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CHAPTER 22

No Funerals

     Van Eck goggled at Wylan, searching for some sign of his son's features. "It can't be."

Wylan walked to Kaz's right side, his left occupied by Brynn. "Maybe you can pray to Ghezen for understanding, Father."

Fury flashed across Van Eck's features. "Worthless," he hissed at Wylan. "I knew you were a fool, but a traitor as well?"

"A fool would have been waiting to be smashed to bits on that ship. And as for 'traitor,' you've called me worse in the last few minutes alone."

"Just think," Brynn said. "What if the real Kuwei Yul-Bo had been on the ship you just turned into toothpicks?" She smirked at her genius, tilting her head to stare at the mercher.

Van Eck spoke slowly, but Kaz could see the anger in his flushed face and his clenched teeth. "Where is Kuwei Yul-Bo?"

"Let us safely off this island without payment, and I'll gladly tell you," said Kaz.

"You have no way out of this, Brekker. Your little crew is no match for my Grisha." At the threat, Brynn flicked her fingers and she started a fire in her hand from the sparks her rings made.

Kaz shrugged. "Kill us, and you'll never find Kuwei."

Van Eck considered for a moment, then stepped back. "Guards to me!" he shouted. "Kill everyone but Brekker!"

Kaz knew the exact moment he made his mistake. They'd all known that it could come to this, they'd thought up all the possibilities. He should have trusted his crew. He should have trusted Brynn. His eyes should have stayed trained on Van Eck. But, for a fraction of a second, he looked over at Brynn. She had fire in both palms, now, the light reflecting off of her eyes.

And Van Eck saw it. He blew on his whistle. "Leave the others! Get the money and the Inferni!"

Get the money, Kaz's instincts said. He should have known Brynn could handle herself. He'd seen her hold her own against enemies before. But he was already sprinting towards her before the Grisha could reach her.

The Tidemakers reached her first, vanishing into mist, then reappearing at her side. But they were fools. They might have been fast, but Brynn was a powerful Inferni. Her fire met their skin, the flesh burning into charred skin. They screamed as she burned them, before landing into two solid heaps next to Brynn.

Kaz caught movement in the corner of his eye. A Squaller hurtled toward Brynn, eyes on their target.

"Jesper!" he shouted.

Jesper fired, and the Squaller plummeted to the earth.

The next Squaller was smarter. He came in low, gliding over the island. Jesper and Matthias opened fire, but they had to face the sun to shoot and not even Jesper could aim blind. Brynn whirled around as the Squaller barreled into her and shot up into the sky.

For the second him, Kaz thought, Stop moving! But Brynn didn't. Her body spun and he saw a flash of flames in the Squaller's face. He screamed, releasing her. Brynn plunged downwards toward the sun at a deadly speed. Kaz ran toward her without thinking.

A blur rushed past him. A third Squaller swooped down and snatched her up seconds before impact and gave her a vicious blow to her skull. Brynn's body went limp in the Squaller's grasp.

"Bring him down!" roared Matthias.

"No!" shouted Kaz. "Shoot him and she falls, too!"

The Grisha dodged up and out of range, a blot in the horizon, fading like a falling star, then gone.

"You have one week to bring me the real Kuwei," Van Eck shouted. "Or they'll hear that girl's screams all the way back in Fjerda. And if that doesn't move you, I'll let it be known that you're harboring the most valuable hostage in the world. Every gang, government, smugger, and spy will be after you and the Dregs. You'll have nowhere to hide."

How could Kaz be so stupid? He'd had his greatest weakness right there next to him, and he'd let her slip away. She was the one person he'd let close to him, and he didn't even know why.

Maybe it started with the skirmish at Fifth Harbor, or maybe all the many times she'd been on the brink of death for the Ice Court job. Or maybe it had even started back when he'd first seen her, clothed in pale moonlight in the alley as he limped back to the Slat. Her face grimaced in pain, then it was gone, along with the bleeding wound on her leg. She'd healed many people, erased many wounds and scars, but if Kaz had learned anything from Brynn, it was that not all scars were as easily erased as the ones on the surface.

Kaz had finally found someone who he wanted to be better for. Brynn wanted him to be a better man, but Kaz wasn't sure if he'd be able to be a better man with her Ghezen-knows-where.

I'm getting my money, Kaz thought. And I'm getting my girl back. He didn't deserve Brynn, but he was definitely getting her back, whatever it took. 


a/n— Yay! So, I have a sequel already lined up and ready to go (not completely, though), so try to be patient! If there's anything you'll absolutely die if you don't see in the next book, let me know! Also, there will be small chapters at the end with Brynn and Sasha in them with cameos in Rule of Wolves, so look forward to that! Thank you all so much and for those of you who brighten my day with comments that make me laugh, you are the best parts of my day. See you soon!

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