CHAPTER FORTY-TWO ─── ❛ ketterdam ❜
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𝕬s was, and always would be, the cockroaches of the barrel scuttled from the sound of Stasiaj Yahontov's heels clicking against the cobblestones beneath her. Men leered from the side, but a well placed glare from cold eyes had them scattering back into the shadows as people struggled to hide their secrets from her prying ears. She pulled her trench coat tighter around her, before turning into the Crow Club.
In the months since the Ice Court heist and the ill fated auction plot, which led to the death of Matthias Helvar, Stasiaj Yahontov had further nurtured her business and vipers, stretching her reaches until she was well embedded into Ravka and Fjerda. The more she controlled, the more she knew and the further her safety was ensued in Ketterdam and the surrounding areas. No one could hurt her if she had information on them.
"Good evening, ma'am," Stasiaj smiled at the bartender, who slid a bottle of whiskey to her as she walked past.
"Much appreciated," He nodded, blushing at the interaction and causing Stasiaj to smirk. Even after all this time visiting Kaz at the Crow Club, she still made most of the younger employees flustered. Stasiaj strutted through to the back door with a boosted ego, climbing up the stairs to the final room at the end of the corridor. Not bothering to knock, Stasiaj threw open the door of Kaz's study, sauntering in as if she owned the place.
"You're late," He was reviewing papers, and Stasiaj scrunched her nose up at his inability to look at her.
"Fashionable, Kaz, fashionably late," Stasiaj grinned at his rough voice, placing the bottle of whiskey in front of him and throwing her trench coat over the back of the chair opposite her. She was waiting for him to look at her. "You said look like two million kruge, so I had to find a new dress."
Finally, the man looked up, his mouth parting as he took in Stasiaj's emerald green dress that clung to her figure and matched the fangs in her hair and emeralds in her ears. Golden chains clung to her waist, and Stasiaj smiled at the sight of his open mouth and light blush covering his pale skin. His hands twitched, like he wanted to reach towards her and pull her to his side, but he instead raised an eyebrow.
"You're blushing,"
"And you brought the snake." Stasiaj nodded, scratching the top of her little snakes head, as it curled further around her neck like an expensive necklace. "Okay, fine, you're here. We need to go over the final details before we leave for the party."
"Firstly, are you not going to, I don't know, say something?" Kaz's eyes softened, momentarily changing from the coffee colour to the hot coco that Stasiaj adored.
"You look like ten million kruge, Stasiaj."
"Just for you and only you," He huffed, a soft sort of laugh that he saved for Stasiaj and only Stasiaj, before handing her a sheet of names for Stasiaj to flick through and memorize. "Oh, so we've got some Fjerdans in there with us."
"Yes, but they're not from the Ice Court area of Fjerda," Kaz muttered, as Stasiaj let her snake curl around her fingers, smiling at the tickling sensation that came from the flickering of Tatiana's tongue against her wrist. "They will not know who we are."
"That's good. Jesper and Wylan are already there?" Stasiaj raised an eyebrow, waiting for Kaz to nod. "Ivarn is already there with a few others. I managed to get them servers uniform and given the time, they will slip out, grab the painting and anything else they think is valuable from the inventory list that Wylan compiled."
"Then, the final thing to do is to get there and keep their attention on us," Kaz stood up, waiting for Stasiaj to finish memorising the names on the list. "You can tell me what you know about them on each of them on the walk to the house. Can you walk in those heels?"
"Oh, Kaz, darling," Stasiaj turned to grin at him, the flicker of her manipulative smirk playing on her painted lips as Kaz smirked. "I can do everything and anything."
He rolled his eyes, before holding his hand out for Stasiaj to tap her knuckles gently against his pale skin, before wrapping her fingers through his. The tremor that accompanied the gesture was slightly less that it had been in the past, causing Stasiaj to smile at him, fighting down a shiver at the sparks that she felt.
"What time do we have to be there?"
"Seven, but you're late so we'll get there at half past seven," Kaz muttered, as Stasiaj smiled at him, still holding onto his hand.
"Fashionably late,"
"Late," Kaz let go of her hand, pulling his gloves on and then his coat, as Stasiaj rolled her eyes and shrugged her own coat on, doing the buttons up methodically. Each one was gold, printed with a snake that had tiny emeralds for their eyes and Kaz had rolled his eyes when he saw it, knowing that she was playing into her aesthetic once more. "Come on, Stasiaj. We don't need to be more late and why do you have whiskey?"
"It's to celebrate when we come back," Stasiaj replied, her heels clicking on the wooden floor as she followed Kaz back down the stairs. "When we complete this heist."
"You're confident we will?"
"Kaz, I'm confident in us," Stasiaj muttered, linking her arm through his as he led her from the club. "We're the two smartest people in the city. If we come up with a plan, it's guaranteed to work."
"I think the professors in the university would beg to differ," Kaz's cane clicked on the ground, as he glared over Stasiaj's hair at gang members leered at her too much. "They stare at you far too much."
"I'm beautiful, of course they do,"
"And humble too," Kaz muttered as Stasiaj turned and winked at him. "Come, we will be late."
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The party was being held in one of the fanciest mansions that the merchers owned. It was painted white, the doors a thick mahogany with gilded gold handles shaped like lions. They were propped open, butlers standing at the doors and nodding at people coming in and out of the house.
Stasiaj and Kaz shared a look, both of them plastering on fake smiles as they unbuttoned their coats and passed it on to the butlers. The butlers bowed their heads to the pair, handing them back their invitation, that Stasiaj had helped to forge, and motioned them inside.
Once more, Stasiaj hooked her arm through Kaz's own, tapping Tatiana on the head as the snake further curled around her neck.
"Remember, play nice," Stasiaj smirked at the unsuspecting couples, who were dripping with precious metals and sparkling jewels. The older couples watched the pair with scandalous looks, raking their eyes up and down Stasiaj and Kaz, who swept into the main hall with hidden smirks on their faces.
"Did you see the woman in the entrance?" Stasiaj muttered, slipping a champagne flute off of the waiters tray to hide her smirk. "The one in the gaudy, golden dress? She had those gorgeous golden earrings."
"Remind me on the way out," Kaz nodded and tensed, looking over Stasiaj's shoulder at the woman. "Maybe I'll take them from her."
"You spoil me," Stasiaj angled her body further so that it was in front of Kaz, protecting him from being bumped into by anyone. "I can see Ivarn. He's standing in the corner. When do you want me to give him the signal?"
"Not just yet, it would be suspicious," Kaz replied, before Stasiaj grinned at the sight of Jesper and Wylan by the refreshment table. "Jesper and Wylan are here?"
"Yes they are," Stasiaj refrained from running to their side to throw her arms around the pair who she hadn't seen in a few days. They had gone out to the country to visit Wylan's mother, and Stasiaj had yet to hear how their trip had been. "I wish that we could go over and talk to them."
"Not yet. Wylan has to meet the most wealthy people first and then talk to us. You know the plan," Stasiaj nodded, before taking another sip of the expensive champagne that bubbled and fizzed on the way down. "I think that's everything is in place. Give it another thirty minutes and then we start this."
"Alright. Then, you have to be prepared to entertain me for the next thirty minutes,"
"I'm sure we'll find something that will amuse you,"
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Hiya,
So this is now a couple of months after the events of the last chapter. Kaz and Stasiaj are just chaotic scheming people and they're planning heists together now. Also, confirmed now that William Mosely and Amita Suman are going to be the next two face claims for the Inej fic as Sasha Sokolov and Inej Ghafa in a book called Deep End, so if you want to make graphics for them (covers, gif sets, aesthetics etc.) please, please do!!
Let me know what you think,
Love Li xx