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The Slat was empty at this hour. The only people left were the dwellers that refused to leave for anything. Money was their one target and they’d be damned if a chance at dough was taken from them. As Inej wandered through the place, her feet softly touching the floor in a silent footfall, she realized that she adored this place. Sure, it was the cause of a million problems and she almost watched Kaz die here, but in the end it was her home. She found a new family in this place. It held some sick place in her heart.
It was nights like these that had Inej wondering. The girl had been through so much, and yet she knew it would never truly be over. These days she sailed the seas on her ship with her loyal crew seeking vengeance against Slavers. Amongst the restless tap tap tap of the rain hitting the hard asphalt streets of Ketterdam, memories started to surface. A range of emotions filled Inej, threatening to burst out of her and onto the long winding streets.
The night always brought out the worst demons that resided inside of the Suli girl. Wasted memories, the longing for a different life, mourning the loss of her old one. She could remember shrieking out for her Papa on that cold, cold morning…
Paying for their wealth with their mental health
This heedless job offered no comfort to Inej. A life patrolling the seas, fighting the many bad people who were determined to never stop looking for her or her newfound family. It was also a life Inej desperately loved. A life she’d now mourn if taken away. It definitely wasn’t the life her mother used to sing about, but it was what she had come to know as her own. She wasn’t made for delicate flowers or a peaceful life, though she may have desired those things once. She’d been hunted down for so long, it seemed abnormal to never have her head turned over her shoulder, watching for those with ill intentions.
Out of all of this, it all came down to one thing. Or, respectfully, person. And that was one Kaz Brekker. Her rock. Her anchor. Her constant. Inej was perfectly capable of saving herself, and Kaz knew that. Nobody else had thought that a woman was apt to be her own saviour, but Kaz did. He mentored her. He cherished her. He cared for her. He was the love her mother used to sing about, if pictured a little differently.
Inej made her way back to her and Kaz’s little apartment near the Slat with her heart full and love unquenched.