𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 | 𝐒𝐨𝐂

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄.

xxv: the king's sins

"If we weren't on a schedule, I'd say this could be a date," Alessia grinned, dusting off her clothes. They both swept onto their feet, stalking into the shadows. "It's a shame Nikolai didn't decorate the place," She regarded the shoddy wooden tents with a wrinkled nose. "Even Ketterdam's sewers have more colour than this,"

Inej flinched at the rustle of a rider's cloak, splaying her palm over Alessia's chest and pushing her behind her back.

"Apologies for not living up to your expectations, Alessia, darling," Nikolai Lantsov spoke, his voice, charmingly calm. His face was pale; no amount of beauty could hide the depletion behind his eyes. "I don't plan on staying here for long,"

Nikolai's eyes swept between Inej and Alessia. His lips curled up in a satisfied grin that left the girl's skin crawling. "You bought friends," Inej bravely shook out her shoulders, jutting her chin forward. She would not bow to a merciless sovereign - her morals forbid it.

"Inej Ghafa," Nikolai said finally, placing a name onto her face. "Kaz Brekker's right hand," The Wraith despised his tone, the slight bounce at the end of his sentences was so similar to Natasha Van Doren's pleasant mannerisms.

Alessia Ivanov pushed herself forward to stand beside Inej, lacing her fingers through hers. "She's also my girlfriend, Lantsov," Alessia spat. She came to realise it was the first time she had officially announced the titles of their relationships.

Inej was glad for the fog. It disguised the crimson blush bleeding over her cheeks. "Place a hand on her, and it will be the last time you have hands,"

Lantsov grinned, absolutely delighted by the threats. Perhaps he'd gone mad. His blue eyes glistened, Poseidon rearing with the receptions of a tsunami. They glinted madly, so disparate to the simmering rage behind Kaz Brekker's brown eyes.

It innerved Alessia to think her best friend had fallen head over heels for such monsters. She promised if she ever did crawl her way out alive, she'd deliver a masterclass on how loving girls was so much more promising than men.

"I've got an army," Nikolai said, sweeping around and pointing to the battleships moored on Ketterdam's harbour. "Kaz Brekker's country has turned its back on him. The Stadwatch should be at his dwellings any moment now,"

Inej betrayed a glance at her watch. It had been nearly an hour and a half since she left, bidding Kaz Brekker goodbye with a fierce nod. She wondered if her goodbye would be any different if she'd known that nod might have been the last.

The king looked left and right, his voice dropping low. "Alessia, I could have your exile revoked; spare your pretty little neck from the noose," He looked down at the shimmering pearl necklace hidden beneath the wool of her shirt.

Nikolai looked over at Inej Ghafa. Her lips were upturned and appalled. "I'm feeling magnanimous today," His tone was whimsical and volatile. "Inej Ghafa could be an immeasurable asset to Ravka's development,"

Nikolai Lantsov was not a liar. Ravka had extended its army by many digits in the past months. The economy undeviatingly peaked as Ravka signed commerce deals with Frejda. The thralldom and assassination of Grisha gradually were diminishing, and the side effects of Grisha Parem propelled governments' attentiveness away from it.

Ravka had its horizon's opening, glorious days were ahead.

Inej shifted her body, veiling the smirk playing over her lips. Her diligence snagged on Nikolai's bluff like a needle through cotton. No autocrat with such authority would ever hand out plea deals for some of the nation's worst.