Certainly, there's plenty to do. The wicked never rest and so her days are filled with following the miserable trails that the slaver ships leave behind. This time, she stalks two across the open ocean; The Ribald and Snake Eyes. Neither make it to their ports with their crew intact. She spends the rest of the time between looking for lost families, restoring children and teens to their homes or at the very least, someplace they can start over.
A few of the truly lost end up staying with her for the journey back to Ketterdam, intent on starting over. She makes them no promises, because even with Kaz's leverage—which she intends to use—the Barrel is not a place of safety. Inej looks at each of them hard in the eye as she gives them these facts, the way so many can end up with a slit throat in a gutter, and each of her five orphans stare back with their chins up.
They'll make it, she thinks.
When her ship finally docks, she can feel tension starting to slough off, as if the ocean is a heavy cloak she wears. Someone has to do her work, but she's beginning to understand how royalty could feel, how the weight of a crown bears down. She places Specht in charge and has Kumir—a recent addition—oversee the orphans and making sure they get a good start. Later, she'll make sure they're specifically placed.
But for now, she has someone to see. It only takes her a few minutes to get her land legs back and once she does, she doesn't waste time with the streets. The rooftops are freedom here, above all the muck of the streets, away from prying hands and peering eyes. Her feet remember the path to the Slat with ease and soon enough, she's picking the lock to a particular attic window, ducking in and dropping from the sill. ]
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Certainly, there's plenty to do. The wicked never rest and so her days are filled with following the miserable trails that the slaver ships leave behind. This time, she stalks two across the open ocean; The Ribald and Snake Eyes. Neither make it to their ports with their crew intact. She spends the rest of the time between looking for lost families, restoring children and teens to their homes or at the very least, someplace they can start over.
A few of the truly lost end up staying with her for the journey back to Ketterdam, intent on starting over. She makes them no promises, because even with Kaz's leverage—which she intends to use—the Barrel is not a place of safety. Inej looks at each of them hard in the eye as she gives them these facts, the way so many can end up with a slit throat in a gutter, and each of her five orphans stare back with their chins up.
They'll make it, she thinks.
When her ship finally docks, she can feel tension starting to slough off, as if the ocean is a heavy cloak she wears. Someone has to do her work, but she's beginning to understand how royalty could feel, how the weight of a crown bears down. She places Specht in charge and has Kumir—a recent addition—oversee the orphans and making sure they get a good start. Later, she'll make sure they're specifically placed.
But for now, she has someone to see. It only takes her a few minutes to get her land legs back and once she does, she doesn't waste time with the streets. The rooftops are freedom here, above all the muck of the streets, away from prying hands and peering eyes. Her feet remember the path to the Slat with ease and soon enough, she's picking the lock to a particular attic window, ducking in and dropping from the sill. ]