𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 — the conductor

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 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 divulged all the information that they needed.

 She had fled alongside her daughter from the mines of Sikursk when her child had begun to show the telltale signs of a Grisha; neither wanted the young girl to be taken from her home and thrust into war and thus the older woman had done everything within her power to find a way through the dark abyss that was the Fold.

 The Conductor was the only name she could supply for them, as well as the stage performer he'd left the woman and her daughter with for the night; Poppy.

 Poppy was rather well known within Ketterdam, and Aleksa was very much acquainted with them; they were neither friends nor enemies, despite the different turfs they ran with... But they had mutual respect for one another. Pretty faces with short tempers who had managed to make a living in Ketterdam.

 Whilst Aleksa's rocky relationship with Poppy might have proved beneficial to them, the very place Poppy worked — The Emerald Palace — was Diam Lion turf... Pekka Rollins' pride and joy.

 The Emerald Palace was located on Ketterdam's East Stave and was a bustling gambling hall that was decorated as a tribute to Pekka Rollins' Kaelish heritage. The mixture of greens made Aleksa queasy whenever she passed it by.

 Everything about the place was fake; which was fair enough in Ketterdam. It was a glaringly green building smothered with artificial trees that had been doused with perfume to make them seem more alive. Fake golden and silver coins lined the trees like ornaments... And Aleksa had certainly seen a tourist or two try to pry them from fake leaves and branches.

 There were Dregs dotted around the area, aptly named The Steerers, whose jobs were to draw away Pekka's customers and lure them closer to the Crow Club; ensnaring as many flocking pigeons as they possibly could. That was the exact reason Kaz wouldn't be able to simply stroll through the ugly emerald doors.

 He was one of the most recognisable people within the murky depths of the Barrel, and his ugly crow-head cane didn't help him in that department. As soon as people heard that dull thunk against the cobble, they'd turn and stare, or scuttle like mice

 As for Aleksa; whilst she might have been able to distract those at the doors for the entire night with a few fluttery lashes, dazzling smiles and rosy cheeks; Kaz likely needed her to speak with Poppy herself... After all, Kaz and Poppy didn't exactly get along.

 Aleksa could recall him mentioning some sort of deal going somewhat sour; he, of course, believed the deal to be true whilst Poppy had concluded that the Bastard had stolen from them. It was nothing new in Ketterdam.

 Big Bolliger had shown the woman out, leaving Aleksa and Kaz alone in the silence that followed. Kaz had that look in his eyes again, the one Aleksa knew so well, he'd picked the lock and gotten inside; he knew exactly how they were going to get across the fold.

 "Poppy won't see you." Aleksa spoke as she stood from the edge of Kaz's desk. She toyed with the cuffs of her sleeves, pinching them between two fingers as she padded around the room in search of a coat to slide into. She plucked one of Kaz's from a rusted hook, favouring his own coat rather than the Kefta that glared at her from the seat she'd vacated.

 "They'll see you." Kaz responded shortly. His eyes remained fixated on the Shadow Summoner as she pushed her arms through the sleeves of the dark coat. He watched the hem fall in line with her ankles when on him it would have brushed the middle of his calves.

 His mouth twitched upwards as she fingered the collar of the coat, rolling her eyes as she flattened the collar that he so often left standing. Poppy wouldn't see him, not civilly at least; but the performer did indeed have a soft spot for the woman opposite him. He suspected all of Ketterdam did.

 She glanced in the mirror, satisfied with the way his coat bunched around her and relished in the warmth of the woollen material. She sighed dramatically as she flung herself into the chair before his desk, "Using me for my adorable face and dazzling charm again, hm?"

 "If the thought helps you sleep at night."

 Her brow climbed her forehead, a single side of her mouth rising along with it and he wished he could hate that smug look of hers, the very one that made everyone in the room aware that she knew she was better than them in every way imaginable. It was a dastardly look that sent his heart hammering, especially when she looked him in the eye.

 "You could just call me cute, pretty boy." She leaned forwards then, hands resting beneath her chest. She lowered her head ever so slightly, as though ready to divulge her darkest secrets of the bastard to the Barrel, "Saints knows I call you 'pretty' enough."

 If only I could, he thought then banished the thoughts with a shake of his head. Pretty boy. He had to remind himself that Aleksa would flirt with a brick wall if she could... Not entirely unlike Jesper. Her words were false; she spoke the pretty lies whilst he suffered from unfortunate truths.

 He stood from his chair, snatching his cane with unnecessary force, "Come on. We're taking Jesper."

 She narrowed her eyes at the clogged rasp that had parted his angular lips, but then again, that was Kaz. He avoided any attempts of her flirtatious comments and she would act as though it didn't sting like the edge of one of Inej's pointed knives.

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 They had found Jesper perusing the dim and rain-slicked streets of the Barrel; his back had been turned to them, and Aleksa was certain she had seen him speaking to somebody who very swiftly disappeared upon the sound of Kaz's cane clicking against the mossy cobble.

 Kaz hardly spared his Sharpshooter a glance as he limped by looking as though he was crafted from Aleksa's shadows. His silhouette was a multitude of fine lines and harsh edges, one might have thought they'd cut themselves just by looking.

 "Come along." He ordered, no room for rebuttal and Jesper pun on his heel, moving rather awkwardly.

 Aleksa wanted to huff, to swear beneath her breath or even trip the Bastard up with a particularly haughty shadow for walking so damn fast; even his limp hardly drew him back. Upon cold nights when his leg was at its worst he'd scowl and sneer at every sound or sight, but at least Aleksa had the opportunity to bypass a brisk jog just to keep up with him.

 The confusion written upon Jesper's handsome features was quickly wiped away, as though it had never been there and he slung a lanky, boney arm over Aleksa's shoulders, "What's the plan?"

 "Poppy." Aleksa replied curtly, craning her neck as she blinked at the unfairly tall Zemeni boy.

 "You are joking."

 "Nope."

 "They hate Kaz."

 "Yep."

 Jesper paused as he watched Kaz drift through the crowd like a smattering of murky fog, then he looked at Aleksa, still glowing even in the dark, "Ah, he's bringing you for —"

 "— My beauty."

 Jesper laughed and as always, his head was thrown back as he did, "I was gonna say for your charm; Saints knows Kaz is lacking, but sure, for your beauty."

 Aleksa linked her fingers with Jespers and their intertwined hands bumped against her shoulder as they walked at a steady pace. Jesper always liked to loosen the reins Kaz placed on him when the pretty Shadow Summoner was around; he found that he seemed to get away with things more and used it to his advantage.

 He whistled an uneven tune through his plump lips as both he and Aleksa strode through the streets; they avoided the pigeons with ease, laughing together as they picked them out of the crowds. Men and women turned to them, watching them through hooded eyes that sparkled with interest... Jesper wasn't exactly quiet when it came to his confidence, looks and charm either. He and Aleksa were cut from the very same cloth.

 A shrill whistle split through the air like one of Jesper's gleaming bullets; apparently Kaz was getting impatient with the two as they dawdled on the slippery cobbled streets. They shared a look and fastened their pace; though Aleksa begged for the day to arrive when Kaz would truly scold her; she'd brush it off, offer a sweet smile and be on her merry way, all while leaving Jesper behind to suffer through an earful.

 The Emerald Palace was horrific. Aleksa could have sworn her stomach grumbled in misfortune the moment the terribly gruesome green peered over the cobblestone slope that she and Jesper trudged up.

 Kaz was waiting for them with a scowl on his face; it seemed to be his preferred look of the day. His slender fingers were tucked safely away in the confines of his leather gloves, and they curled and uncurled around the head of the cane that Aleksa truly wished to kick away at any given time.

 Kaz could barely be seen beneath the moonlight hanging over Ketterdam like a dull lightbulb. His terribly garish hat cast a shadow over his features, and once more Aleksa was tempted to pluck it from his head and toss it into the canal for the rats to chew on. She dutifully restrained herself.

 They were still a fair distance from the Emerald Palace and its burly guards that stuck to the doors like unwanted pests. Kaz Brekker couldn't risk being seen, and in all honesty, Aleksa wasn't really up for a game of cat and mouse through the rain-slicked streets of the city, either.

 "What's the plan, then?" Jesper spoke as his ever-twitching fingers tapped against the skin on Aleksa's knuckles in an off-beat tune. He missed the way Kaz's eyes narrowed on the movement. "Me and Aleksa make 'em swoon?"

 "I don't need a wingman" Chimed the Shadow Summoner as she craned her head to peer at Jesper, her eyes narrowing with mirth at the abashed look that had settled on his face.

 Kaz was unfazed, "No, Jesper." He cocked his head, his silly hat blocking the light that lazed behind him, "You are our decoy."

 Jesper almost pouted, and then hastily reminded himself that this was Kaz Brekker, and no amount of pouting would do him any good, "Ugh, handsome decoy is not a Jesper talent."

 The Sharpshooter tugged at the lapels of his tweed jacket, casting a wry glance at Aleksa who merely shrugged at him, and as a condolence for acting as their handsome decoy, she spared a dazzling smile. He wanted to stomp his foot like a petulant child when he felt his heart warm at the gesture.

 "Alright." He huffed, catching Kaz's attention, for the man who looked as though he'd plucked shadows from Aleksa's fingertips and draped them over himself had turned a blind eye, and deaf ear to his huffing and puffing, "How are we doing this?"

 Aleksa nodded only once, tipping her head in the direction of the pearl-lined pistols that were snugly hanging around Jesper's waist. His hands gravitated towards them, a slender finger dragging up the handle. Jesper couldn't help but grin.

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 With Jesper's thirst for chaos, his ability to sweet-talk himself out of most sticky situations and his innate proficiency to fire a gun and pocket his pistols within mere seconds, Aleksa and Kaz had managed to slip behind the two guards standing idle at the door to the Emerald Palace.

 The moment a bullet had carved a hole into the hanging, tacky green sign, Aleksa had silently clapped her hands together and with a flourishing wave, the shadows twisted around herself and Kaz like vines crawling over a tree.

 The shadows obediently retreated the second Aleksa swiped her hand to the side, and both she and Kaz momentarily paused in their steps to watch them melt back from where they came. It was never something one could get used to, and Aleksa truly wondered if each and every type of Grisha was of the same mindset.

 She could twirl the darkness like a knife balancing on her fingers, she could manipulate it just as she did with unsuspecting one-time lovers, and she could cloak herself within the dancing shapes as though she too, was made entirely of rippling shadows.

 As for Kaz, he knew and had witnessed many rouge Grisha scuttling around Ketterdam; he had watched them get wrangled and sold, tossed into ships with slavers grinning as the sunlight bounced from their silver and gold teeth. But he had never dealt with one before, until Aleksa, of course.

 Even for the boy that the Barrel tried to break, the rippling and crawling shadows always came as a surprise to him. He would watch with narrowed eyes from behind his desk as Aleksa lounged in her chair, boots tapping odd rhythms on his wooden floor whilst she wiggled her fingers and peered at the darkness she weaved like a needle and thread.

 Each of his crows had a talent, that was why he chose them... But whilst Inej and her knives, and Jesper and his guns were a match made in heaven... Aleksa and the Shadows she puppeteered were kin. They were not person and weapon or Grisha and power. Aleksa and the darkness that thrived within Ketterdam were one and the same; twin souls that had come together as though they could never be parted.

 He had never seen anything like it, granted very few people did interact with a Shadow Summoner... Even the name was wrong, Shadow Summoner. Aleksa was no summoner, she was no Grisha who merely pulled on the threads laid bare for her... She was a woman who used the darkness around her as though it was an extension of herself; another limb, even an organ.

 Around him, she allowed herself to slip. Aleksa Corvina was not somebody who would care for Kaz's scoldings or his disappointed tuts. She knew who she was, she knew what she could do, and so whenever it was just the two of them... She didn't bother to reel those limbs, features or organs in. She no longer schooled them.

 With irritation came the whisper of the darkness. With offence came a twine of shadow curling around her leg like a coiling snake.

 Yet the moment others were around, Aleksa slipped back into the role of a mere oskyatsa who simply batted her lashes, purred through her lips, and hit like a giant.

 He looked at her, watching the small upturn of her lips as she swatted the shadows back from her fingertips like a mother scolding her child. They should have already disappeared into the plush emerald room scoured with velvet, they should have already been questioning Poppy, yet he waited for her to finally look at him with that pretty grin on her pretty little face.

 Aleksa blinked almost owlishly when she caught Kaz's stony gaze resting on her. She thought little of it and sauntered closer to the room in which Poppy was likely touching up their lipstick, "So, pretty boy, how much do I dial up my illustrious charm?"

 "For Poppy?" Kaz hummed, his gloved fingers tapping at his cane. He almost grimaced; Poppy likely wished to toss him into the harbour, "You'll likely need to dial it up to ten."

 "I should have known. You really do rub people the wrong way."

 "You're still here aren't you?"

 Her eyes seemingly glinted as she looked over her shoulder. Her face was framed with loose strands of curled hair, her lashes swiping against her pink cheekbones, "Sweetheart, I'm immune to that glare of yours."

 Then she disappeared through the green, velvet curtains that separated them from Poppy.

 As Alkesa had concluded, there Poppy sat without a care in the world as they grazed the ruby red lipstick over their plump lips. Poppy smacked them together just once, and then, their light smile dipped.

 "Aleksa." Poppy chirped, trying to keep their tone light as they stared at the crow through the golden crested mirror. Poppy knew better than to open with a threat and a frown, for even though the two were on civil ground, Poppy knew that Aleksa ran with Dirty Hands. "What a surprise."

 Aleksa could feel the coolness beside her; Kaz was waiting for any unresolved tension to fizzle away before he stepped through the curtain and made things worse. The Shadow Summoner hummed lightly, her fingers delicately gliding over the gems and golden necklaces splayed over an emerald table, "We have a favour to ask of you, darling."

 Poppy gritted their teeth, "We?"

 "We." Kaz spoke with finality as his gloved fingers pried the curtain away and allowed his sharp face to finally come into view, "It's been a while, Poppy."

 In the blink of an eye, a small pistol was gripped within Poppy's ring-covered fingers, their gaze unwavering as the barrel lined upon Kaz Brekker's head.

 Aleksa rose a perfect brow as she glided forwards and slumped herself on the verdant couch. Does everything have to be green? Aleksa pondered as she ran a finger over the detailing on the couch with a grimace. She slowly brought her eyes to the glinting silver pistol, following its path back to Kaz who was unmoved.

 Kaz blinked, a coy grin appearing as he dipped his head just once, "I see you're still upset."

 "About you stealing my shares of the Crow Club?" Poppy snapped.

 "It wasn't stealing. It was a raw deal. Most deals in the Barrel are."

 The gun was lowered, a look of disgust gleaming within Poppy's ever-dark eyes and Aleksa hopped from her seat, "Well, that was fun." She chimed lightly as she paraded over to the cluttered vanity Poppy was sitting before.

 An array of golden jewellery was scattered over the oak wood, candles flickered with each little breath and there was a bundle of fresh red roses within a crystal vase.

 Aleksa swiped one of the roses, fingers grazing the fresh petals before she snapped the stem and with a grin that would make any man or woman drop to their knees, she placed it behind Poppy's ear and dragged her soft fingertip down the performer's chin, "Hope you don't point it at me next, that would be rather embarrassing."

 Poppy looked abashed, irritated at the blush that had sprawled over their flawless skin.

 "What do you want?" The performer finally mumbled as she pried her head from Aleksa's dangerous fingertips, completely aware that Kaz Brekker had tipped his head at Aleksa's words. They were not words of flirtation, nor were they empty... It was a concealed threat, and a threat that the Bastard would happily oblige in Aleksa's place.

 Poppy almost forgot that the pretty woman hovering over their shoulder lusted over danger as much as she did a bed buddy.

 "We need to find someone..." Kaz replied nonchalantly as he slowly turned to the side, glinting eyes glossing over every intricate detail of the room; he was picking yet another lock.

 Aleksa couldn't ever help the small upturn of her plush lips whenever Kaz used the word 'we', he scarcely used it when Jesper or Inej was in company, yet with her, it seemed that he believed they were a team.

 "... Or at least, learn how to find them," Kaz continued, "Tonight."

 "Looking for a club act, are we?"

 Kaz paused. The click of his cane stilled, and that mere loss of noise was enough for Poppy to set the lipstick back down once more and stick Kaz with their gaze. Kaz flicked his eyes to the performer, though not before drifting them over Aleksa first, "We're looking for the Conductor."

 Poppy twisted, craning their neck over their shoulder. That was enough to give both Kaz and Aleksa an answer.

 "So you do know him?" Aleksa almost sang, yet settled for cooing in Poppy's ear.

 "This is about a job, isn't it?" Poppy grit out as they twisted the bottom of the lipstick; watching it with wavering focus as the ruby red slowly disappeared. Poppy avoided Kaz's gaze, and did their best to avoid the warm breath that tickled at their ear as Aleksa plucked the golden tube from their hand, "One that sends you all the way east, for a million Kruge? You'll never make enough to compete with Pekka, you know?"

 Aleksa tore her attention away from the lipstick to watch as Kaz's jaw ticked once more, a fire igniting within his eyes as the merchant was mentioned once more; that flame was enough to rival the blaze of an Inferni.

 But neither Poppy, nor the rest of Ketterdam was well enough acquainted with staring at Kaz Brekker's handsome face to notice the things that Aleksa did, and the performer continued on, "He's a king. You're just the Bastard of the Barrel."

 Kaz kept that cold, stoic gaze of his on Poppy's back as the performer turned away until he spied Aleksa finally parting from prowling over Poppy. They shared a look, and to most it was a passing glance. There was no nod, no narrowed eyes or tick of the lips... nothing. Yet Aleksa had fit and weaved her pretty little self into Ketterdam as though she had been born and raised; she could decipher his code, and he could decipher her own.

 Aleksa knew not of what had happened between Kaz and Pekka, and though she had a craving to know, to poke her perfect nose where it didn't belong... She held her thirst back with a noose made of shadows. She wouldn't pry, she wouldn't tear him apart to try and gather his secrets, but she would help him dethrone Pekka Rollins in a heartbeat.

 Kaz finally broke their stare and lifted the but of his cane into the air. It landed lightly, soundlessly on a pile of jewels and intricate fabrics, he brushed a piece of crimson velvet and a chain made of gold. A piece of crumpled paper was resting there, shining to his keen eye like a beacon. He scowled at the symbol resting upon it.

 "Tante Heleen wrote you?" His rasp echoed out within the quiet room, mingling with the smoke that billowed from the candles, merging with the shadows that slept soundlessly whilst their puppeteer lounged in a chair.

 Poppy rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand in the air. A waft of fresh nail polish was brushed away, "Just this evening, yes, you snoop. She was asking about the Conductor as well. Probably about the same job."

 Aleksa blinked, her brows curling together and a small divot within her skin appeared between them. It only grew deeper as Poppy continued on.

 "So I warned him to steer clear of her."

 Aleksa slowly rose to her feet as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and pointer, "Poppy, dear, please tell me you didn't send a note."

 She had beaten Kaz to it, for the bastard had parted his lips to ask the very same question, though his own words would have been devoid of the light tone Aleksa seemed to perpetually use. The two seemed to be on the same wavelength, which didn't really surprise either of them. Aleksa had come a long way since her arrival.

 Poppy was slow to turn, cautious almost as they picked their head up and finally allowed their sights to rest on Aleksa. They avoided Kaz, "Yes, why?"

 Aleksa groaned as she tipped her head back, light curls brushed the small of her back, and the necklace dangling over her collarbones rose against her bobbing neck. Things could never be easy in the Barrel, Aleksa had learnt that rather quickly, yet even still, she wished things would fix themselves with a snap of her finger.

 Kaz stepped forward. His pressed ebony trousers, intricately patterned black vest and long coat made his silhouette threatening. Sharp lines, tailored edges and a sneer that rivalled that of a rabid wolf, "She wanted you to do that so she could have the messenger followed."

 Now that was enough to bring Poppy's attention back to Kaz. The performer tensed and a vein on the very front of their forehead threatened to lurch out. They swallowed, "She wouldn't hurt him, would she?"

 "She would if it meant hurting me." Kaz snapped, "Now, if you have any loyalty to him, tell me where he is. Right now."

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 Poppy had given in without much persuasion after that. The performer had brought their gaze back to Aleksa, avoiding Kaz at any and all cost as they spouted directions.

 Many would look at the three with an outside eye and conclude that Kaz Brekker despised when people looked to the Summoner instead of himself, but they couldn't have been more wrong. His sneers and scowls and harsh features made people uncomfortable. He scared them.

 Aleksa had a friendly face. From the permanent flush of her high cheekbones to those plump lips of hers that were always smothered with a rose-scented balm, then, of course, to her eyes. Saints, her eyes brought people in and kept them in a snare. Glittering blue akin to that of calm ocean waves beneath a gleaming sun; they could crease at the edges and fill people with happiness and comfort. They could become hooded and harsh and cause people to fall to their knees... But they could also become dangerous.

 He counted on her to manipulate her own features like that of a Tailor to swipe information from people without them even realising. She could coo and hum, she could lower her voice so much that it became sinful.

 But either way, Kaz Brekker would watch on with disguised interest as she did so, and Poppy fell for the act too.

 Aleksa had pulled her lips high as she promised to help the performer's friend. She had grasped Poppy's hands within her own, her smooth skin trailing over Poppy's knuckles as she asked where the Conductor was. That charade had worked far too well, and they stood by the Conductor's door within the hour.

 They had found the Conductor, and their way across the Fold and into Ravka gasping and wheezing beneath a small, hooded figure. But both Aleksa and Kaz could recognise the braid that spilled from the hood with ease; Inej.

 "... Ask the Saints for me." Was the harsh whisper that erupted from Inej's lips as Aleksa finally ceased her steps and paused beside Kaz.

 A knife glinted, and Kaz slammed his cane on the ground. No words were needed, yet a knife came flying their way. Aleksa never flinched, Inej knew her presence better than she knew the back of her hand... And the Wraith wouldn't dare puncture the cold skin of the Bastard that had saved her.

 Kaz was entirely unfazed and didn't even spare the knife lodged in the door beside his head a single glance, "He's our way to Alina Starkov."

 "Him?" Inej's chest was rising and falling as though a Squallor was pumping air into her lungs, only to rip it away moments later.

 Aleksa couldn't blame Inej's scepticism, for the man cowering beneath the Wraith was nothing much to look at. A rotund man with a flock of sweat-slicked curls and a pair of simple glasses. He was not what anybody would picture when they thought of somebody who had crossed the Fold with runaway Grisha in tow.

 But that was not what held the Shadow Summoner's attention, no, as always Aleksa Corvina narrowed her eyes on her friend. Inej Ghafa was not a murderer; no amount of time in the Barrel, no amount of horror witnessed within the Menagerie had made the Suli girl kill; so what information, or what actions had spurred Inej, forgiving, merciful Inej to raise a knife with such vengeance?

 "Heleen knew, Inej." Aleksa breathed, chancing a glance at Kaz who simply nodded. He knew the relationship between the Summoner and the Wraith was one that would forever be unbreakable. "She used you to sabotage us."

 Inej shook her head, "She and I made a deal."

 Kaz took over, and for a short moment he wondered why. The words about to leave his own despicable mouth were no different from what Aleksa would have spouted... Yet from his own they wouldn't carve through the relationship that had blossomed between the women. They would expect him to rasp words as sharp as a dagger, "It isn't worth more than what we get with him alive."

 Inej glared at him, "You would choose him over my freedom?"

 The Wraith scoffed to herself, she didn't know why she had bothered to ask; Kaz Brekker would choose a stack of Kruge over his own life... He'd find some way to spend it in the afterlife, she was certain.

 But all anger faded when Aleksa sighed. Rather than stand by the door and plead their case, the Shadow Summoner walked forth, her steps never faltering as she rested a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. Her blue eyes were steady, staring through the Wraith as though she too, was nothing but a shadow, "This reward and your freedom are not mutually exclusive, you really think I'd agree to go if they were?" Aleksa jutted her chin to the sobbing mess of a man, "You think I'd stop you?"

 Inej knew she wouldn't. Aleksa had been on her side, and by her side, from the moment Inej had trotted up to her and questioned the Summoner on her appearance within Ketterdam. There was an invisible string that tied the pair together... Inej knew that whilst she was not a killer, not yet, Aleksa would have gladly carved the Conductor apart if it was the only way to secure her friend's freedom; and she'd do it all with a smile on her face.

 As much as everybody knew Dirtyhands to be ruthless and unforgiving, people often forgot that Aleksa wasn't all that far behind him. She'd killed Grisha to protect them, she'd killed men and women to cover her tracks, and there was truly no doubt in Inej's mind that Aleksa would sink her dark little claws into anyone; man, woman or child, if it meant that Inej could walk freely.

 Inej withdrew her knife, and the Conductor let out a shallow breath.

 "I trust you." Inej whispered, her eyes finally peering at Aleksa who had yet to remove her hand.

 "I'd never let you down."

 She had said it with such conviction that Inej had stopped breathing for just a moment, relishing in the very idea that somebody out there cared enough to help her. That somebody cared enough to protect her even if she didn't need them to... That somebody was willing to dirty their own hands, just to keep her own clean.

 Kaz had watched on without a peep. There wasn't a ruffle in his clothes or a tick in his expression, yet as Aleksa looked to him, he nodded stiffly. That was about as close to a thank you as Kaz Brekker could manage.

 Aleksa thought he might vomit if he really uttered the words from his lips.

 "If you're done with the sentiment," Kaz drawled out as his heavy and uneven steps carried him to the Conductor. The man was red-faced and sweating whilst tears rolled down his cheeks and sobs broke from his throat.

 Kaz didn't care, "Conductor. I have a job for you."

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06-04-2022

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! please remember to vote and comment, let me know what you think as i do require a certain amount of comments before i post another chapter!!

this chapter is a fav of mine; aleksa and jesper interactions, aleksa flirting with kaz, poppy's appearance and the cute ass scene at the end with aleksa and inej <3