Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam - but that didn't mean that he never had one.
The Shu Serpent rears her head and slithers from the shadows when a high paying job catches her prying eyes a...
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Zhen may have been apprehensive following Kaz, but the others were tripling that. Each of them had a reluctant expression on their face, hesitation in the way they walked up the stairs to the roof. Nina had no idea what to expect.
And Zhen wasn't apprehensive not for the sake of not knowing what Kaz had done, but more so witnessing the doubt and unease on the faces of the others as they followed him.
Still, the cold air hit them as they all stepped out onto the stone roof, pausing at the edge to look out across the dull and dark city.
Lantern light lit up certain places in the distance, parts of the city still rife with life, especially at this time of night. It almost made it seem nicer to look at and it was - but only at a distance.
Zhen took the place next to Kaz, unable to stop herself glancing at him as he watched the city with a sense of calm.
The calm before the storm.
He must have sensed her burning gaze and briefly flickered his eyes towards her.
"You said you liked playing with fire..." he murmured so only she could hear.
Her heart stuttered inside her chest.
A bright flash of golden flames burst from the distance, catching all of their attention. The explosion burst upwards, fairly contained, and settled in a cloud of smoke and flickering fire.
A bell ringing as an alarm caught her ears in the far distance, along with the chaos in the streets. Strange, how it all seemed so far away, and yet Zhen knew exactly where that explosion had come from.
Because it was their side of the Barrel. Home.
Or it had been.
"What was that?" Inej demanded, looking over to Kaz.
Zhen was unable to tear her eyes away from the blood orange glow, something itching at the back of her mind as she practically felt the energy coming off of the buildings in a wave. It was distant, but it was there. The scent of smoke drifting with the wind was quick but familiar. Again, home. But another kind.
"The Crow Club." He told them blankly.
Zhen breathed out slowly, clutching fistfuls of her skirt at her side. Her eyes stung with the brightness of it.
That was why he asked her permission.
To destroy what they had built together.
Now, the fact that he had asked her meant everything and nothing all at once. Their home was gone, but it had not been theirs for a while, it seemed.
The loss shouldn't have mattered to her. She steeled her gaze and released her skirts.
Jesper whined, "I had some really nice hats in there!" Then, a thought came to him and he turned to glare at Wylan who shrunk away under his gaze. "Was that yours?"
