𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹 | 𝑘.𝑏.

32

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L O W R I S K , N O R E W A R D
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OF COURSE YUL-BAYUR WASN'T HERE. Not in the upper cells. Without a doubt, the Fjerdans would be keeping the scientist close to the heart of the prison, somewhere on the White Island. But Pekka Rollins?

Possibly.

It was also possible he was dead. But Kaz didn't believe it.

I'd know, Kaz thought. Somehow I'd know.

"Your death belongs to me," he whispered.

•   •   •

Where the fuck is Kaz? Jesper bounced from foot to foot in front of the incinerator, the dim clang of alarm bells filling his ears, rattling his thoughts. Yellow Protocol? Red Protocol? He couldn't remember which was which. Their whole plan had been built around never hearing the sound of an alarm.

Inej had secured the rope to the roof and dropped down a line for them to climb. Jesper had sent the rest of the rope up with Wylan, Matthias, and Feta, along with a pair of shears he'd located in the laundry, and a crude grappling hook he'd fashioned from the metal slats of a washboard. Then he'd cleaned the spatter of rain and moisture from the floor of the refuse room, and made sure there were no scraps of rope or other signs of their presence. There was nothing left to do but wait — and panic when the alarm started to ring.

Feta had offered to stay and wait for Nina and Kaz but Jesper had sent her up the rope, insisting Inej needed one of the Dregs there with her. Now he was regretting it. I would have been able to entertain Inej just fine.

He heard people shouting to each other, a hail of stomping boots through the ceiling above. Any minute, some intuitive guards might venture down to the basement. If they found Jesper by the incinerator, the route to the roof would be obvious. He'd be damning not only himself but the others as well.

Come on, Kaz. I'm waiting on you. They all were. Nina had come charging into the room only minutes before, gasping for breath.

"Go!" she'd cried. "What are you waiting for?"

"You!" Jesper shot back. But when he asked her where Kaz was, Nina's face had crumpled.

"I hoped he was with you."

She'd vanished up the rope, grunting with effort, leaving Jesper standing below, frozen with indecision. Had the guards captured Kaz? Was he somewhere in the prison fighting for his life?

He's Kaz Brekker. Even if they locked him up, Kaz could escape any cell, any pair of shackles. Jesper could leave the rope for him, pray Feta's rainstorm and the cooling incinerator was enough to keep the bottom of it from burning away. But if he just kept standing here like a podge, he'd give away their escape route, and they'd all be doomed. There was nothing to do but climb.

Jesper grabbed the rope just as Kaz hurtled through the door. His shirt was covered in blood, his dark hair a wild mess.

"Hurry," he said as though Jesper had been the one keeping him waiting.

A thousand questions crowded into Jesper's head, but he didn't stop to ask them. He swung out over the coals and started to climb. Rain was still falling in a light patter from above, and he felt the rope tremble as Kaz took hold beneath him. When Jesper looked down, he saw Kaz bracing himself to swing the incinerator doors closed behind them.

Jesper put hand over hand, pulling himself up from knot to knot. His arms began to ache, the rope cutting into his palms. He braced his feet against the wall of the incinerator when he needed to, then recoiled at the heat of the bricks. How had Inej made this climb with nothing to hold on to?