𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹 | 𝑘.𝑏.

10

Feta almost caught herself frowning. She was still perfectly fine with her Fjerdan heritage and her, in turn, distinctly un-Fjerdan behavior, but Matthias came in with his pride and his patriotism and it was just...odd, she supposed.

"Come now, Helvar," Kaz said, snapping Feta out of her daze. "Surely there's something you want. The cause is righteous enough for a zealot like you. Fjerda may think they've caught a dragon by the tail, but they won't be able to hold on. Once Bo Yul-Bayur replicates his process, jurda parem will enter the market, and it's only a matter of time before others learn to manufacture it, too."

Jurda parem. Nina had explained some of the rumors, and Feta had overheard some whispers from the corners of the Crow Club and the streets of Little Ravka, but the entire concept repulsed her. At least the part where Grisha were being dosed against their will and then found themselves severely addicted to the point of madness, of death. All for a few moments of power.

Feta hadn't even sought out an amplifier to assist her power, despite how her parents had fawned over the idea, despite how the Council of Tides encouraged her so; she joked, when she was younger, that she was waiting to slay Rusalye and take its scales, but they knew even then that Feta loved the sea whip and its legend too much to sacrifice it for power. Besides, the Sun Summoner, Alina Starkov, was rumored to have slain the sea whip around the time of Ravka's Civil War and borne its scales in a fetter, so there, now she couldn't possibly take an amplifier, out of both respect and the fact that Rusalye had already been killed, a fact Feta did not take lightly when she first heard it murmured in awe, in reverence.

So perhaps it was different. Perhaps, like Feta and Inej and hate, power looked silly when you already had some of your own and convinced yourself you were above it. So aside from amplifiers, jurda parem and the destruction it caused could reasonably stay the fuck away from Feta.

Matthias' chin jutted out stubbornly as he brushed off Kaz's prediction. "It will never happen. Yul-Bayur will stand trial, and if he is found guilty he will be put to death."

"Guilty of what?" Nina asked softly.

Matthias still did not look at her. "Crimes against the people."

"Which people?" There was barely laced anger in her voice, and Feta found herself interested to hear Matthias' response as well.

For all his pride in the Ice Court, for the country that deemed him worth loving, it was clear in the lock of his jaw, the ice of his eyes that boys like Matthias were what chased Feta's family out of Fjerda. Part of her recognized this, felt the same tug of Nina's righteous fury; a far louder part of her didn't think it was as personal as that, and she found herself struggling to fight off her giggles. A snicker slipped through and Jesper cast her a sly, smug look.

"Natural people," Matthias replied surely. "People who live in harmony with the laws of this world instead of twisting them for their own gain."

Nina made a kind of exasperated snorting sound. The others all looked amused.

Own gain. Feta busted out laughing.

"Oh, man," she said, slapping one hand on the table cloth, disbelieving grin overriding her face. "What're they feeding you guys over there? Raw misery?" A few spare laughs rose from around the room. "Full offense, Helvar: that's the most backwards thing I've ever heard."

It was conflicting. People in Hellgate often spoke with a tone that strictly aligned with their Kerch. This girl spoke what seemed to be criticism though with utter delight, if not, so long as Matthias wasn't mistaken, a hint of pity. He was just about to bristle and respond when Kaz swooped in.