Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone

9

Inej and I followed Kaz as he stormed into his room, immediately rifling through papers as he racked his brain for a way across the Fold.

"What was that?" Inej asked quickly. "Hmm? You want to tell me?" He shook his head, not even looking up at her.

"Be more specific." She shook her head.

"It was one thing when we had a week to find a way across the Fold. But sunrise?" When he didn't respond, she sighed exasperatedly. "We have to say no!"

"No," he replied quickly. She furrowed her brows.

"'No' to the job?" He shook his head.

"'No' to saying 'no.'" Inej groaned, and I stepped back, trying to stay out of their quarrel.

"We can't go!" He glanced up at her.

"Can't we?" She lowered her voice slightly, raising her hand and pulling down her sleeve to reveal her old Menagerie tattoo.

"I can't go," she said quietly. He looked up at her.

"You will. I have a plan." I rolled my eyes. I had been here for nearly eight years, and it quickly became apparent to me when he didn't have any semblance of a plan or even an idea.

"No, you don't," I said simply. He clenched his jaw and glared at me.

"Karlin," he warned. I shook my head.

"I know by now when you're still figuring things out," I told him. "You don't know how to pull off this job." He shook his head.

"I still have six hours," he said. "And right now, neither of you are helping." Inej shook her head.

"Maybe you crack a way across," she said, "but that doesn't solve this problem!" She pointed at the tattoo. He sighed and went back to searching for an answer.

"If I can't crack this, no one's going."

"If you do?" He looked up at her quickly, panic written all over his face.

"Then maybe you stay here!" My eyes widened, and Inej was quiet for a moment.

"Maybe I won't be here when you get back," she muttered before turning on her heel and walking out of the room. I shot Kaz a quick glare before following her.

"Inej," I called. "Inej!" I ducked under the archway and sighed when I saw the familiar open window. I looked back at Kaz, who was frozen at his desk, staring down at the fading wood. I shook my head and picked up a pencil from the table beside me, throwing it at him quickly. I bounced off of his head, and his head snapped up. He frowned.

"Ow," he said quickly. "What was that for?" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't give me that shit, Kaz Brekker," I told him. "You know perfectly well what that was for." He sighed, and it was quiet for a moment.

"I'm not going to leave her here," he said softly after a while, not meeting my eye. "I never would've." I sighed and stepped around the desk, leaning on the wood beside him.

"I know that," I said in an equally-as-soft tone. "But she doesn't. I know by now that you care about us more than you let on, but Inej doesn't realize that. She's been through so much, Kaz, and she's so scared you really would leave her here if it meant doing this job." He looked up at me and nodded.

"We're taking her," he murmured, looking back at the desk. "I have a plan. For that at least." I smiled a bit and nodded.

"See?" He looked up at me. "You do care." He chuckled under his breath, so quiet that it was nearly impossible to pick up on it.