𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃
Brynn and her friends have just pulled off an impossible heist-just to be put back in the middle of a war. And with so many things on the line, there's no guarantee that they'll make it out alive, especially Brynn. But s...
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Secrets
Nikolai jogged down the tunnel in the cliffside to catch up with Kaz and Brynn after making sure Zoya had been safely lifted up into the Cormorant. The damp walls gleamed shiny and black in the light from Brynn's lantern.
Their entry into the base was smooth, just a question of keeping quiet and waiting for the guards to pass through the rooms above the basement, then move onto the rest of their rounds. Nikolai and Kaz followed on silent feet, Kaz limping heavily after their long journey down the tunnel. He wouldn't have to repeat the trip. They would leave by air along with the stolen titanium. Brynn's hand flexed, as if wishing she could help him in some way. If Nikolai remembered correctly, she'd been a Healer before her powers had been changed by parem.
Two picked locks later, they were waiting in a darkened doorway, peering through a small circular window. The base was built around a central yard full of building materials, which had once been open to the air. But now, most of the cargo was protected by the metal shell connected to the base walls, its roof humped like the back of a whale. There didn't seem to be too many guards, and Nikolai was eager to move.
"The yard doesn't look well protected."
"It isn't," said Kaz. "They're relying on their external defenses. They've gotten comfortable."
Nikolai wondered if the same thing might be true at Ravka's more valuable targets. Maybe he should rethink the security at his own military bases and at the palace. Brekker would probably make an excellent security consultant—if Nikolai didn't think he would steal the golden domes right off the Little Palace roof. And his Grisha queen would certainly be right there the entire time.
"You're twitchy for a monarch," said Kaz, eyes on the yard.
"Have you met many?"
"Plenty of men who call themselves king," murmured Brynn.
Nikolai glanced through the window again. "The fate of a nation on one's shoulders does make a fellow restless. Shouldn't we get going?"
"You get one chance to make a move like this. Assuming we open that shell without the guards hearing us or some alarm going off, we'll have about thirty minutes to exchange the aluminum for titanium." Kaz's eyes studied the yard carefully, and Nikolai could see Brynn doing the same.
"Tight. But I think we can manage it."
"Not if our timing is off. About thirty minutes is meaningless. So we watch the guards do their rounds until we know what their pace really is."
Thunder rumbled over the yard. Zoya's signal. That meant the airship was in place above the steel hull protecting the cargo.
