Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone

20

i don't feel like finding a pic of the uniforms so have a meme lol

Once I had changed into the uniform Baghra had supplied me with, I was able to get inside the Little Palace without a hitch. I walked calmly down the familiar halls of the building with an air of fake confidence. On the inside, I was a mess.

The last time I was in this building, I felt trapped. I was used. I was convinced that I would be stuck following my father's orders for the rest of my life. And now that I was back... that feeling of hopelessness was starting to seep in once again. By the time I reached the laundry room to meet Kaz, my palms were sweaty and my hands were shaking.

"Lin!" I jumped as Kaz appeared in front of me but sighed in relief when I realized it was him. "Are you okay? You look terrified." I gulped and nodded, but he shook his head. "You forget that I can read you just as well as you can read me." I pressed my lips together and looked around the room, sighing.

"I don't have great memories of this place," I told him quietly. "The last time I was here, I was running away from my own family." I shook my head, looking up at him. "I never thought I would have to come back here." He furrowed his brows and nodded, hesitating before hugging me gently. My heart skipped a beat. He only held me for a few moments before pulling away, but it was still enough to bring a smile to my face. I chuckled quietly and looked up at him.

"Still catches me off guard," I said softly. He smiled a bit and nodded before looking around the room.

"We should get going," he said. "We have to find a good spot to take her before tonight." I nodded, and together we left the room, scouting the halls as Kaz glanced down at the small map Inej had made.

After a while, Kaz ducked into a small alcove by a door, wincing and clutching his leg. I frowned and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is this okay?" I asked quietly. He glanced at me and gulped.

"Yes," he muttered. I nodded.

"Do you need to stop?" He took a deep breath and shook his head, pushing himself off the wall and continuing down the hall with me close behind him. We rounded a corner, and he began counting off the doors. He furrowed his brows as we reached the end of the hall and looked to our left.

"Look," he said quietly. He pointed down at the map, which showed another room, then at the wall. I frowned. "There's no door." I walked over to the wall and ran my hands along it.

"There is a room here," I murmured. He frowned and pushed against it, only for it to remain firmly in place. We glanced at each other before hearing footsteps nearing around the corner. Kaz grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room at the end of the hall, leaving the door open just enough for us to see the missing door.

"Maybe we can find out how to get that door open." I felt his breath fan against the back of my neck and became suddenly aware of our close proximity. My back was close to being pressed against his chest with only a few centimeters between us. We were close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off of him. I gulped and diverted my attention back to the people that had just walked up to the wall outside.

A materialnik held up her hands, and I quickly realized she was a Durast when I heard the sound of metal sliding against metal and the door that me and Kaz had been trying to figure out swung open, revealing a bright room where an Inferni was waiting beside two identical black and gold keftas.

I furrowed my brows. In my years living in the Little Palace, I had only ever known my father to have worn a black kefta. Had he allowed the Sun Summoner to be given one as well?

As the door swun closed, I felt Kaz's fingers slide around my wrist, and he turned me to face him. I pressed my lips together as I looked up at him. He stared down at me, and I was lucky I could see in the dark well enough to make out his features in the shadows of the room.

"We'll have to tell the others," he said so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. I took a deep breath and nodded. "We should go..." I nodded again, but neither of us moved to leave the small space. And I was shocked to realize that he was instead inching closer to me. My lips parted as I stared up at him.

He took a shaky breath before I felt his lips gently brush against mine. My heart skipped a beat, but I smiled a bit. He only lingered for a second before pulling away and clenching his jaw. I smiled softly up at him.

"It's okay," I assured him quietly. I could see him shaking, but he smiled a bit and nodded. He glanced at the ground before looking back up at me and smiling nervously. I chuckled and nodded towards the hallway. "Let's go..." He nodded, and we carefully snuck back out of the room and down the hall.

When we turned the corner however, there was a figure waiting for us, leaning on the wall. Surprisingly, it wasn't the figure herself that shocked me but instead the kefta she was wearing.

Black with white embroidery.

I had never heard of anyone that had not only bore the same color as my father but in addition was gifted that type of embroidery. She couldn't have been much older than me, but she held herself with such an air of confidence that part of me wanted to turn and run the other way; however, the other part of me–the more prominent part–said that she wasn't allowed to see herself as more powerful than me or Kaz and especially not us together.

But it quickly became clear that she didn't want to turn us in for infiltrating the most secure building the world had to offer. Instead, she pushed herself off the wall and stepped towards us with visible caution. Her gaze, which to my confusion was fixed solely on Kaz, was unwavering as she seemed to search for some kind of answer. There was something familiar about her as she stopped in front of us, but I said nothing.

"Is it really you?" she asked quietly. I heard Kaz take a deep breath beside me and furrowed my brows. "Kaz?" My frown deepened as I wondered who the hell this girl was. How could she know who he was? Unless she had been to Kerch, there would be no reason for them to have met. I looked up at Kaz, confused, but he didn't look away from the girl.

"Katya?" he whispered. My eyes widened as it clicked who we were looking at.

Katya was the name of his sister that had been taken by Grisha just before I came to Ketterdam.

Kaz looked down at me and leaned to whisper into my ear.

"Go back to the others," he said quietly. "I'll meet you there, I promise." I glanced at Katya, frowning a bit, before nodding and walking away.

I wasn't sure how much I trusted Katya. She had been living in the Little Palace for nearly ten years and was clearly close to the Darkling as she bore his colors. But if Kaz was willing to speak to her alone and trusted that everything would most likely be fine, I would trust him.

katya my love T-T i'm sorry for everything i do to you