𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 ↦ Kaz Brekker

xxix. little squaller

He almost missed it, but there was a glint from the corner, a pair of eyes flashing in the dark. There was his shadow.

"Malkus. Come on," The others froze, before watching Malkus emerge from the shadows, a mask in his hand and fangs in the other. The little boy was watching Stasiaj like a hawk, eyes wide with fear, a feeling that Kaz was starting to get very well equated with.

They emerged into a hallway, after a tense elevator ride, laid in patterns of lacquered hardwood, its high ceilings painted a pale, foamy lavender. Inej knocked on a pair of wide, white double doors, all of them waiting. The only sound was Stasiaj's raspy breaths, that was keeping Kaz from truly panicking. If he could hear her breathing, then she was alive.

For now, a quiet voice whispered inside his brain.

Colm Fahey answered, wearing a long nightshirt with a coat thrown over it, his face tired.

"The others are inside," he said wearily. Kaz brushed past him, shaking his head at the three boys in the room. Nina and Wylan set Stasiaj down on the couch, both of them sharing quick hugs with the others as Kaz watched over Stasiaj with worried eyes.

"We couldn't get through the blockades to Sweet Reef," he said. "I feared the worst. What happened?"

"Assassin," Malkus murmured, from where he stood behind Kaz's leg. "Ivarn killed him."

"Should I call a doctor?" Colm asked.

"No," They replied in unison, before Nina crouched by Stasiaj's side and pulled the makeshift bandages away.

"Of course not," said Colm. "Should I ring for coffee?"

"Yes, please," said Nina.

Colm ordered coffee, waffles, and a bottle of brandy, and while they waited, Nina enlisted their help to locate some shears so that she could cut up the hotel towels for bandages. Once a pair had been found, Nina got to work, peeling Stasiaj's clothes away from her body to reveal the wound beneath.

It was a clean one, in and out between her ribs and dangerously close to her heart. Kaz fought the urge to tremble at the sight of pale skin coated in red. However, beneath the blood were pale scars, twisting and curling around her body.

"Help me hold her up," Nina called, as Matthias held Stasiaj forward, for Nina to wrap the towel around the wound. "Did she get into a fight with a bear?"

"Rigging," Kaz replied, shaking his head and swallowing down the sick in his throat. He knew where these were from now. "It's from rope."

Stasiaj was a tease and often, when Kaz went to have negotiations with her, she'd been in the bath. He'd tried his best not to stare at her skin, but the scars that had wrapped around her torso and legs had always intrigued him. But she'd hid her secrets far better than he had, and Kaz hadn't truly learnt about them until recently and even then, he'd pieced the information together himself.

Nina went silent after that, patching Stasiaj up as best she could, before leading Inej into the bathroom to see to her wounds. As soon as the girls had gone, Malkus abandoned Kaz's side to crawl onto the couch and curl up beside Stasiaj, his fingers latched into her blonde hair. Kaz watched them, wanting more than anything to be able to reach out and comfort the small boy as Jordie had done for him.

But he couldn't.

A knock sounded at the door, they all tensed, but it was only their meal. Colm greeted the maid and insisted that he could manage the cart so that she wouldn't see the strange company that had assembled in his rooms. As soon as the door closed, Jesper jumped up to help him wheel in a silver tray laden with food and stacks of dishes of porcelain.