Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone

26

I slid into the seat at the table across from Kaz, and Inej quickly joined us.

"No horses missing at the stables, so..." She trailed off and looked up at us nervously. Kaz looked up at her.

"So?" he asked simply. She frowned.

"What?"

"Are you going to tell me how the target got away?" I stiffened in my seat, and Inej did too.

"I let her go," she said quietly. I frowned. When did this happen?

"You were hired to do a job," Kaz told her. She furrowed her brows and nodded.

"Yes," she said. "The job was to pick up a fake for an easy million kruge. We found a living Saint who can summon the sun." Kaz held up a coin.

"A good magician is a good con artist," he claimed. "The trick-" He flipped his hands, and the coin disappeared from sight. "-is to make it look real." Inej shook her head.

"This is different," she said. "You saw her summon with your own eyes." He leaned back and clasped both hands on top of his cane.

"The best illusions are the most convincing," he said. "That's the game." She sighed.

"You can hide behind your cynicism, but I believe she's the real thing."

"I don't see you falling to your knees to worship every Heartrender or Squaller we meet." I looked over at him, frowning deeply as Inej leaned towards him, speaking firmly.

"This is different," she said deteminedly. "Her power is a miracle." She shook her head. "I won't betray my faith." Kaz scoffed.

"Pious as that may be, we cannot work effectively as a crew if you're making decisions based on religious zeal." I took a deep breath, having finally had enough.

"Kaz," I warned. They both ignored me, and Inej narrowed her eyes across the table at him.

"Is that a threat to return me to Heleen?" Kaz took a sharp breath and leaned forward as well.

"Either we get the target or Heleen gets the Crow Club and Pekka gets whatever's left." My glare softened, as did Inej's, and we stared at him in confusion.

"Wait," I said quietly. "Why would Heleen get the Crow Club?" He glanced between us before standing abruptly and leaving. "Kaz." He ignored me and quickly disappeared. Inej sighed and shook her head.

"What did you do?" she murmured. She stood quickly and left to find him, but he soon sat back down as if he had simply been waiting for her to leave. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke up, staring down at the table.

"I saw her," I whispered. I felt his gaze burn into me, but I refused to meet his eye. "I let her go as well. If you're going to be angry at Inej, you have to be angry with me too." He was silent for a moment before replying.

"Why?" he asked softly. "Why did you let her go? You know what this job means." I looked up at him sadly and shook my head.

"I know," I said quietly. "But talking to her when we got here, it was..." I sighed shakily and glanced around quickly. "It was like talking to myself nine years ago." He furrowed his brows but said nothing, so I continued. "You know what he did to me, or tried to do." I shook my head. "He was trying to do the same thing to her. He was trying to use her power for his own twisted goals." I gulped and glanced down at my hands before looking up at him again. "I needed a fresh start when I ran. She deserves the same."

It was silent for a moment as we stared across the table at each other. But eventually, he spoke.

"You know I can't stay mad at you," he said so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. I smiled a bit, and he did as well before sighing. "Okay. When the others get back... we're going home." My smile grew slightly, and I nodded, reaching across the table cautiously and resting my hand on top of his.

"Thank you," I said softly. He flipped his hand over and laced our fingers together, squeezing my hand a few times and nodding.

"Of course," he said, his voice gentler than I think I had ever heard it before. His cheeks flushed a pale pink, and he looked down at the table. "Anything for you, Lin. Always... for you."

aFteR aLL tHiS tiMe???

i'm dissociatieng

and no im not fixing that