Psyche • Kaz Brekker • Shadow & Bone •

2:2

He nodded to her regretfully but remained serious.

Her eyes narrowed as the pain in her skull grew with the bubbling anger under her skin. "Kaz," she said lowly, warning in her tone as her gaze turned icy. She could feel Jesper and Inej glancing between them, lingering on Shan's cold expression. "I don't know if you recall, but I own half the deeds."

His jaw was tense as his eyes lowered a fraction, lips pressing into a thin line.

"The bar is in my name."

"It was."

Her head snapped round. "What the fuck do you mean?"

He averted his gaze from hers, to stare at Inej. "I cut a deal so Inej could help us with the Sun Summoner, so Rollins killed her."

Her mind worked rapidly to fill in the pieces. He'd have needed her signature to sign over full ownership of the club, which was comprised of the gambling parlour and Slat in his name, and the bar in her own.

Suddenly, she knew exactly what he had done, and she was so tired and so fed up with it that she seriously considered punching him right in his pretty face.

"You fucker," she said in realisation. "That's why you were dancing around the question."

He glanced off to the side. "In fairness, you haven't asked one."

Shan closed her eyes, clenching her fists at her sides. Her blood felt as though it were boiling in her veins, all her thoughts turning violent.

"You forged my signature."

"In fairness again, it's very easy to forge. You should really change it-"

"-do you want me to hit you?" She cut him off sharply. "Is that what you want? You keep talking, and I am too fucking tired to have any self restraint right now."

Why didn't he just ask her? Why couldn't he just talk to her, or communicate his plans before he dove in headfirst and went through with them? Why? Why was he such a difficult bastard?

He held back information on important plans, giving them nothing but grains of sand spilling through his gloved fingers, and expected them to just follow along because they trusted him. He was impossible to talk to sometimes, like a brick wall with his emotions buried six foot deep behind his fucking ribcage. He was a cold, callous fucker who was sometimes impossible to speak to, and who didn't know how to fucking communicate properly because he was too guarded to let himself trust anyone properly.

"Maybe we should focus on the bigger issue at hand," Kaz cut in, fixing her with a stern look. "Pekka Rollins now owns the Club and everyone who works there now works for him."

Shan turned away from him, she had to. She turned away and covered her face with her hands, fighting the urge to scream.

Inej's shaky voice brought her out of it.

"There's more."

They watched her brandish her wrist and the feather tattoo marking her bronze skin, and a sinking feeling settled into all of their stomachs at the realisation.

"The Menagerie." Said Kaz.

"He owns that now, too." She said, lowering her arm and absently brushing her thumb over the tattoo. She averted her gaze to the floor. "Along with everything else the Menagerie owns."

Shan regarded the girl gently, her anger fading into something different as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"So, stadtwatch are everywhere and Pekka's untouchable." Jesper surmised, placing his hands on his hips. "Never thought I'd miss the Fold..."