Shadows: A Six of Crows Fan fic

Chapter Eighteen: Kaz

A/N Hey y'all, sorry for the long note but this is IMPORTANT so please read. If any of you out there are reading this on NovelHD or teenfic.net, please stop right now and switch over to reading on Wattpad. These websites have infringed on my copyright and illegally posted this to their websites without my permission. It is not okay to do this. If someone out there is the one who copy-pasted it to one of these websites, stop doing so right now. You DO NOT have my permission to do so. Please take it down immediately. Doing this to any person's work is harmful to them and their work. Even if you maybe have our username posted with the story, it gives the writer no real recognition or credits. I had no idea these websites held my stuff and because of it, I can't know when people are reading my stuff, what they think of it, or if people out there like it. It takes readers away from my actual story and I lose control over my story as I can't edit them. These works could be edited at any time and do a disservice to my hard work. It's NEVER okay to take peoples' work and do with them as you will without their consent. Please, if you're someone that does this, stop now. It's a harmful thing to do and frankly, I was almost in tears when I realized this has happened. I've gone most of the week riled and distracted because of it. Even if you had good intentions, this is not okay. Please stop. And Wattpad, please start doing something about these stories being pouched. Anyways, back to the story that's probably going to be plagiarized again. Sad that I have to be a downer and say this too, honestly this is a pretty good chapter in my opinion and pretty spicy too (For Kanej that is and warning of that for some readers BTW), I hate to detract from that. Anywho, happy reading I guess.

"I'm so sorry," Kaz said.

As the words left his mouth, the laughter left her eyes and the soft smile melted away from Inej's face and he nearly cursed himself for it. But she needed to hear those words. He didn't say them often, to anyone, but she deserved to hear them a thousand times after everything he'd done both in the past and in the present. And, if he was being honest with himself, everything he was bound to do in the future.

Looking up into her eyes, he tried to convey all of his feelings and honesty but he frankly wasn't sure how. Most of his life had been him learning how to conceal his emotions or portray fake ones effortlessly. Allowing himself to be open and have his emotions there for her to read was one of the hardest things he'd ever have to learn. But soon, the soft smile returned and relief flooded through him.

"Could we go talk, now?" Kaz asked hesitantly, wanting to be as patient with her as possible but also feeling his muscles quake from the effort of keeping him balanced on the bowsprit.

For a minute Inej said nothing as she processed the question but soon a mischievous glint entered her eyes. Inej jumped down from the railing and nodded her head back. "Sure, let's go back to my quarters." With a smirk on her face, Inej turned on her heel and started heading for her cabin leaving Kaz to precariously inch towards the ship and scramble after her, picking his cane off the deck as he went. He huffed as she limped after her, rolling his eyes as Jesper handed Inej a wad of Kruger from the bets and patted his shoulder. This woman would be the death of him. Literally and figuratively.

As they walked across the ship, her crew cheered and congratulated her, patting her on the shoulder or putting a fist over their heart in respect. Even a few of Dawa's assassins gave a begrudging nod as she passed. After Inej exchanged a few mumbled words with Specht, they finally made it back to her cabin and Inej held the door open for him before shutting it tightly behind him. Silently, the padding of her feet not even audible, Inej walked over to her desk and leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting.

Kaz cleared his throat, praying to her saints for the first time in a long time that he didn't screw this up. "Look, Inej," he cleared his throat again. "I'm sorry that I've done all of this to you. It was never my intention. I-" he took a deep breath and shook his head. "I should have listened to you and stayed out of it. I have never thought you were weak or incapable. There's no one I would trust more to watch my back than you."