Crooked Kingdom

"I would prefer to go to Ravka," he repeated more firmly. Kaz's flat black gaze fastened on Kuwei and held. Kuewei squirmed nervously. "Why is he looking at me this way?"
"Kaz is wondering if he should keep you alive," said Jesper. "Terrible for the nerves. I recommend deep breathing. Maybe a tonic."

Jesper tapped his fingers restlessly on his thighs. "Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?"
"So?" said Kaz.
"Well, usually it's just half the city."

Nina's eyes narrowed. "I don't remember saying you could give away my biscuits."
"It's for a good cause," Matthias said, retrieving the tin. "Besides, you've barely touched them."
"I'm saving them for later," said Nina with a sniff. "And you should not cross me when it comes to sweets."
Jesper nodded. "She's like a dessert-hoarding dragon."

"Where do you think the money went?" he repeated.
"Guns?" asked Jesper.
"Ships?" queried Inej.
"Bombs?" suggested Wylan.
"Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.

"Isn't that how things are done around here?" asked Wylan. "We all tell Kaz we're fine and then do something stupid?"
"Are we that predictable?" said Inej.
Wylan and Matthias said in unison. "Yes."

"So I'm asking, do you want to beat Van Eck?"
"Yes," said Inej. She wanted some kind of justice.
"Soundly," said Nina.
"Around the ears with Wylan's flue," said Jesper.

"One one condition," said Nina, arms crossed.
"This is not a negotiation."
"Everything is a negotiation with you, Brekker. You probably bartered your way out of the womb."

"I would come for you," he said, and when he saw the wary look she shot him, he said it again. "I would come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we are, we'd fight our way out together -- knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting."

"You're very welcome, Nina Zenik. You may repay me in the customary way."
"Waffles?"
"Lots of them."

"Let's go, you big goon -- and I'm supposed to be your sister, stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I'm made of ice cream."
"I don't care for ice cream."
"Matthias," Nina said, "I'm not sure we can continue to spend time together."

"You approach from the canal. Jesper, you're tall, brown, and conspicuous --"
"All synonyms for delightful."
"And that means you'll have to be twice as careful."
"There's always a price to pay for greatness."
"Try to take this seriously," said Kaz.

[Jesper] But how the hell did you apologise for that? Sorry I almost got you stabbed to death. Who wants waffles?

She folded one of the waffles in half and took a huge bite, wiggling her toes in bliss.
"I'm sorry, Matthias," she said with her mouth full. "I've decided to run off with Jesper's father. He keeps me in the deliciousness to which I have become accustomed."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "You're better than waffles, Matthias Helvar."
A small smile curled the Fjerdan's lips. "Let's not say things we don't mean, my love."

Inej cocked her head to one side. "Jesper Llewellyn Fahey?"
"Shut up," said Jesper. "It's a family name."
Inej made a solemn bow. "Whatever you say, Llewellyn."
"Kaz?" Jesper said tentatively.
But Kaz was staring into the middle distance. Wylan thought he knew that look
"Is that --?" asked Wylan.
"Scheming face?" said jesper.
Matthias nodded. "Definitely."

Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the

Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.

🌺 THE CHARACTERS 🌺

🌺 RELATIONSHIPS, ROMANTIC AND NOT 🌺

I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.

“You’re stupid about a lot of things, Wylan, but you are not stupid. And if I ever hear you call yourself a moron again, I’m going to tell Matthias you tried to kiss Nina. With tongue."
Wylan wiped his nose on his sleeve. “He’ll never believe it."
"Then I’ll tell Nina you tried to kiss Matthias. With tongue.”

🌺 PLOTTING AND WRITING 🌺

🌺 BUT WHY DOES IT STAND OUT? 🌺

“No mourners.
No funerals.”

“No mourners.
No funerals.”

“She was the Queen of Mourning, and in its depths, she would never drown.”

“Have any of you wondered what I did with all the cash Pekka Rollins gave us?"
"Guns?" asked Jesper.
"Ships?" queried Inej.
"Bombs?" suggested Wylan.
"Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.
He shrugged. "They all seem like practical choices.”

“My mother is Ketterdam. She birthed me in the harbor. And my father is profit. I honor him daily.”

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”

“I am grateful you're alive", he said. "I am grateful that you're beside me. I am grateful that you're eating."
She rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're better that waffles, Matthias Helvar."
A small smile curled the Fjerdan's lips.
"Let's not say things we don't mean, my love.”

“He doesn't say goodbye. He just lets go.”

That’s the problem with Ketterdam, Jesper thought as they stumbled uncertainly through the dark. Trusting the wrong person can get you killed.

That’s the problem with Ketterdam, Jesper thought as they stumbled uncertainly through the dark. Trusting the wrong person can get you killed.

“He was going to break my legs ,” she said, her chin held high, the barest quaver in her voice. “Would you have come for me then, Kaz? When I couldn’t scale a wall or walk a tightrope? When I wasn’t the Wraith anymore?”
Dirtyhands would not. The boy who could get them through this, get their money, keep them alive, would do her the courtesy of putting her out of her misery, then cut his losses and move on.
“I would come for you,” he said, and when he saw the wary look she shot him, he said it again. “I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together—knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.”

"Matthias was dreaming again. Dreaming of her. The storm raged around him, drowning out Nina's voice. And yet his heart was easy. Somehow he knew that she would be safe, she would find shelter from the cold. He was on the ice once more, and somewhere he could hear the wolves howling. But this time, he knew they were welcoming home."

"You're all right. You're all right."

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.”

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.”

“And that was what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have.”

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”

But wasn't that what every girl dreamed? That she'd wake and find herself a princess? Or blessed with magical powers and a grand destiny? Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.

But wasn't that what every girl dreamed? That she'd wake and find herself a princess? Or blessed with magical powers and a grand destiny? Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren't chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.