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Kaz Brekker is so very tired.
It’s been a long day at the Crow Club, with Jesper getting into a fight at the cards table, Wylan accidentally blowing up some chemistry experiment, and Inej handing him a few bloody knives without telling them who exactly she killed. The last thing he needs is Nina Zenik talking to him about therapy. So why is she handing him a business card for a Dr. Bright?
“I started seeing her after Matthias died,” she says, prattling on despite his obvious disinterest. “She is a therapist for Grisha and those who associate with them.”
Now that interests Kaz. A therapist who specializes in Grisha? She could be very useful to him. After all, he could always use new informants, and therapists know the best secrets. All he has to do is pretend he wants therapy long enough to gain this Dr. Bright’s trust, then figure out whatever dark secrets she surely carries, and blackmail her.
“Oh!” Nina exclaims, suddenly very excited. That can’t be good. “She also has a lot of training in relationship problems, and I know you’ve been struggling with your feelings about Inej.” The wink she gives him makes Kaz want to strangle her.
No. Absolutely not. He does not need therapy, and he certainly does not need couple’s therapy or whatever other nonsense this woman does. But he does want whatever information she has, and so Kaz pastes on a bitter smile and takes the card from Nina’s hand without another word.
He may be taking a card for a therapist, but there is no way he is going to talk about it.
Dr. Bright’s office is small and trying too hard to be a comforting place. Kaz feels sick looking at the bright cushions and framed pictures of happy families. Dr. Bright herself is an unassuming woman, short and East Asian with a stern face that reminds him a bit of Inej.
She smiles at him, warm and friendly, and Kaz wants to cut that smile off her face. “So Kaz, why are you here?” Her voice is soothing, but there is something just beneath the surface that unsettles him.
“Another patient of yours recommended I come here,” he responds absently. There is a framed picture in the corner of her standing next to a teen in a football uniform, both laughing. “Is that your son?” he asks, pointing toward the picture.
Her smile is cold now, and she turns the picture away from him before he can inspect it further. “Why are you really here?”
Kaz doesn’t know what to say to that. This woman saw right through his lies and he feels bare and seen and he wants to run as far as he can because she sees him and he doesn’t know what to do.
“I don’t know,” he admits, and he realizes that that is true. He doesn’t know what he is doing here, not anymore. He wants information yes but, well, he has to admit that he is fucked up. Maybe help wouldn’t be such a bad thing? He thinks of Inej’s warm smile and how badly he wants to hold her hand and before he can stop himself the words tumble out of his mouth. “I’m here for Inej.”
Dr. Bright smiles, warm again. “Tell me about her,” she says, and Kaz does.