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CHAPTER FOURTEEN ▪▫▪▫▪
KAZ BREKKER DIDN'T NEED A REASON. Not when it came to her. He'd realized that from the first time she showed up in his office, buttons of his overcoat thrown over his desk, a taunting smirk on her lips as she looked up at him with mischief written in her eyes.
And with each smile, she'd stripped him of his armor, until he was left vulnerable to her. To the blissful agony of her touch, of her kisses. She was right. He craved the worst of vulnerabilities, and he was selfish enough to have it.
He was selfish enough to fight the ghosts in his ear every time he got near her, selfish enough to slaughter them to the ground as long as she remained alive. There were days worse than others but Kira made sure to keep him aware of her, of her warm skin, flushed cheeks, and bright smiles.
Alive, alive, alive. She was alive and she was with him. Not as his weakness. Because Kira wasn't a weakness he had, she wasn't something that made him vulnerable to the world. She was the Whisperer of the Barrel, making men kneel before her with a twitch of her brow and a tug of her lips. And as much as Kaz hated to admit it, he belonged in that group of men.
This was why he was walking towards her now, as he walked through the Crow Club, new and improved, and bustling with people. He had a member of the Dregs walking in his wake as he spouted out orders.
"No more malt liquor," Kaz said, "I want port wine, Kaelish whiskey, and spiced rum. And go to the Menagerie and look for a girl named Kesh. Tell her I'll buy out any indenture who'd rather work as a serving girl at the Crow Club. Drinks, waiting tables, charming the customers. No skin trade—" he handed the man the papers, "—This is a salaried position."
The man nodded before fleeing out the door into the pouring rain and Kaz turned back to the bar where Kira was sitting on top of the counter, smiling and talking with the flock of customers that were gathering around her.
"For the right price I'll let you in on a club secret," she was saying to the enraptured customers as she twirled her tumbler around and held out her hand. Two customers passed her a few kruge and Kira grinned. "I heard a whisper and apparently the boss will give out free drinks if you manage to win my coin toss."
Kaz's lips twitched up as their eyes met. Kira winked at him before turning to the gathering of customers around her.
"The rules are simple. I'll flip this coin," Kira said as she took a coin from her pocket, a golden one from Ravka, with the face of the king on one side and the crest on the other. "You're the king and I'm the crest. Now, to play you'll have to pay. Win and the money is yours again as well as the most expensive bottle of Kaelish Whiskey we have."
"How much?" a woman piped up.
Kira's lips split into a grin. "Well, the bottle of Whiskey is worth a hundred kruge."
Murmur broke through the gathering of pigeons around her and Kaz was loving every moment of her extortion. Finally, a few customers nodded and took the bills from their wallets. Kira turned to him, "Boss, do you have a hat?"
Kaz rose an eyebrow and handed her the hat tucked under his arm. Everyone deposited the money in there and Kira grabbed the coin. "Everyone ready?"
The coin was thrown in the air. And Kira caught it swiftly, putting it on the top of her hand and when she peered over at it she grimaced. "It seems you're out of luck, ladies and gentlemen. Your king is a no-show."
Sighs of disappointment rang through the crowd and even some customers tried to argue their way into getting their money back but one glare from Kaz send them all packing.
Kira grinned at him as he stepped closer. She reached to the back of the bar, grabbing another tumbler and filling hers again as well as his. She passed him the glass.
"When I told you to bartend, I didn't mean for you to sit down on the bar," Kaz said as he leaned against the counter looking up at Kira.
"I'm bored out of my mind, Brekker," she replied with a dramatic sigh. "It's no fun that my only customer rarely drinks on the job."
"He seems like a bore."
"No, he doesn't," she said with a laugh, and her eyes sparkled as they gazed over him. "He looks sharp. Handsome. And I heard he has a soft spot for me."
"Does he?"
She nodded, lifting her glass to her lips with a small smirk as she sipped the amber liquid insude. Then she turned to him again, "He's my boss too. Rather scandalous."
"Well, if you keep making money," Kaz replied as he took the hat from her hands, and found it filled with kruge, "I don't think he minds the scandal."
"Oh, but it's our secret, not a scandal," Kira replied with a small smile, "It's a whisper really."
"Who can hear a whisper here?" He smirked at her and Kira shrugged innocently, downing the rest of her glass. "What did you hear?"
"There might be a job on the line," she replied with a grin. "A big one."
•••
"You three..." Kaz called as he and Kira found Jesper, Wylan, and Nina at the empty club. Kira went to stand beside Nina as he spoke. "An opportunity has presented itself. The most lucrative job we've ever taken.
"There's a new weapon about to hit the market. If it does, it could make the destruction of the Shadow Fold seem like a spring picnic—"
"And we all know how that went," added Kira.
"Every corner of the world would feel the effects. It's a drսg called jurda parem. Highly addictive. And if Grisha take it, their power is amplified a thousand times over. The chemist who created it fled to Kerch once he realized what he'd done, but the Fjerdans caught him. He now awaits trial. If the Fjerdans weaponize this drսg, the consequences would be unimaginable. Everything we've ever known, every strength we've relied upon, shattered. Any questions?"
His eyes met Kira's as he finished speaking and she smiled brightly at him.
Reasons be damned. Who needs sanity either way? Dirtyhands had fallen prey to the trap of the Whisperer—a fool in love; greedy for the sight of her. Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason. Not when it came to her.
His Saint. Bloodstained and sin covered. A Saint that made other Saints bristle. A Saint that loved the monster inside him, that did not flinch at the darkness of his soul. He would worship her like she was gold—Kaz Brekker loved gold.
▪▫▪▫▪
author's note:
short chapter, and the last one thank you everyone for your support i loved writing this story and can't wait to know if there'll be a season 3 so i can keep writing kira and kaz
in the meanwhile, Dawn, nikolai's fic is out! and complete!!
