CHAPTER I.

They Don't Know

They don't know.

Brynn had to force herself to repeat that same sentence over and over as she walked down the streets of the Barrel, twisting the two rings on her pointer and middle fingers. Every person she passed seemed to stare at her, their shady eyes peering deep into her souls and unveiling her past. It was ridiculous, of course, but Brynn was more paranoid than the rest.

They don't know. They don't know. They don't know.

Soon, she'd finally make it to the Financial District and back to the comforts of her lodging. It was no more than a small room that she had to pay for every month above a bakery, the only thing she could find when she first came to Ketterdam. The couple who owned the bakery were nice and deadlines were strict, and Brynn worked at the bakery for some extra kruge. It wasn't ideal, but it could've been worse. A whole lot worse.

Ever since coming to Kerch, Brynn always felt like she was being watched. Hunted, even. Just because of where she's from and who she is. Whoever was watching her had a right to do so, Brynn wasn't even sure she could trust herself.

The stares continued to fill her imagination. Brynn quickened her pace, holding the bag of flour tighter, as if it might provide some protection. Vanya and Jared, the couple who owned the bakery, had tasked her with getting them some more flour. Although Brynn wasn't completely sure why they'd sent her to the Barrel, she knew this was one thing she could do without completely screwing it up.

They don't know. They don't know. They don't—

Brynn's thoughts were cut off by someone grabbing her arm and pulling her into a nearby alley. They pushed her on the ground and the flour bag burst, the white powder spilling out and onto her head with big puffs of the substance. Brynn sputtered, spitting the flour out of her mouth, trying to wipe as much from her face as she could.

Her attacker had other ideas.

Without warning, Brynn earned a kick to the gut, then another to her head. Her attacker, whoever they were, was certainly strong. Flour was everywhere, blinding Brynn and giving the attacker an advantage. If the flour bothered them, they didn't show it.

The kicks kept on coming. Gut, face, gut, gut, gut. This is what I get for coming to the Barrel, thought Brynn.

When she started coughing up blood, her attacker stopped. At first, Brynn thought they felt pity for her. Then she heard fighting noises and realized someone had come to her rescue.

She took the opportunity to really get the flour out of her eyes. Brynn probably looked like a mess, with the white powder all in her hair and on her clothes, her pale skin even paler because of the flour. Her vision finally began to come through.

Two men were brawling just a few feet away from Brynn. Well, the bigger man was whimpering on the ground while the smaller one who didn't quite look like a man yet bashed his head in with an oddly familiar cane. Even though it was dark in the alley, Brynn filled with dread when she recognized the cane-wielding criminal.

Kaz Brekker gave Brynn's attacker one more kick in the head for good measure, then turned to the girl on the ground covered in flour. The look of distaste was hard to miss in his eyes, and Brynn had the sudden urge to turn into a bird and fly away. Better yet, a rock so she could hide forever. Yes, she liked the sound of that one.

"Brynn, my dear. You're covered in flour."

She glared at him and pushed herself up off of the ground. "Yes, thank you so much for that intellectual observation, Kaz. I didn't know you were in the saving-damsels-in-distress business."

He chuckled humorlessly, his hands wrapped firmly around the handle of his cane, a crow's head. Kaz gave no regard to the groaning man a few feet away from him in the corner as he wiped off the blood from the crow's head. "I'm not. I never do something for nothing, do I?"

"Who do you need me to fix up for you, Brekker? Is it Jesper? Because I swear, if he doesn't stay out of trouble, I'm going to personally shove his guns right up his a—"

"That's not why I saved you," interrupted Kaz, taking out a clean handkerchief and handing it to Brynn. "Here, clean yourself up a little bit."

It was hard to not feel awkward while he kept his eyes on her as she wiped the flour from her face. Luckily, staring at people wasn't exactly something Kaz enjoyed doing. "I can't tell you much, but what I will tell you is that we have a job."

"'We'?" wondered Brynn. She shook the flour out of her long, red locks as best as she could. "Who exactly is 'we'?"

"Not important," he dismissed. "What is important is that you're coming."

Maybe under regular circumstances, Brynn would have nodded and went along with everything he said. Kaz Brekker was not someone to be messed with, especially after he nearly bludgeoned a full-grown man to death with his cane.

But these were not regular circumstances. Brynn was pretty sure she had a cracked rib somewhere, she still tasted the metallic blood in her mouth, and she was humiliatingly covered in flour in a very dark alley, alone with Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker. So she laughed in his face.

Her ribs hurt and she spit out the blood in her mouth every time she did it, but Brynn laughed until she felt like she might wither under his glare. "You can't just tell me that I'm going on a job, Kaz. I've never even gone on a job before, so what makes you think I can do this without dying?"

"Because,"—Kaz limped closer to her, his eyes flickering between her own eyes and her rings—"it would be a shame if the list of runaway Inferni was raised one more on the list."

The floor seemed to wobble underneath Brynn's feet, the bile rising in her throat. How could he know? There was no one left who knew about that. As far as he should have known, she was just a Healer, hoping to get some money for safe passage to Novyi Zem like most other Grisha in Kerch.

Brynn stumbled back, wishing to get away from him, but his voice was everywhere. She couldn't see. Why couldn't she see?

"It wasn't very hard to put together when I first saw your rings," explained the dark-haired boy. "Flint and steel create sparks. Now why would a Healer need sparks?" Brynn hated that signature smirk. It was like he knew everything. She hated it. She hated him. "Unless you aren't just a Healer."

How long had he known? And why now? Why was she so important to have on this job? It wasn't like she was that important. The only reason she bore the tattoo of a crow trying to drink an almost-empty goblet was because Kaz would bring her beat-up Dregs' members for her to heal from time-to-time. But from what she'd heard, he also had a Heartrender working for him. If Brynn could remember correctly, her name was Nina.

She couldn't breathe, much less speak. Breathe, child. Her mother's voice was a shock to hear after all those years. Breathe for your father and I. Breathe for Sasha.

"So you're just gonna blackmail me?" Brynn managed.

Kaz nodded. Now, for some reason, she was just now noticing all the sharp lines in his face—his sharp jaw and cold, calculating eyes, how his tailored suit fit him perfectly. Too perfectly, in Brynn's opinion.

"Blackmail works every time, no matter how awful it might seem to others." He studied her as she calmed down, finally able to look him in the eye. "Are you done with your break-down?"

Brynn scowled. "You could at least tell me who's coming on this job you're practically forcing me to go on."

"I'm not forcing you to do anything, Brynn. But your secret will be out if you decline."

"How nice of you." She sighed. "Why me?"

He shrugged. "You're useful."

How typical of Kaz. Treat everyone else like objects in his inventory all for him to use. "It's not very nice to call a lady a tool, Kaz."

"Well it's a good thing you're not exactly a lady."

"'Not exactly'?" Brynn raised an eyebrow. "Are you going soft? Because that sounds an awful lot like you're sparing my feelings—"

Scoffing, Kaz shook his head, his dark hair neatly pushed back. "Don't flatter yourself."

Brynn glanced down at the rings on her pointer and middle fingers. One of them was made of flint and the other steel, just as Kaz had observed. She didn't like to use them, but if it came to a death-or-life situation, they were actually quite useful. And they helped to calm her anxiety, too.

She could still remember the day she had gotten them. It was her eleventh birthday. Birthdays in her household weren't as celebrated as some other families did in her village, but every one was special in their own way. For her seventh, Brynn visited Istamere with her family. For her ninth, they went to a carnival together. And for her eleventh, she received the rings.

A four-year-old Sasha ran around with streamers, screaming at the top of her lungs, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYNNY!" Da and Ma, their parents, watched as the two girls jumped and danced around the main sitting room together that morning, then called Brynn over for her to open her presents.

Presents! she had cried. Really?

As real as you and I, buttercup, Da laughed, handing her a small box.

Go on, open it, Ma urged.

Brynn had waved Sasha over and the two sisters opened the box together. When Brynn saw the two boring rings, she was confused at first. Then her parents explained the gift.

This is a safer and easier way for you to spark a flame, said Ma softly, slipping the rings onto her first two fingers. But try not to spark around anyone other than us. Then you'll be whisked away to Ravka and we may never see you again.

That's never going to happen, though, her father added at seeing the girls' frightened looks. Because we are family. And nothing, no one, can tear us apart.

Oh how wrong he had been.

"So, what'll it be?" asked Kaz as if she had a choice, bringing her out of her memories.

Brynn took in a shaky breath, her frail body shivering in the cold. "It's not like I have much of a choice."

Kaz gave her a grin, though it looked more like a grimace. She wouldn't be surprised if it was a grimace, just at the thought that he was smiling. "Lovely. Now, I need you to get properly cleaned up before you meet the rest of the crew."

a/n—First chapter, yay! What do you think happened to her to get her to come to Ketterdam? Thoughts on anything else? Let me know!