𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍 — you heathen

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 𝐊𝐀𝐙 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐃 not followed Aleksa, Inej and the Conductor back to the Slat after their discussion had met its end. He had told the Shadow and the Wraith to keep an eye on their new crew member, to drag him to the Slat and keep him out of eyesight until he returned.

 Aleksa, despite the questions that had bubbled on her tongue, knew better than to ask Kaz where he was going, and why he wasn't joining them. So, rather than ask a question that would likely go unanswered, she simply nodded and parted him with "Don't miss me too much." before spinning on her heel to catch up with Inej, and a very disgruntled Conductor who threw cautious glances at the Wraith.

 Even now, as Aleksa, Kaz, Jesper, Inej and the Conductor bounced along the bumpy cobble road within a snug carriage on their route to Novokribirsk, Aleksa had no idea where Kaz had paraded to when he'd watched her saunter off.

 The curiosity was still there and she threw glances at him every few moments until a bump in the road snapped her attention back to the pain growing on her tailbone. Whatever it was that he had left them behind to do, Aleksa knew it had to be important, for he had put their mission on pause and trailed off into the night.

 Kaz dipped his head, chin close to the collar of his shirt as he lowered his voice to but a rasp of a whisper, "Is there something on my face, Aleksa?"

 Aleksa was not somebody to blush and stutter when caught staring, and so she dramatically flung her chin into the palm of her hand, cocking her head to stare up at him as her lashes fluttered, "Am I not allowed to admire?"

 Kaz's stomach twisted and he hated it. A scoff split through his lips before he could think of a retort, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the Shadow Summoner roll her eyes and slump back into her seat.

 The carriage was small, 'cosy' the Conductor had said, but that was certainly not how any of the crows would have described it. Jesper, though frighteningly tall, was impeccably skinny, and Inej was but a wisp in the breeze; thus the Zemeni boy and the Suli girl had the fortune of setting themselves on either side of the Conductor whilst Kaz and Aleksa perched opposite to them.

 Aleksa hadn't taken it personally when Kaz had shuffled in his seat, pressing himself as close to the door of the carriage as he possibly could, his legs angled away from her own... Though she did worry that if he scooted any further, he'd find himself on the cobbled road, watching as they left him in the dust.

 Aleksa had spent a majority of their already tiring journey splitting her glances between Kaz and the Conductor; for whilst Aleksa couldn't quench her thirst for answers regarding Kaz... Aleksa also couldn't quell the unease that settled in the pit of her stomach when the Conductor met her eyes.

 The Conductor, of course, would flee from her sight and shift in his seat; clearly he too believed that Aleksa could see through him like a pane of thin, sparkling glass. He was wrong. Aleksa couldn't see through him, not at all, and perhaps it was the niggling sensation of distrust within her gut that kept her peering into his beady little eyes.

 The Conductor was a man who smuggled Grisha from the Little Palace and gave them a way through the Fold... That information alone was enough to understand that the man within their presence was sneaky. He was manipulative and smart; you had to be to get out of the Little Palace without raising alarm, Aleksa would know.

 But the Conductor, Arken, had no shadows to cloak himself within, no darkness that he could weave like a cloak and simply disappear into the night. He was a garish and loud man, so how did he do it?

 Arken had sputtered and sobbed that he was a mere man who wished to help Grisha forced to fight in the war, nothing more and nothing less... But for a man such as he to be in the position that he was... Aleksa wondered just how he had gotten there, and how he had known the men that Inej sought out.

 The carriage continued to stutter and bump against every damn stone within their path and Aleksa was beginning to wish that she had taken Jesper's place, at least then she could have settled herself over Inej and Arken; it would have been a delight to watch the man squirm beneath her.

 Alas, Aleksa stood as best she could within their petit mode of transport and slipped Kaz's coat from her shoulders. Kaz rose a brow at her, watching as she bundled his woollen coat into a messy ball only to throw it on the seat and plop herself back down.

 "I did want that coat back." Kaz muttered.

 Aleksa lolled her head to the side, ocean blue staring into bitter coffee, "I'm sitting on it."

 "Yes, well done."

 Her eye almost twitched, did he think she had the plague? With a long breath she laxened her features and a sluggish smile tugged at her lips, "Well, I could be doing a lot worse with it."

 "I dread to think."

 "Don't get jealous, pretty boy."

 Kaz fought the urge to smile, and instead he tapped her ankle with his cane, "Jealous? Of whom?"

 Aleksa chuckled, her gleaming teeth on full display as she lowered her voice to rival his own, "Do you want a list?"

 Kaz held her gaze for a moment, searching her eyes as a distraction from the tune her voice had taken. It was positively sinful. He broke their stare and tightened the grip he had on his cane, attention now on Arken, "I didn't hire you to simply get us across the Fold. You're with us because you smuggle Grisha out of the Little Palace, and that's the location of our target."

 "Sun Summoner." Inej supplied, her eyes trained on the window as she ignored the sharp look that Kaz sent her way.

 "Alleged."

 "They wouldn't keep a fraud in the most secure location in all of Ravka."

 Aleksa's eyes flicked between the two and though Aleksa Corvina certainly did not believe in Saints and Gods; she did believe in Grisha, in her own kind. Was it truly so outlandish to think that there could be a girl out there that simply did the opposite of what Aleksa and Aleksander could?

 If Aleksa and her dear brother could call upon the darkness and command the shadows like soldiers within their charge, why couldn't somebody call to the light? That didn't make them a Saint, or a saviour, just another Grisha with a rather rare power.

 But whilst Aleksa and Inej didn't see eye to eye with the belief of Saints and saviours, Aleksa absolutely agreed with Inej's previous words; they wouldn't keep a fraud in the most secure location in all of Ravka.

 She was right, just as Inej usually was. The Little Palace was a place of solace and safety to many Grisha. They were walls in which they were seen as people, as Grisha, not witches and abominations... And Aleksander was the very man who took them in, gave them a home and a pace to hone their skills.

 But unlike many others, Aleksa knew Aleksander on a deeper scale; she had watched his emotions slip as the anger seeped through, as nothing but harsh control motivated him; there wasn't a single reason as to why he would allow a false Grisha to intertwine themselves with his army.

 Kaz scowled at the Wraith whilst Aleksa regarded him through her peripheral, "Inej is right."

 "You always say that," Jesper whined, and not because he agreed with Kaz, but simply because Aleksa and Inej seemed to always be hand in hand, thought in thought. Aleksa was always on her side, yet scarcely on his... Though perhaps that would be due to the gambling that rubbed Aleksa the wrong way and infuriated her to no end.

 "Because she's usually always right," Aleksa replied flippantly as though the answer was obvious. Which it was. "There isn't a chance that..." Aleksa swallowed, her eyes narrowing on Arken; she couldn't speak freely about her ties with Aleksander here, and to reinforce that very fact, Kaz's cane had oh so silently collided with her ankle once more.

 She really was going to punch him in the throat if he kept wacking her. She cleared her throat and the seriousness she had donned seemed to simmer away, being replaced with that well-known gleam, "There's no way the General of the second army would let a fake inside those walls... Neither would the King."

 She had heard horror stories of Grisha being presented to the King as though they were nothing but tools to him, party favours and toys to play with when he decided to neglect his country further. Ivan had told her of the way he sized the women up and sneered at the men before scoffing in every Grisha's face. Apparently the Queen was no better.

 Kaz, as ever when the rare circumstances of him being proved wrong came to light, huffed beneath his breath and redirected his attention as though the conversation had never occured, though he did spare a glare to Aleksa who kicked his cane with the ankle he had likely bruised.

 "You said you have a contact who can get us inside," The bastard leaned forward by a hair, impossibly dark and bitter eyes burning holes into Arken, "A Heartrender."

 Aleksa wanted to stomp her foot like a child ready to throw a tantrum; she could get them in easily. But her fear, the fear she had thought long since lost crawled over her back like a pair of cold and dead hands, it gripped at her throat and curled around her windpipe; she didn't want to face the wrath of her brother, not yet.

 So she kept quiet, and rather than abuse the rickety carriage with her heavy boot, she pulled one leg — the one Kaz seemed to enjoy torturing — onto the seat and rested her cheek against her knee; eyes facing Kaz as they glided over his pretty face once more. She really wished she could pluck a blush from him.

 Even if she did voice her thoughts and stray opinions, even if she piped up with confidence and said she could smuggle them inside under the guise of shadows... Kaz wouldn't have let her.

 He had thought about it once, and then again and again as he signed the letter meant for Tante Heleen; but he couldn't bring himself to toss the letter into the fire, and he couldn't bring himself to thrust his Shadow back into the Palace she had once run from.

 Arken nodded as he took another peep at each member of the crew. His gaze never settled on Inej for too long and if it lasted more than a second, or if the Wraith turned to meet his eyes, a thick bead of sweat would trail down his flushed forehead.

 He regarded Jesper with little interest, for all he saw was a lanky boy with far too much energy. As for Kaz, well Arken must have heard Brekker's name whispered with fear around the city they had left behind, for he would clear his throat and falsify his tone. He tried to be loud, sure and somewhat cocky... But Kaz was a lockpick, not just of safes and infuriating doors... But people too.

 Arken spared another look at Aleksa and she was certain he saw her the very same way many others did. A little girl from a big city that would likely eat her alive. He had seen her fluttering lashes, her coy grins and dulcet cooings and had likely decided that she was of little help.

 Let them underestimate you, Kaz had once said, they'll never see you coming.

 Oh, dear pretty boy, they'd never see me coming regardless, she had responded as she ran a brush through her hair, unaware of the fleeting smile on Kaz's lips.

 "How do I know we can trust her?" Kaz questioned the Conductor, eyes bitter as Arken finally plied his attention away from the pretty Grisha who had yet to move her stare from Kaz's face.

 "Nina grew up there."

 "Most Grisha grow up in the Little Palace. Very few would betray their General, and fewer still would help foreigners kidnap their most prized possession."

 Kaz remained unblinking as he grilled the conductor, though a part of him was paying attention to Aleksa, searching for a hint of hesitance, for an ounce of sadness or guilt for what she was helping him accomplish. She was a Grisha too, with ties closer to the very General he spoke off than any Grisha before her.

 Yet Aleksa remained still, her bobbing throat obscured by the flock of hair that tumbled over the side of her face and tickled at the skin of her neck. There was a hint of guilt, a hint of hesitance, a hint of every emotion under the bloody sun, but she hoped she reigned it in well. Perhaps it was revenge?

 Revenge for being kept under lock and key? Kept in one of the very cages that Kaz Brekker could have so easily picked. Maybe there was some anger at her brother for the way she was treated, for the bruises received when the Shadows complied with her wishes, and not her brothers.

 Maybe it still stung her that so few attempts to find her had been made. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, only the hidden feeling that was tucked away in her heart; she loved her brother, but she despised the cage he had closed her within.

 This was revenge. Penance perhaps. Either way, he'd never know she was involved and when the day came that revenge bubbled back into something akin to fondness for her brother, then she would return.

 "Nina is a radical." Arken explained. "She believes Grisha should get to choose if they serve the Crown. She despises involuntary service more than she does Fjerdans."

 Aleksa liked her already.

 Once Arken had settled into an uncomfortable silence and Kaz had decided that he no longer wished to bombard the man with questions that made him squirm — though it did, in fact, delight him — the carriage was free of conversation.

 Inej spun and twirled a knife between her skilled fingers, Jesper tapped his foot in an uneven tune until his toes were assaulted by Kaz's cane, to which he then bounced his fingers along the pearly handles of his pistols.

 Kaz stared out the window, bitter coffee unseeing as he went over the plans he had concocted within his devious little mind... Though as the bumps in the road knocked him out of his devilish daze, he'd flick his gaze to Aleksa and raise a brow as she continued to drill holes into his cheeks. He shifted once or twice, not entirely uncomfortable, but completely unfamiliar and unacquainted with the buzzing in his belly.

 Aleksa relished in it. She had absolutely no shame and simply grinned at him whenever eyes briefly met. She'd wiggle the fingers curled around her knee, or bounce her brows on her forehead, smiling broadly whenever the boy beside her rolled his wondrous eyes.

 Eventually, however, Aleksa's endeavours came to a close as the darkness she so readily twisted overtook her and lulled her into a dreamless and soundless sleep. Her head lolled to one side, lightly resting against the side of the carriage whilst her hair rippled with each bounce of the rickety carriage.

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 Aleksa couldn't quite tell just how long they had been travelling for, or whether another bout of arguments had sprouted whilst she was within the safe confines of her deep sleep, what she did know, however, was that she was going to give Kaz Brekker a rather deep bruise whenever the opportunity presented itself.

 She had awoken from the darkness that had swallowed her soundlessly to a rather painful jab in her ribs. Her eyes had shot open, and within a second her first had darted out to strike at her assaulter... Only for Kaz to barely avoid her. Her fist had skimmed the free hairs that fluttered around his face as the boy who was surprisingly nimble, hopped backwards.

 She blinked at him as her shoulders slumped and her hands rubbed at her eyes, "Why would you do that, you heathen?"

 Kaz fought a grin, "Keeping you on your toes."

 "I'll put you on your knees in a minute."

 "Is that a fact?"

 Then, as though somebody had snapped their fingers next to her ears, Aleksa's expression changed. From blinking blearily against her fatigue to her lips tugging high as her eyes narrowed with deviousness... she leaned closer, "It's a promise, pretty boy."

 Aleksa almost recoiled when a slow burst of pink crawled beneath the skin of the Bastard's cheeks. She had done it. She had made the infamous Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands himself, blush.

 Aleksa couldn't help the bubble of light laughter that tumbled from her soft lips as Kaz opened his mouth wordlessly. He scowled at the sound, yet couldn't deny the electrifying buzz that hummed over his skin at the sound.

 "Now, now," Aleksa then yawned as she hobbled to her feet, groaning with every click of her bones and stretch of her muscles. She swiped up the coat she'd been sitting on and threw it towards Kaz, watching as he fumbled for a single second before righting himself, "Don't get too excited, we have a job to do."

 Kaz Brekker wanted to strike his cane out once more, he wanted to poke the very end of it into her ribs and watch as she doubled over... But he knew that if he did, she'd only look up at him with those ensnaring eyes of hers.

 "Try not to flirt with the Heartrender, hm?" He croaked as he unfurled the coat that had been tossed his way. For a moment he contemplated throwing it back or tossing it to the ground... But rather than do either, he rolled his eyes at Aleksa's awaiting and outstretched arms and held the coat open.

 Her movements were slow as she gently placed her left arm into the awaiting sleeve, and then the right. She stayed where she was, back to Kaz and her stray hairs ticked the skin on the very tip of his pink nose. She plied her hair from the coat, tossing it to the side before spinning on her heel. They were insufferably close, and to be completely honest, she was sure if she moved even a hairsbreadth closer, his cane would find permanent residence within her thudding heart.

 "Why's that?" She cooed, blinking owlishly, "You only want me to flirt with you?"

 "Start walking Aleksa."

 "You're no fun."

 "You're insufferable."

 "I'm a delight."

 Kaz snorted, "You keep telling yourself that."

 Inej, Jesper and Arken were waiting silently for the pair, though as their words grew louder Jesper couldn't help but bring his lips closer to Inej's ear and whispered, "Mum and dad are fighting again."

 This time, it was Inej that snorted, though neither Bastard nor Summoner could dwell on the matter for they continued to bicker as they strode forth. Aleksa was far too wrapped up with her witty comebacks, and Kaz seemed to roll his eyes endlessly; Jesper began to wonder if they would get stuck that way.

 He shivered at the thought.

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13-04-2022

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!!

i really snuck a lot of that wit from aleksa into this; and KAZ BREKKER BLUSHING bye, i'm screaming and crying.