedroom, and Natasha and Kadje retreated back to their shared quarters. She rushed to the vanity, hoping to find a trace of her being led out of the Zvezda unwillingly. If that were true, it would have made it easier for her to find some way to retaliate.

She opened one of the drawers, but instead of finding Mirre's golden hairbrush and compact mirror, she found it almost empty. Instead of the Heartrender's accessories, there was a little notecard with a crow painted on the front—the very same artwork that swung above the Crow Club's doors.

She turned it in her fingers so Madame Goranka could see the emblem.

The woman sighed. "What does it say?"

Adrijana turned it over in her hands. The penmanship looked as though the letter was written quickly. Crow Club. Two bells. Don't be late.

"I'm meant to be at the Crow Club in three hours."

"You stupid girl," Madame Goranka pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've told you to be careful."

"This isn't my fault!" Adrijana argued. "If Pekka intercepted the note from Dreesen, who's to say Brekker didn't also do the same? He would have looked for a Heartrender too, and he isn't exactly known for kidnapping Grisha."

She expected to hear the woman tell her to leave, but instead, the mistress paced the front of the room. Madame Goranka always told Adrijana that she did her best thinking while moving, and though the Grisha couldn't see the gears turning, she hoped the Ravkan was thinking of a plan.

"If the gunslinger saw what you can do, Brekker's probably looking for you to join whatever little trick he has up his sleeve."

Adrijana felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She didn't want to be recruited into a side mission for the Bastard of the Barrel—especially if it required her crossing the Fold.

"I'm not going back over there."

Madame Goranka stopped pacing and looked at the Tailor, who seemed to have reverted back into the same scared little girl she was at thirteen. She remembered the look on Adrijana's face when she greeted her as she got off the skiff and ushered her into a safe place, terrified and exhausted from mistreatment. Ravka had not been kind to either woman.

"I'm not asking you to," she said, her voice much calmer than it had been moments before.

She walked over to the Grisha and gently ran a hand through her hair. Her fingers finally settled with her thumb against Adrijana's chin.

"See what the man wants and get Mirre back. Maybe he just needs you for information."

That was an unlikely possibility. If Jesper truly believed that his eyes didn't deceive him, she was likely going to the Crow Club for more than just to spill gossip.

"And if it's more than that?" she asked.

This time, Madame Goranka seemed to smile. "If it's more than that, remind him that you have to be paid before you can render any services."