Once Inej was able to move again, we headed back towards the train that lay completely in the open next to the Fold. There was a cart across the field from it, and the four of us quickly ducked below it when we spotted movement by the contraption. Upon further examination, I realized they were First Army, and my heart sank.
"How many are there?" Inej asked quietly.
"Two," Kaz replied. I sighed and looked over at him. "At some point, one of them will have to go tell a superior what they found. We'll go in then." Jesper looked over at us with a frown.
"Not to be that person, Kaz," he said, "but are you sure you can drive that thing?" Kaz furrowed his brows and nodded.
"Yes," he assured him. "On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait–" Jesper groaned.
"Milo! The goat's name was Milo!" Kaz rolled his eyes.
"--I was memorizing Arken's timings." I sighed and looked up at him.
"Not to gang up on you, but Jes has a point," I said softly. Inej nodded beside me.
"Arken's system was complicated and the ride was chaotic," she backed me up. "No one would blame you for missing a count." Kaz looked down at me and frowned.
"'Jes'?" he asked incredulously. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Are you seriously telling me that's all you got out of that?" I asked him. Jesper grinned and nudged Inej, pushing her into me slightly.
"It's Ravkan," he said, "for friendship." I furrowed my brows and looked over at him.
"No, it's not!" Kaz groaned and shook his head.
"Trust me," he said firmly. "Arken and I think alike." Almost before he could even finish his statement, we heard a loud explosion and looked over to find the train we had been waiting to board in flames. We were silent for a moment before Jesper stood up.
"Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, and Kaz simply put his head down. Jesper grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, too soon."
🝯
After our original plan fell through, we quickly made our way to Kribirsk in an attempt to find some other way across the Fold. While Jesper and Inej scouted the place out, Kaz pulled me aside.
"Assuming the dignitaries are still here, what are the odds we can sneak aboard that skiff?" he asked me quietly. I looked up at him and sighed as I thought about it.
"It all depends on who sees us," I told him. "My friend that helped me across?" He nodded. "She'll most likely be there." He nodded again.
"So we'll need disguises." I nodded, and Inej and Jesper returned from downstairs.
"The skiff is still here," Inej said. Kaz nodded.
"Travelers downstairs are complaining," he told them. "They were due to cross this morning." He looked between them. "Orders from the Black General. He plans to cross on it tomorrow." I sighed, and Jesper frowned.
"The general?" he asked incredulously. "Is that the same general who tried to... Oh, yeah, kill us all. That one?" I rolled my eyes and nodded.
"He has the Sun Summoner," I murmured. Inej looked between me and Kaz.
"Was this your plan all along?" she asked him. "To have the general get her back so you can take her again?" Kaz shook his head and looked up at her.
"My plan is to get us across the Fold," he said simply. "We aren't prepared for another fight." She arched a brow skeptically.
"So you're not going to take another run at Alina? And you're really willing to let a million kruge go?" He sighed.
"Jesper, Karlin, and I can't do it without you–" Jesper scoffed.
"Been saying that since day one," he muttered.
"--and you've made your position perfectly clear." She nodded.
"So all you want is to cross the Fold?" Kaz nodded.
"Once we land in Novokribirsk, it's your choice what you do next." She smiled a bit.
"Okay." Jesper frowned and shook his head.
"Hang on," he said quickly. "Are we talking about boarding a skiff with people who will recognize us? People who don't like us much." Kaz nodded.
"We'll have to blend in." He looked at me. "Who else was on that skiff?" I sighed.
"Some people from the winter fete," I told him. "Dignitaries from Kerch and Novyi Zem on their way back home." He sighed.
"Now they're audience to one more light show." He looked up at Jesper. "Jesper, how did you enjoy playing a Zemeni guard?"
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Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone
Fanfiction"Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return." Karlin Kaye ran. She ran from her home to a place completely unknown. But as a result she found the ones she knew would make sure she never had to run again. No m...
