Chapter Text
Wylan stretched as much as he could, his eyes opening slowly. He still wasn't quite used to being back in the old Van Eck mansion. It hadn't felt like home since before his mother had been sent to St Hilde's if he was honest. But it was getting easier. Each day was a little better.
"Oi, stop moving, you. Some of us are trying to sleep." A voice grumbled from beside him. Wylan smiled.
Of course, the sharpshooter that shared his bed and this house with him was a big reason why the days were easy. Jesper made everything easy.
Wylan had found himself laughing and smiling more in the last few months than he had in his entire life, all thanks to Jesper.
"Sorry," Wylan replied softly.
He couldn't really see Jesper, not when he was currently clinging to Wylan's back, arms looped around the shorter boy's waist and curled around him. Wylan was unbelievably cosy this way. Warm, too. He almost dreaded the summertime when the humidity would make it hard to fall asleep so comfortably tucked together.
"Did you sleep well?"
"I was sleeping very well before my very rude merchling boyfriend woke me up." Jesper yawned. He gently extracted himself from Wylan and rolled onto his back. Wylan did the same, and the two looked at each other, smiling tiredly. "What about you?"
"Brilliantly. I've got my own personal radiator." Wylan said, grinning.
"Oh, is that why you keep me around?"
"Well, it certainly isn't for your morality and life decisions."
"My morality?!" Jesper asked incredulously. "Look who's talking! Precious little merchling, now a lowly criminal, blowing things up and getting quite the potty mouth if Anika and Pim are to be believed."
"Anika and Pim are never to be believed. I've seen the way they rig on the tables at the Crow Club."
"I'd be careful if I were you. That rigging is what pays for your demo gear. If Kaz has another spider crawling around and listening in, he'll limit your budget."
"Then he doesn't get the bombs he needs." Wylan shrugged. "He needs me."
"Kaz doesn't need anyone," Jesper said.
"That's what you think." Wylan chuckled. "He's more human than you all believe, you know. Not at all as demonic as Matthias thought."
Jesper went quiet then. Wylan regretted the words as soon as they'd even left his mouth.
Matthias.
His name hung over them still, more than half a year later.
Nina sent letters once in a while. Her longest one had been when she'd finally reached Fjerda. She'd detailed how appreciative she was of all of them, that her journey was almost over and Matthias was almost home. It had been barely half a page long.
She seemed to be doing okay, though it was clear there was a little bit of Nina-ness that was resting with Matthias now.
There was still a lot of guilt hanging over the three Crows, as they had become nicknamed in the recent months, that had stayed in Ketterdam after the auction. They had believed themselves to be invincible, with so many schemes going wrong so many times before with all of them defying the odds each time.
Wylan didn't take anything for granted anymore. He'd lost a lot of his fear after they'd returned from Fjerda, and with Matthias' death, some of it had come trickling back.
It struck him in the moments before a job, when Jesper was not in the place that Wylan had last seen him and when Kaz came back to the Slat with that cold look in his eyes.
It only ever left when Jesper was certainly not injured, and when Wylan was sat at an easel, or at the piano, or during drinks and dinner at the Slat after a job well done.
"Earth to merchling," Jesper said, bringing Wylan back from his thoughts.
"Sorry, I was just ... thinking." Wylan, shaking his head slightly. A knowing look crossed Jesper's face.
"I miss him too, Wy." He said softly.
Wylan took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. "Maybe we should get out of Ketterdam for a little while."
"What?"
"Matthias barely knew this city, and yet it feels like he's everywhere. I keep thinking every tall blonde I see is him. I see red and brown and think of Nina, or I see something moving quickly out of the corner of my eye and think it's Inej."
"Like you'd ever see Inej coming." Jesper laughed.
"Only if she wanted you to know she was there." Wylan agreed fondly.
Jesper was very close with the girls, viewed them as sisters, and found it difficult without them around anymore, and Wylan knew that he wished more than anything that they would come back soon.
"Where were you thinking of going?" Jesper asked.
"I don't know. We could go to Novyi Zem. You could show me the farm, and where you're from. Teach me how to shoot, show me how to farm jurda." Wylan suggested. "Maybe we could go to Ravka for a little while."
"What, so I can train at the Little Palace?" Jesper asked in a joking tone. Wylan looked at him, and when he made eye contact with Jesper, the smile faded. "Oh, come on."
"Well, you did say that you would look into it," Wylan said sheepishly. "Nina's last letter said that she was headed back there. We could send her a letter, ask her for help. She knows people over there."
"There's still a lot of fighting going on, though, Wy," Jesper said. "There's a lot of warzones. I don't fancy being a recruit for the army."
"They can't force you. You're not Ravkan, you can't be drafted."
"But I am Grisha," Jesper replied. "They're always in need of more soldiers."
"You wouldn't be fighting. You're a Fabrikator."
"You really wouldn't care if I joined the army? What would you do? Come back to Kerch?" Jesper asked.
"I could offer to help the Alkemi," Wylan said. "I don't want you to join the Second Army, not if you don't want to. And I don't want to come back to Kerch without you either. I want to help. You need training, Jesper. There's only so much work we can do to distract you from the tables."
"I thought I'd have more time first." Jesper sighed.
"Maybe we should go to Novyi Zem first, spend some time with Colm, make sure he knows that you're as okay as you insist, then you can decide what you want to do," Wylan said.
Jesper was quiet for a few seconds, fingers drumming on the thick covers over him. Eventually, he looked at Wylan and smiled a little.
"Okay. I'll show you where I'm from." Jesper said. "We'll need to let Kaz know, get some stuff cleared up in the city, send a letter over to Dad and get a ship sorted."
"I can go to the Slat and gather up any stuff you left there and might need. Can you send the letters and get a ship?" Wylan asked.
"On it," Jesper said, leaping out of bed. Wylan followed suit and the two of them moved around the room, washing quickly and getting dressed.
Jesper went straight for the office once they were done, grabbing some kruge from one of the drawers and counting out enough for the passage to Novyi Zem, their travel papers, and a little extra just in case.
While he did that, Wylan packed a few flash bombs and specially designed explosives filled with fake coins. When they exploded, the coins would be released, and they were perfect for when the stadwatch was pursuing someone through East or West Stave.
The crowds would be so desperate to reach the coins that they would swarm together and make it more difficult for the stadwatch to catch whichever Dreg was being chased.
The two forwent breakfast, and as they passed through the house, Wylan asked a few members of the staff to spread the word that they could have the day off. He and Jesper would likely be out until late, with dinner at the Slat, a few drinks maybe. Wylan felt optimistic, and he was considering encouraging Jesper to have a few games at the Crow Club with the other Dregs.
As they trekked through the streets together, Jesper often kept a hand on the small of Wylan's back or slung around his shoulders. Wylan loved it when things were like this, with Jesper calm and affectionate and content with being a little more still.
On slow days, Jesper tampered with the fake coins that Wylan put into bombs, and liked leaking colours from flowers in the garden to show Wylan as reference points for painting.
It didn't always go down well with the gardeners, but they'd sectioned off a part of the garden for Jesper to use when he wished to do it.
"Alright, I'll see you later, Wy," Jesper said as they emerged into a busy street. There were plenty of ways to get to the harbours to get ahold of travel papers, but Jesper always chose to walk the long way to make sure that Wylan got as close to the Barrel as possible with relative safety.
Wylan was easily identifiable as the one who had taken over from Van Eck, though he now went by, 'Hendriks', his mother's maiden name, and many would try to take advantage of him. Though, the greedy eyes that followed him had been decreasing in the last few months.
He'd taken to having his sleeves rolled up as he approached the Barrel to make sure his crow and cup tattoo could be seen. His standing as the primary demolitionist for the Dregs was becoming stronger with each day and each job.
It also didn't hurt that most frequenters of the area knew Jesper, and wouldn't dare to touch Wylan without risking the sharpshooter coming after them.
"Stay safe," Wylan said.
"You too, love," Jesper replied. Wylan's face heated. Jesper grinned as he leaned down for a quick parting kiss and began the trek to the closest bank.
"Jesper!" Wylan called. Jesper turned. "Stay out of trouble, you hear me?!"
Jesper laughed. "Sure thing, merchling. See you at the Slat for lunch!"
They shared a final smile and went their separate ways, and Wylan fumbled with the cuffs of his shirt, trying to undo the button so he could roll them up. He sorted the left one out first, and felt better seeing the familiar ink on his forearm, then stopped for a moment as he entered an alleyway to pull the button on his right sleeve loose.
Above him, there was a slight sound, and Wylan's head snapped up, suddenly alert. His hand immediately went to the twin four-inch knives in his pockets.
Usually, he wore them in braces halfway up his forearms, made especially for him by the Fabrikator that had made Inej rubber-soled shoes. They had triggers similar to the blades in Inej's knee padding, enabled by crossing his wrists and touching a button.
They had been gifts from Inej before she'd left. She'd had them made specifically for him.
"If you're going to be one of us, you need to be able to defend yourself in close combat."
"I'm a demolitionist, not a fighter."
"That doesn't matter. You're one of the Dregs now, you'll get in a fight that you can't bomb your way out of sooner or later. Roeder is good with knives, I've asked him to give you a few tips. Meet him at the Slat at three bells."
"Thank you, Inej. For everything. I'm really going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Van Sunshine."
"Do they have names? The knives?"
"That's for you to decide."
He'd decided on names for both. Matthias and Ferolind. He felt a little cheesy for choosing them, but they meant something to him.
Today had been the wrong day for him to leave the braces at home, it would've been much easier than having to carefully extract them from the fabric of his jacket.
Wylan kept his eyes peeled, making his way slowly through the alley, passing by the side doors of shops. He reached the end of the alley, and just as he was about to emerge onto the street where the Slat and Crow Club resided, a hand dragged him back and pinned him against a wall. Whoever it was was cloaked in dark fabric, a hood drawn up and covering their face in shadows.
Wylan's instincts kicked in and he pulled his leg up, aiming to stomp his foot down on his opponent's. If he could distract his attacker andget the hood down, he'd at least have someone to identify when he made it to the Slat.
The figure yanked their foot away before Wylan brought his down, and Wylan used the shifting of balance to his advantage, tucking one knife away and reaching forward with one hand to yank the hood down as the other jammed into heavy padding at the figure's waist.
The figure leaned away from Wylan's outreached hand, and straight into Wylan's knife
Whoever it was was shorter than Wylan by a good three or four inches, and had clearly been prepared for a fight with someone, and had picked Wylan out probably because of his merchant father's name.
That was a problem that Kuwei's auction had brought, everyone knew vaguely what he looked like, and everyone knew his name.
Wylan managed to yank his knife out of the padding and instead got ahold of the figure's shoulder, so he turned them around, pushed them face-first against the brick wall, a knife pressed into their back.
"You should know to check the tattoo on someone's arm before you mess with them. I'm a Dreg and one of Kaz Brekker's most trusted. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go and tell him what happened."
"Maybe because I'm one of his trusted too?" The figure said. Wylan's heart stopped. He knew that voice. He let the figure go, and they turned around, pulling down the hood to reveal familiar Suli features, tightly coiled raven black hair, and a smile.
"Inej?" He breathed.
"You've been listening to Roeder." She said. "You play dirty, too. Have you been watching Kaz?"
"Maybe a little." Wylan smiled. He put his remaining knife away, held out his arms and Inej stepped into them, the two holding onto each other tightly. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," Inej said.
"I suppose it's a silly question, but how did you find me so fast?"
"I was going to surprise you and Jesper. I saw you heading for the Barrel, so I thought I'd just follow you to wherever you were going and say hello then. And then you separated, so I made a choice and came after you first." Inej replied, pulling back.
"Why not Jesper?"
"I need to see Kaz as well, let him know I'm back. He'd never forgive me if I didn't tell him. I'm pretty sure he'll still be bitter when he knows I saw you before him."
Wylan winced and led the way out of the alley. "You're back in the city for the first time in half a year, I'm pretty sure he won't be too bitter. Besides, he's become quite fond of me over the last few months."
"Kaz Brekker, fond?" Inej laughed.
"He's been taking me on a lot of jobs, I'm the first demo or chemistry expert he goes to for anything now. And I suppose that my insane inherited control over the city's affairs is appealing too." Wylan said. "It's about the closest thing to fondness that Kaz is capable of."
"It's nice to see that not much has changed around here," Inej said.
"He's not wearing the gloves as often anymore," Wylan told her. She looked at him, surprise flashing across her eyes.
"Really?"
"He heads the tables at Crow Club sometimes and doesn't wear them. He comes for drinks after a job, doesn't wear them then either. It's about as far as he's gotten, but everyone's noticed. They never bring it up, though."
"They'd be stupid to," Inej said. "What else has changed?"
"I got the crow and cup," Wylan told her, showing her his forearm. She stopped and inspected it, brown fingers holding his arm steady.
"No going back now, hm?" She said idly.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Wylan said. "I'm very lucky. I'm not working any debts off, I'm doing it because I want to. The choices we make are the most important things sometimes, aren't they?"
Inej looked up at him, letting go of her arm and smiling slightly. "They certainly are." She said. "You're getting very wise, Wylan."
"Well, you know," Wylan sighed, carrying on down the street. "You learn a few things when you spent all your time with criminals."
"Speaking of which, how is Jesper? He looked very happy when you two were talking this way."
Wylan flushed. "He's very good. He's doing well on the stock market, starting to get the hang of it. He's made a few hundred kruge in the last few months, and only lost a small fraction of it. It's a lot better than the gambling, that's for sure."
"Have you talked about going to Ravka since the auction?"
"Yeah, talked about it this morning, actually. Among other things." Wylan answered. "He's headed off to get some papers so we can go and visit Colm for a little while. We need a break from the city. There are too many things still haunting us from the auction."
"You mean Matthias?" Inej asked quietly.
"Of course," Wylan said. "Have you found it easier? Being at sea?"
"No," Inej said. "I have a lot of time to dwell. But I've prayed many times to my Saints, asked them to take care of Nina and Matthias, asked them to guide the way home safely. I like to think that they kept watching over Matthias until he was returned to Djel."
Wylan breathed deeply. "I'm sure they did. And I'm sure Matthias is at peace now on the ice."
"You should send a letter to Nina. I saw her from a distance when I landed in Ravka. She was passing through the port on horseback, and I could scarcely recognise her. She looked so very tired, so unlike our Nina."
"We were thinking of going to the Little Palace, lending our skills in their laboratories so that Jesper could train," Wylan admitted. He could see the Slat now, and he was almost sad this his reunion with Inej was nearing its end.
"I think that's a good idea," Inej said.
"How's hunting down slavers been treating you?" Wylan asked.
"It's been good, so far. Most of them were Grisha hunters. Others were intended to go to brothels." Inej said slowly. "We've taken over eight ships, taken their captains and crewmates, gave them to the Ravkan authorities to face trial. Some of those intended to be slaves decided to join our crew, the remaining ones we arranged passage to their homelands once we landed in Ravka."
"That's - that's incredible, Inej," Wylan assured.
"I just hope that it outweighs the blood I've spilt in this city," Inej said.
"The Saints understand what you had to do to survive, and they know that the people you killed were putting more bad into the world than good. I'm sure they're incredibly proud that you're making a difference in the places where they can't always intervene." Wylan said.
Inej looked at him then, and there was a sense of relief across her face that Wylan was a little surprised to see.
"Thank you, Wylan." She said. Wylan smiled, and the two reached the Slat. Wylan opened the door for her and she slid inside, Wylan following.
The hustle and bustle that usually permeated the Slat came to a slow stop as Wylan and Inej craned their necks, looking for Kaz on the main floor.
"Wraith."