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CHAPTER TEN; lavern the thief
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THEY BARELY SPOKE IN THE TWO DAYS OF TRAVEL it took to reach the cliffs that overlooked Djerholm. And by they, Ace meant her and Kaz. They barely spoke to each other yet it was rare the moment when they were more than a couple feet away from each other. The two of them went along with pretending they were fine, hiding their wounds and bruises from the rest of the crew, from each other. But she barely left the line of closeness he allowed, and his eyes always found hers at some point. They barely spoke, but they didn't need to.
Thankfully, the weather warmed and the ground thawed as they trekked south and towards the coast. She still couldn't see the spring Matthias insisted was upon them, but it was nicer than the vicious bite of the north.
Like Ketterdam, Djerholm's harbor was crowded with ships. Yet unlike Ketterdam, Djerholm's tidy streets marched to the water in an orderly fashion, and the houses were painted such colors—red, blue, yellow, pink—as if in defiance of the wild white land and the long winters this far north. Even the warehouses by the quay were wrought in cheerful colors. Ace frowned. It was too much color.
In the Southern Colonies, the color came from nature not the houses. Buildings were usually white to reflect the sun, the tiles on the roof were brick-colored and apart from that nothing was too vibrant—the green of the forestry, the flowers that grew, and the rumbling ocean, made up for it. And in Ketterdam the smog-filled streets, dark alleys, and crooked buildings would look foolish with color.
Ace's eyes fell onto the harbor and she couldn't help but wonder if the Ferolind already waiting at the docks. She could only trust it would be waiting for them tomorrow night when they would stroll down the Djerholm quay with Bo Yul-Bayur in tow. She could only trust that they'd be able to set sail and she would never have to set foot in Fjerda again—the memories would be enough.
Her eyes trailed away from the harbor. The Ice Court stood like a great white sentinel on a massive cliff overlooking the harbor. Matthias had called the cliffs unscalable, and Ace agreed, not even the Wraith would manage the climb, at least not as flawlessly as she did everything else—they looked mighty and icy, and entirely unwelcoming.
"Cannon," said Jesper.
Ace spotted the big guns pointed at the bay from above just as Kaz did. "I've broken into banks, warehouses, mansions, museums, vaults, a rare book library, and once the bedchamber of a visiting Kaelish diplomat whose wife had a passion for emeralds," said Kaz. "But I've never had a cannon shot at me."
Ace's brows raise a fraction; she scoffed. "Quit bragging, Brekker. We both know those emeralds are laying in a jewelry box in my bedroom."
