Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone

27

Jesper returned a little while later, sitting across the table and leaning in to speak in a hushed tone.

"The alarm trigger is set," Jesper said. "Horses are ready and I've stashed the rest of our gear." Kaz nodded and glanced at me.

"If we don't move soon, the Black General will be on top of us," he said. "We can't waste any more time looking for the girl." I smiled a bit, and Inej appeared again and sat down at the final seat.

"I just settled our tab with the last of our coin," she informed us. Jesper furrowed his brows and glanced at the three of us.

"We're really gonna leave empty-handed, then?" Before any of us could answer him, however, an explosion echoes from outside, startling the people around the tavern. He looked back at us. "Our alarm." Kaz nodded, standing and grabbing his hat and cane. The rest of us followed suit, and he glanced between us.

"Split up," he said quickly. "Much easier to take a Grisha one-on-one than a whole squad of them. Rendezvous at the fountain." He looked down at me, lowering his voice slightly. "Stay with me. I don't want you alone with the Darkling here." I nodded quickly, not having any argument there, and the four of us rushed out of the tavern. Unfortunately for us, luck was never on our side, and the crowd was just parted enough that we could see three Grisha across the courtyard. One of them frowned at Inej before a look of realization dawned her face, and she growled angrily.

"No!" she yelled, summoning a ball of fire and throwing it towards us.

"Move!" Kaz yelled, pulling me out of the way as the other two ran off as well. He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the Grisha. As we ducked through the crowd, he pulled me into a side street in an attempt to lose the one on our tail. We pressed up close to the wall, and I summoned a small amount of shadow to cover us as the girl looked around for us. After a moment, she gritted her teeth and moved on, allowing me to release my hold on the darkness and let out a sigh of relief.

"Good job," Kaz murmured. I glanced up at him and nodded. He looked down the alleyway and sighed. "This way." We ducked through the narrow alley, but as we turned a corner, we both froze when we saw a familiar man in a black cloak waiting for us. I gritted my teeth as I glared at him.

"Karlin," he muttered. "What a... pleasant surprise." I shook my head quickly.

"You and I both know that's not true," I growled. He clicked his teeth.

"Now," he said slowly, "is that any way to greet your father." I clenched my jaw and shook my head.

"You're no father to me." I heard someone drop to the ground behind us, and Kaz and I both spun around to see Katya standing there with a small smirk resting on her face.

"I should have known you wouldn't be far," Kaz said confidently. She smirked.

"I know you kidnapped Alina, Kaz," she said. "Even after I tried to warn you."

"And now you're going to tell us where you stashed her," Kirigan said. I looked between the two of them, furrowing my brows in confusion as I tried to decipher what entirely was going on. I inched my hand towards Kaz's out of instinct.

"We didn't take her," Kaz told her. "She fled on her own." She blinked slowly.

"Where is she?" When we hesitated to respond, Kirigan stepped closer, and Katya mirrored it.

"We won't ask you again." I shook my head.

"We don't know," I said. I made eye contact with Kirigan. "It was pretty clear she wasn't interested in being a captive anymore." Kaz nodded.

"She's probably halfway to Novyi Zem by now." Katya clenched her fists, and Kirigan looked to the ground. When his gaze lifted, anger radiated off of him.

"You should have stayed in Ketterdam," he told us in a dangerous tone. He began to move his hands to form the Cut, and my eyes widened. But as he threw the blade, a wall of fire appeared between him and Kaz, Katya, and me. Kaz and I both looked to Katya, who gritted her teeth.

"Get out of here," she told us firmly, pushing past us to stand next to the searing barrier.

"Why are you helping us?" Kaz asked skeptically. She took a deep breath.

"Because while you tried to kidnap my friend and blatantly ignored my warnings," she said, "you're still my little brother, and I'll be damned if I let you get hurt when I can stop it." She took hold of his arm gently and sighed. I looked down at her hand in slight confusion before brushing it off and looking back up at her. "Now for once in your life, please. Listen to me. Get the hell out of here." He glanced at the wall behind her and nodded. Before we left, he paused and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. I pressed my lips together and looked away, assuming this was a relatively private moment.

"I love you, Kat," I heard Kaz mutter.

"I love you too, Kaz." I looked back at them as she stepped back and pushed him away gently. "Now go. And be careful." He nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the alley and back onto the main street. We continued down the road for a few minutes as we made our way back to the fountain, but before we made it back, he pulled me into an alcove and hugged me tightly. My heart stopped for a moment, but I quickly hugged him back, burying my face in his chest.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured. "I wanted to keep you safe and instead I led you right to him." I frowned and looked up at him, but he left his hands resting lightly on my waist.

"Hey," I said softly. "I would rather I had been with you than have you have to face him alone." He nodded, though he still looked slightly discouraged, and took a deep breath before kissing me briefly. Almost as quickly as he had initiated it, he pulled back, turning away. I could see his hands shaking and took a small step back.

I said nothing as he composed himself. It took a few minutes, but eventually he turned back to face me and nodded, though he still didn't fully meet my eye.

"We should get going," he said quietly. "We need to meet Jesper and Inej." I nodded, and the two of us silently made our way back to the fountain.

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