Natasha Van Doren is a shadow summoner. She bides her time and resides in darkness, feared and esteemed by Ketterdam's civilians, a ghost . She cons Kaz Brekker into joining a heist he can't refuse and with thirty million kruge on the line, the crow...
" I'll cut off your fingers and feed them to Matthias. "
- K.B
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WHEN KAZ BREKKER HAD ORDERED THE CROWS DOWN FOR DINNER, Natasha truly thought he was planning mass murder. The kitchen at The Slat had never looked so busy, Mariam and her kids worked away at the stove. Copper pots full of broths, stews and rice boiled away over the fire; a pig roasted on a spit.
Jesper and Wylen had cleared out the basement, decking the room with draped canvas and upturning crates for tables. Even, Alessia had gotten in on the action, wheeling herself around in a rickety wheelchair Inej had found.
Natasha had never seen so many smiles in one room, they all grinned as if they weren't lambs to the slaughter. "Enjoying yourself, Van Doren?" Kaz Brekker had gained a habit of popping over people's shoulders - especially Natasha's.
He appeared at every right moment, cradling his cane and a cocky smirk. "What is there to enjoy?" she twisted around to face him, pursing her lips in annoyance.
"There's this lovely food, my graceful presence-"
"Graceful?" Natasha snorted, she grabbed up a beer bottle, cracking off the lid with her teeth. She never liked beer much, but her hands around the bottle stopped Natasha from strangling Kaz.
"Inej should name one of her knives after me - Sankt Kaz," he said, splaying his hands across his chest. He looked up at the room dreamily, pointing his fingers towards the rotting planks. "Then I'd have a massive painting framed above the kitchen,"
"My bedroom is right in front of that kitchen," Natasha scowled.
"What better way to start your morning than gazing moon eyes at my handsome face?" She slapped his shoulder, taking another long sip from her beer.
"I'd lock myself in that room and never come out,"
"Your loss," he grinned. He limped his way towards Mariam, poking at the wooden spoon. "What's that supposed to be?" he said, wrinkling his nose. The mixture was red sludge, slivers of meat fizzing nastily.
"My mother's recipe," Jesper swung his way around the doorframe, dipping his finger into the pot. Confusion splayed across his face as he licked the food off his hand.
"Saints," Inej said, peering her head over the stove. "That explains a lot,"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jesper said, crossing his arms.
Inej turned on her heel, walking past Jesper. "Nothing," she grinned, climbing through the window sill and allowing the bustling noise of Ketterdam to swallow her up.
The sun splayed through the windows, refracting light onto the walls. "Well, I'm off," Jesper said, spinning his guns around his finger. He waved at Kaz, who didn't bother returning, pressing a subtle kiss on Natasha's cheek as she passed.
