Jesper didn’t argue. He couldn’t pretend to understand Kaz or what drove him. “Tell me something. What was the big falling out between Wylan and his father?”
Inej cast a quick glance up at Kaz, then looked over her shoulder to make sure none of the crew was lurking nearby. Kaz had been clear that information even remotely related to the job must be kept among the six of them. “I don’t know exactly,” she said. “Three months ago Wylan turned up at a flophouse near the Slat. He was using a different surname, but Kaz keeps tabs on everyone new to the Barrel, so he had me do some snooping.”
“And?”
Inej shrugged. “The servants at the Van Eck house are paid well enough that they’re hard to bribe.
The information I got didn’t add up to much. There were rumours Wylan had been caught in a sweaty romp with one of his tutors.”
“Really?” said Jesper incredulously. Hidden depths indeed.
“Just a rumour. And it’s not as if Wylan left home to take up residence with a lover.”
“So why did Papa Van Eck kick him out?”
“I don’t think he did. Van Eck writes to Wylan every week, and Wylan doesn’t even open the letters.”
“What do they say?”
Inej leaned back carefully on the railing. “You’re assuming I read them.”
“You didn’t?”
“Of course I did.” Then she frowned, remembering. “They just said the same thing again and again: If you’re reading this, then you know how much I wish to have you home. Or I pray that you read these words and think of all you’ve left behind. ”
Jesper looked over to where Wylan was chatting with Nina. “The mysterious merchling. I wonder
what Van Eck did that was bad enough to send Wylan to slum it with us.”
“Now you tell me something, Jesper. What brought you on this mission? You know how risky this job is, what the chances are that we’ll come back. I know you love a challenge, but this is a stretch, even for you.”
Jesper looked at the grey swells of the sea, marching to the horizon in endless formation. He’d never liked the ocean, the sense of the unknown beneath his feet, that something hungry and full of teeth might be waiting to drag him under. And that was how he felt every day now, even on land.
“I’m in debt, Inej.”
“You’re always in debt.”
“No. It’s bad this time. I borrowed money from the wrong people. You know my father has a farm?”
“In Novyi Zem.”
“Yes, in the west. It just started turning a profit this year.”
“Oh, Jesper, you didn’t.”
“I needed the loan…. I told him it’s so I can finish my degree at the university.”
She stared at him. “He thinks you’re a student?”
“That’s why I came to Ketterdam. My first week in the city I went down to East Stave with some other students. I put a few kruge on the table. It was a whim. I didn’t even know the rules of Makker ’s Wheel. But when the dealer gave the wheel a spin, I’d never heard a more beautiful sound. I won, and I kept winning. It was the best night of my life.”
“And you’ve been chasing it ever since.”
He nodded. “I should have stayed in the library. I won. I lost. I lost some more. I needed money so I started taking on work with the gangs. Two guys jumped me in an alley one night. Kaz took them down, and we started doing jobs together.”
“He probably hired those boys to attack you so you’d feel indebted to him.”
“He wouldn’t—” Jesper stopped short, and then he laughed. “Of course he would.” Jesper flexed
his knuckles, concentrated on the lines of his palms. “Kaz is … I don’t know, he’s like nobody else I’ve ever known. He surprises me.”
“Yes. Like a hive of bees in your dresser drawer.”
Jesper barked a laugh. “Just like that.”
“So what are we doing here?”
Jesper turned back to the sea, feeling his cheeks heat. “Hoping for honey, I guess. And praying not to get stung.”
Inej bumped her shoulder against his. “Then at least we’re both the same kind of stupid.”
“I don’t know what your excuse is, Wraith. I’m the one who can never walk away from a bad hand.”
She looped her arm in his. “That makes you a rotten gambler, Jesper. But an excellent friend.”
“You’re too good for him, you know.”
“I know. So are you.”
“Shall we walk?”
“Yes,” Inej said, falling into step beside him. “And then I need you to distract Nina, so I can go search for my knives.”
“No problem. I’ll just bring up Helvar.” Jesper glanced back at the wheel as they set off down the opposite side of the deck. Kaz hadn’t moved. He was still watching them, his eyes hard, his face as unreadable as ever.
It took two days after she emerged from the surgeon’s cabin for Kaz to make himself approach Inej.
She was sitting by herself, legs crossed, back to the hull of the ship, sipping a cup of tea.
Kaz limped over to her. “I want to show you something.”
“I’m well, thank you for asking,” she said, looking up at him. “How are you?”
He felt his lips twist. “Splendid.” Awkwardly, he lowered himself down beside her and set aside his cane.