“We’re under the embassy garden,” said Nina.
He nodded. This would be the safest place to keep a group of people if you didn’t want to risk voices rising through the embassy floor. There were about fifteen of them, all ages and colors. They seemed to have little in common beyond their wary expressions, but Matthias knew they must all be Grisha. They hadn’t needed Nina’s warning to seek sanctuary.
“So few?” Matthias said. Nina had estimated the number of Grisha in the city as closer to thirty.
“Maybe the others got out on their own or are just lying low.”
Or perhaps they’d already been captured. If Nina did not wish to speak the possibility, he wouldn’t either.
Zoya led them through an archway to an area where Matthias was relieved to be able to stand upright. Given the round shape of the room, he suspected they were beneath some kind of false cistern or maybe a folly in the garden. His relief dissolved when one of Zoya’s armed men produced a pair of shackles, and Zoya pointed directly at Matthias.
Immediately, Nina stepped in front of him, and she and Zoya began arguing in furious whispers.
Matthias knew exactly who he was dealing with. Zoya Nazyalensky was one of the most powerful witches in Ravka. She was a legendary Squaller, a soldier who had served first the Darkling, then the Sun Summoner, and who had ascended to power as a member of King Nikolai’s Grisha Triumvirate. Now that he’d experienced a taste of her abilities for himself, he wasn’t surprised at how quickly she’d risen.
The argument was entirely in Ravkan, and Matthias didn’t understand a word of it, but the scorn in Zoya’s voice was obvious, as were her jabbing gestures toward Matthias and the shackles. He was ready to growl that if the storm witch wanted him locked up, she could try doing it herself and see what happened, when Nina held up her hands.
“No more,” she said in Kerch. “Matthias remains free and we continue this conversation in a language we all understand. He has a right to know what’s going on.”
Zoya’s eyes narrowed. She looked from Matthias to Nina and then, in heavily accented Kerch, she said, “Nina Zenik, you are still a soldier of the Second Army, and I am still your commanding officer. You are directly disobeying orders.”
“Then you’ll just have to put me in chains too.”
“Don’t think I’m not considering it.”
“Nina!” The cry came from a redheaded girl who had appeared in the echoing room.
“Genya!” Nina whooped. But Matthias would have known this woman without any introduction. Her face was covered in scars, and she wore a red silk eye patch embroidered with a golden sunburst. Genya Safin—the renowned Tailor, Nina’s former instructor, and another member of the Triumvirate. As Matthias watched them embrace, he felt sick. He’d expected to meet a group of anonymous Grisha, people who had taken refuge in Ketterdam and then found themselves alone and in danger. People like Nina—not Ravka’s highest-ranking Grisha. All his instincts called on him to fight or to be gone from this place as fast as possible, not to stand there like a suitor meeting his beloved’s parents. And yet, these were Nina’s friends, her teachers. They’re the enemy , said a voice in his head, and he wasn’t sure if it was Commander Brum’s or his own.
Genya stepped back, brushing the blonde strands of Nina’s wig from her face to get a better look at her. “Nina, how is this possible? The last time Zoya saw you—”
“You were throwing a tantrum,” said Zoya, “stomping away from camp with all the caution of a wayward moose.”
To Matthias’ surprise, Nina actually winced like a child taking a scolding. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her embarrassed before.
“We thought you were dead,” Genya said.
“She looks half-dead.”
“She looks fine.”
“You vanished,” Zoya spat. “When we heard there were Fjerdans nearby, we feared the worst.”
“The worst happened,” Nina said. “And then it happened some more.” She took Matthias’ hand. “But we’re here now.”
Zoya glared at their clasped hands and crossed her arms. “I see.”
Genya raised an auburn brow. “Well, if he’s the worst that can happen—”
“What are you doing here?” Zoya demanded. “Are you and your Fjerdan … accessory trying to get out of Ketterdam?”
“What if we were? Why did you ambush us?”
“There have been attacks on Grisha all over the city. We didn’t know who you were or if you might be colluding with the Shu, only that you used the code on the peddler. We always station soldiers in the tavern now. Anyone looking for Grisha is a potential threat.”
Given what Matthias had seen of the new Shu soldiers, they were right to be wary.
“We came to offer our help,” Nina said.
“What kind of help? You have no idea what forces are at work here, Nina. The Shu have developed a drug—”
“Jurda parem.”
“What do you know about parem ?”
Nina squeezed Matthias’ hand. She took a deep breath. “I’ve seen it used. I’ve … experienced it myself.”
Genya’s single amber eye widened. “Oh, Nina, no. You didn’t.”
“Of course she did,” said Zoya. “You’ve always been like this! You sink into trouble like it’s a warm bath. Is this why you look like second-day gruel? How could you take a risk like that, Nina?”
“I do not look like gruel,” Nina protested, but she had that same chastened look on her face. Matthias couldn’t stand it.
“She did it to save our lives,” he said. “She did it knowing she might be dooming herself to misery and even death.”
“Reckless,” Zoya declared.
“Zoya,” said Genya. “We don’t know the circumstances—”
“We know that she’s been missing nearly a year.” She pointed an accusing finger at Nina. “And now she shows up with a Fjerdan in tow, one built like a soldier and who uses drüskelle fighting techniques.” Zoya reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of bones. “She attacked our soldiers with these, with bone shards , Genya. Have you ever heard of such a thing being possible?”
Genya stared at the bones and then at Nina. “Is this true?”
Nina pressed her lips together. “Possibly?”
“Possibly ,” said Zoya. “And you’re telling me we should just trust her?”
Genya looked less certain but said, “I’m telling you we should listen.”
“All right,” said Zoya. “I wait with open ears and a ready heart. Entertain me, Nina Zenik.”
Matthias knew what it was to face the mentors you had idolized, to feel yourself become a nervous pupil again, yearning to please. He turned to Nina and said in Fjerdan, “Do not let them cow you. You are not the girl you were. You are not just a soldier to command.”
“So why do I feel like finding a corner to sob in?”
“This is a round room. There are no corners.”
“Matthias—”
“Remember what we’ve been through. Remember what we came here for.”
“I thought we were all speaking Kerch,” said Zoya.
Nina gave Matthias’ hand another squeeze, threw back her head, and said, “I was taken captive by the drüskelle . Matthias helped me escape. Matthias was taken captive by the Kerch. I helped him escape. I was taken captive by Jarl Brum. Matthias helped me escape.” Matthias wasn’t entirely comfortable with how good they both were at being taken prisoner.
“Jarl Brum? ” Zoya said in horror.
Nina sighed. “It’s been a rough year. I swear I’ll explain it all to you, and if you decide I should be put in a sack and dropped in the Sokol River, I will go with a minimum of wailing. But we came here tonight because I saw the Kherguud soldiers’ attack on West Stave. I want to help get these Grisha out of the city before the Shu find them.”
Zoya had to be several inches shorter than Nina, but she still managed to look down her nose when she said, “And how can you help?”