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Nina had been getting ready to depart back to Fjerda the day after Zoya’s coronation when the new queen in question had pulled her aside, asking for her assistance in retrieving the heart of Sankt Feliks, and she had accepted, as one last adventure if nothing else, and it was an opportunity to see the others again.
She was given a room with Inej, who had also been in Ravka for the event, and were given plenty of time to catch up while they waited for the others, who were to arrive in Os Altos in a week.
During those days, between showing Inej where she grew up and stocking up on blinis, she noticed that Nikolai was courting Zoya. It wasn’t hard to see, Nikolai was in no way subtle about things he was passionate about, which in this case was the Queen of Ravka.
And she was happy for them. Zoya was still as strict and prickly as she remembered - that was just who she was as a person, but she seemed happier. And Nikolai was absolutely beaming whenever she saw the two together.
Eventually, it came to the day where Kaz, Jesper and Wylan were meant to arrive. Nikolai had left the previous evening on a confidential assignment in Os Kervo, Nina had been with the others to wave him off, and Zoya was waiting inside for them, so it was just her, Inej and Genya standing outside the palace.
The trio arrived in a carriage, and one emotional reunion later (she almost suffocated poor Wylan with the hug she gave him) they were all making their way to the war room with Genya.
As they filed inside they saw Zoya having a discussion with Captain Sturmhond, a privateer who worked under the crown. Nina hadnt realised when he arrived at the palace, but she supposed it made sense to recruit him, as Kaz didn’t do well with authority.
The captain grinned when he looked at them “It’s great to see you guys again!” He greeted. He looked at Inej and nodded at her with respect “Captain” he said. She smiled back.
He turned to Nina “And you must be miss Jandersdat, I’ve heard plenty about you” he stated with a bow. She noticed Jesper smirking.
“All good things I hope,” she replied “And you are?” “Sturmhond. It’s a pleasure” he said, his green eyes shining.
Zoya cleared her throat. “Assuming you’re all done with pleasantries, we should start discussing the reason we brought you all here.” “Of course, moi tsaritsa.” Sturmhond replied, and the group all sat down around the table, later to be joined by Adrik and Leoni.
~*~*~*~
They spent the day plotting, and by the evening, they had narrowed down their list to two locations where the relic might be kept. Kaz had said that he’d be able to figure it out by morning, and when asked how by Adrik, he simply smirked. And so the group was dismissed for the day.
That evening after dinner, Nina was walking down one of the long corridors of the little palace, when she heard voices up ahead. She hadn’t intended to, but she silenced herself as she continued towards them, a habit she picked up as a spy.
She turned the corner and saw Zoya and Sturmhond standing off to the side.
“-sure they’re unconventional, but they never fail to get the job done, and they won’t this time,” the Captain was saying “There is nothing to worry about”
“There is a lot on the line, and as the queen of Ravka I have the right to be concerned.” Zoya responded, her eyebrows furrowed. “Of course, my dear,” Sturmhond said softly, taking her hand “Just remember that I have your back, and that I’m sure this will work”
Nina felt her blood run cold as the privateer leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the queen’s cheek, who allowed a small smile to cross her lips. She turned around and, as quickly and quietly as she could, went back the way she came, not wanting to be seen.
She kept going until she got outside and to the edge of the lake. She wasn’t supposed to see that, that much was obvious. But what should she do? Tell someone? Pretend it never happened? Zoya had been her mentor, someone she respected and thought would do the right thing. Never in a million years would Nina think that she would cheat.
She sat down in the grass. Maybe this was all a dream. A strange, awful, terrible dream that couldn’t possibly be real because there was no way that Zoya Nazyalensky would see another man behind Nikolai’s back.
Oh, Saints, Nikolai. She couldn’t even begin to think how he’d react, especially considering how people already treated him for his mother’s affair. And after convincing the public that Zoya would make a good ruler. He looked at her as if she hung the moon. This would kill him.
She stared blankly at the lake in front of her as she replayed the scene again and again in her mind, not knowing what to do. She stayed there until she found herself shivering in the cold night air, and retreated to her room.
~*~*~*~
The next morning, the group met up again, and as he promised, Kaz had not only figured out which of the two locations had the heart, but he also had a folder’s worth of information on the owners, who were some rich citizens of Shu Han.
Nina found herself unable to focus as they discussed ways of breaking in and out of the facility. Now that she knew there was something going on between Zoya and Sturmhond, it was impossible to unsee it. The way he’d look at her with a sparkle in his eyes when the others weren’t looking, how she seemed to try (and fail) to repress a smile whenever he cracked a dumb joke to lighten the mood. It made Nina feel sick.
“-We’re going to need to need a ship to get to Shu Han,” Kaz was saying. Sturmhond nodded “I’m sure I’d be able to-“
“We could take The Wraith.” Nina interjected sharply. “From what I’ve seen, it sails fantastically” she said, though her words were cold as she stared at the green-eyed Captain.
“No,” Kaz said, frowning at Nina “It’s too conspicuous, if Sturmhond can get us a small and unnoticeable ship then that’d be best.” He concluded. “Fine.” She muttered, sitting back in her chair.
She could see Inej raise an eyebrow at her, and Jesper whispering something to Wylan, no doubt some form of bet about what her unprompted outburst was about. Sturmhond just looked confused, and while she wasn’t in her line of sight, she could feel Zoya’s stare. She refused to look at her. Kaz simply carried on with the plan.
She knew that if she had to go on as if nothing happened for much longer, she’d quite possibly explode. Not literally, though she supposed she wouldn’t have to deal with the issue if she got Wylan to set off one in this room right now-
No, that was insane. She was being insane. She exhaled. She was going to face the problem instead of running away from it. Yeah, she could handle this. When the group left the war room that day, she stood taller than she had that morning. And if she happened to accidentally trip Sturmhond on the way out? Well, accidents happen.
She decided that before anything else she’d confront Zoya about what she saw, to give her a chance to explain herself. So once dinner had concluded, she discreetly pulled the queen into an empty room. As soon as Nina shut the door she spun around to face the other woman “We need to talk.” She said.
“Clearly,” Zoya replied, crossing her arms “What is it?” She asked. Nina took a deep breath “I respect you, well, I did, I mean you taught me a lot about being Grisha, and while you are kinda cold I still saw you as a good person, but-”
“Get on with it” Zoya prompted, and Nina paused her rambling “Right,” She looked up at her “How could you cheat on Nikolai???” She demanded with more force than she intended.
Zoya’s eyes widened, having been caught off-guard “Excuse me?” She exclaimed, sounding surprised more than anything. “Yeah.” Nina continued “Last night, I.. I saw you talking to Sturmhond, and him kissing you. Don’t try denying it.” She punctuated her statement with a glare.
“Me and…” Zoya began, and then paused, realisation spreading across her features and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to reconsider, and closed it again. “What?” Nina spat “Can’t think of an excuse for yourself?”
“Nina-“ Zoya said, before shaking her head and exhaling “Stay here” she ordered, before hastily exiting the room. “What- Where are you going?!” Nina demanded, stepping out into the hallway after her. But the Queen had already rounded a corner, leaving the young spy no choice but to wait.
She couldn’t have been waiting for more than ten minutes, but her patience had been worn thin. How dare she just leave when confronted? She could’ve at least admitted it to Nina, it’s not like she didn’t already know. She started to wonder if Zoya had gone to arrange for someone to off her in order to hide the secret. But that was ridiculous, she knew Zoya wouldn’t do something that horrible. Right? Right?
When the queen finally came back, she had Sturmhond himself in tow. Nina felt her anger flare again once she noticed that the man was smirking. How dare he??? She was about to go off on him like she had wanted to Zoya, when he raised his hand to silence her “Easy there” He said.
She glared at him, hoping her rage was apparent in her eyes.
The Captain turned to Zoya, who shook her head “Nina, we haven’t been honest with you.” She said calmly. “Clearly.” Nina snapped back.
The queen sighed “Please, just give us the chance to explain things” she pleaded. “Fine.” Nina muttered. This was what she wanted, an explanation. But that didn’t seem to calm her much.
“See, the thing is…” Zoya paused, trying to find the right words for what she wanted to say “…Sturmhond isn’t real.” She finished, and Nina stared at her as if she was insane “I’m sorry, what???” She almost laughed at the absurdity of it. “If you’re trying to gaslight me into thinking he never existed, it’s hardly gonna work while he’s standing in the room with us.”
The apparently-not-real Captain let out a chuckle “I understand that this may be confusing,” he explained “But what Zoya had meant to say is that Sturmhond is simply a persona, no more real than the Mila Jandersdat that is to marry the crown prince of Fjerda” He finished.
Nina blinked, anger slowly ebbing away to make room for confusion. “But- how- who-” She stammered, trying to process this revelation. She looked at Zoya “But you and him still-” Then she the pieces finally clicked together. Her eyes widened "Nikolai???” she exclaimed, whirling back around to look at Sturmhond. He grinned “Bingo” he confirmed.
“Saints, I had no idea” Nina whispered, sitting down on the couch that was set against the wall. “You weren’t meant to know,” Zoya explained “Only a select few do”
“And Kaz” Nikolai added. Nina’s mouth dropped “Kaz knew???” “What can I say? Only the most trustworthy of people know” he joked. “We should start gagging you with how much you give it away” Zoya said lightheartedly.
Nina let out a short laugh “I’m just glad you weren’t cheating” she admitted. “That’ll never happen, we all know she’d never find anyone half as handsome as I” Nikolai said with a sly smile. Zoya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling “Sure Sobachka, whatever helps you sleep at night.” She teased.
Nina smiled as the conversation turned to something more casual. She was relieved at how everything had worked out, and found herself able to go back to being excited about the job ahead with her friends.