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S
han was displeased to be out in the cold and not in her bed in the slat; her hair was braided back in a coil at the base of her skull to keep the wind blowing her hair in her face and getting her annoyed. She had on her favourite shawl, a dusted rose colour with a gold embroidered trim wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm from the biting chill of Ketterdam. She stood shoulder to shoulder between Inej and Jesper, one of her arms linked with the formers as they waited on Kaz.
She felt fresher after the bath and change of clothes but the lavender and rosemary tea had done nothing to help her migraine.
Even the street lanterns were beginning to burn through her eye sockets.
As Kaz finally rounded the corner, the blonde haired Heartrender following, he nodded for them all to follow him towards the merchants estate. They all approached the high, towering wrought iron fence, coming to a stop just before the guard at the gate.
A man already standing there called out to them. "Who are you lot?"
They all made the unanimous decision to let Kaz do the talking.
"We're here to see Dreeson."
The beady eyed man eyed the mismatched group in distaste.
"You're not with Pekka's crew."
"And you're not in Pekka's pocket anymore if you don't owe him," Kaz threw a small bag of money over the high iron fence which the man caught against his chest in mild surprise and confusion. He finally relented and let them through.
They all followed Kaz, Shan last as she let go of Inej to let her go ahead.
She glanced up at the shadows surrounding the tall, well built house. Only a select set of lights shone through drawn cracks in curtains. The entire right side of the building was shrouded in darkness, unused for the night.
A strange chill up her spine made her hesitate and look back over her shoulder at the man counting their money, unsure exactly why she was hesitating.
When he took a closer look at one of the coins, she realised why.
"Hey! One of these has a hole in it!" He yelled.
"Saints." Inej muttered, glancing back at Shan who just shook her head.
"Inside. Inside." Kaz ushered them all in quickly.
Shan was last and it seemed she wasn't quick enough for his liking. The curved end of his cane hooked around the crook of her arm and tugged her inside, making her almost stumble over the step.
The door shut behind her and the girl shot Kaz a sharp, disapproving look while swatting his cane away with the back of her hand.
He arched an eyebrow and justified, "You were too slow."
