โADRIK WAS FURIOUSโstill glum, but furious. It was like being yelled at by a damp towel.โ
โWhat were you thinking?โ he demanded the next morning. Theyโd walked out to the southern part of town, with Leoni and the sledge in tow, ostensibly to try to make sales to local hunters and trappers. But theyโd stopped near an old tanning shed so that Adrik would have privacy to let Nina know just how disastrously sheโd behaved. โI gave you direct orders. You were not to engage, certainly not on your own. What if youโd been captured?โ
โI wasnโt.โ
Leoni leaned against the cart. โIf Hanne hadnโt stepped in to help, you would have been. Now youโre in that girlโs debt.โ
โI was already in her debt. And have you forgotten sheโs Grisha? She wonโt talk. Not unless she wants to put herself in danger.โ
Adrik glanced up at the factory looming over the valley. โWe should destroy this place. It would be a mercy.โ
โNo,โ Nina said. โThere has to be a way to get the girls out.โ
Adrik looked at her with his moping, melting-candle expression. โYou know whatย paremย does. They wonโt come back from this. Theyโre as good as dead.โ
โStop being such a head cold,โ Nina retorted. โI came back from it.โ โFromย oneย dose. Youโre telling us these girls have been dosed for
months.โ
โNot with ordinaryย parem. The Fjerdans are trying something new, something different. Itโs why Leoni got sick but didnโt get a real reaction. Itโs why my own addiction didnโt get triggered again.โ
โNinaโโ
She seized his arm. โThe Second Army knows more now than we did when I tookย parem, Adrik. Theyโve made progress on an antidote. Itโs possible the Fabrikators and Healers at the Little Palace could help them.โ
Adrik shook off her grip. โDo you understand what youโve done, Nina? Even if they decided last night was nothing more than a bit of miscommunication, theyโre going to increase security in that factory. They may report the breach to their superiors. We need to leave this town while we still can, or we risk compromising the entire Hringsa network and any chance Ravka has of acting on the information you learned. You didnโt even get a sample of the drug theyโve developed.โ
She hadnโt had the chanceโand sheโd been too shaken to think clearly. But she wasnโt going to make the girls on the mountain pay for her mistake.
โI wonโt do it, Adrik. You can leave me here. Tell the king I deserted.โ โThose women are going to die. You can make up any happy ending you want, but you know itโs true. Donโt ask me to sacrifice the hope of
the living for the comfort of the dead.โ
โWe arenโt just here to recruit soldiersโโ
Adrikโs blue gaze sharpened. โWe are here on orders from the king. We are here to salvage the future of our people. Ravka wonโt survive without more soldiers, and the Grisha wonโt survive without Ravka. I saw the Second Army decimated by the Darkling. I know what weโve lost and how much more we stand to lose. We have to preserve the network. We owe it to every Grisha living in fear.โ
โI canโt leave them behind, Adrik. I wonโt.โย They brought me here.ย They were the reason sheโd finally been able to lay Matthias to rest. The voices of the dead had called her back to life with their need. She would not fail them. โLeoni,โ she pleaded. โIf it were you up there, someone you loved โฆโ
Leoni sat down on a fallen tree trunk and looked up at the fort. โLeoni,โ said Adrik, โwe have a mission. We canโt compromise it.โ โBoth of you be quiet,โ Leoni said. โI wonโt be pulled this way or that
because you say so.โ She closed her eyes, turned her face to the winter sun. After a long while, she said, โI told you I almost died as a child, but I never told you it was from drinking poisoned well water. The zowa healer who helped me perished in order to save my life. She died pulling
the poison from my body.โ Leoni opened her eyes, a sad smile on her lips. โLike I told you, poisons are tricky work. So now I wear two jewels.โ She touched her hands to the golden stones woven into the twists of her hair on the left. โTopaz for strength, for my mother who gave me life and raised me to be a fighter.โ She turned her head slightly and light caught on the three purple gems in her twists on the right. โAmethyst for Aditi Hilli, the Fabrikator who returned my life to me when I was careless and might have lost it.โ
โHilli?โ said Adrik. โYou were related?โ
โNo. I took her family name, and I swore I would honor her sacrifice, that I would make something of the life she gave to me.โ She bobbed her chin toward the factory. โIf weโre not here for the girls on that ward, then what are we doing here?โ
Adrik sighed. โYou do know this is my command. We donโt put things to a vote.โ
Leoni smiled, that brilliant, thousand-sunrise smile. Adrik sucked in a breath as if heโd taken a blow to the gut. โI know,โ she said. โBut I also know you fought beside Alina Starkov. You got your arm torn off by a shadow demon and kept fighting. You didnโt come to this country to play it safe, Adrik.โ
โLeoni,โ Nina said. โHave you ever had Kerch waffles?โ Leoniโs brows rose. โI have not.โ
โWell, Iโm going to make you a stack so tall you have to climb over it.โ
โI didnโt know you could cook.โ
โI canโt. Not even a little bit. But Iโm very good at convincing people to cookย forย me.โ
Adrik yanked his pinned sleeve into place. โThe two of you are impossible. And guilty of insubordination.โ
Leoni only smiled wider. โWeโre splendid, and you know it.โ
โFine,โ Adrik huffed. โSince youโre both so determined to compromise our mission, just how are we going to transport a bunch of infants and pregnant women out of this tragedy of a town and get them to a port in the middle of the night?โ
Nina looked up at the mountain, at the factory road lolling like a long, greedy tongue, at the guardhouse at its baseโthe first line of security for the soldiers working above. She remembered the lessons sheโd learned in Ketterdam, when sheโd run not with soldiers bound by honor but with
liars, thugs, and thieves.ย Always hit where the mark isnโt looking.
โEasy,โ she said. โWe do it in the middle of the day. And we make sure they see us coming.โ
Nina wasnโt at all sure that Hanne would show up to their next lessonโ either because the Wellmother might forbid it or because she didnโt want to speak to Nina again. But she decided to go to the classroom anyway.
On the way, she stopped by the kitchens for fresh scraps and went to the woods to set out another plate for Trassel. Nina took a moment to gather her thoughts, grateful for the quiet of the trees, breathing in the scent of sap, the cold air still fresh with fallen snow. She could admit her foray into the factory had been a catastrophe, but that didnโt change what was happening on the mountain or the opportunity sheโd been given. She felt like she was at the start of something bigger than the horrors on that hilltop, that there was more she was meant to do.
โBut what?โ she murmured. โEnke Jandersdat?โ
Nina nearly leapt into the nearest branch. A young woman was standing at the edge of the trees, hands tugging nervously at the skirts of her pale blue pinafore. It took Nina a long moment to realize sheโd seen the novitiate beforeโdressed as a Fjerdan soldier on the banks of the river. Had she heard Nina speak Ravkan?
โYes?โ Nina said.
โI didnโt mean to startle you.โ
โA bit of excitement is good for me,โ Nina said, as if she hadnโt recently jumped out of a window and fled down a mountain for her life. The girl had blond hair and skin the color of a new peach. She didnโt seem wary at all, just nervous.
โI wanted to thank you and the Zemeni traders for not saying anything about โฆ what you saw by the river. Even after what happened to Grette.โ
Grette โฆ She must mean the girl who had died from exposure to the water.
โIt was enough of a tragedy,โ Nina said.
The girl shivered, as if death had come too close. โHer mother came to collect her body. It was terrible. But if her family knew how she got those injuries? The shameโโ
โI understand,โ said Nina, then ventured, โWill you ride out again?โ
โOf course not,โ said the girl earnestly, almost pleadingly. โNeverย again.โ
Nina believed her.
โTell me,โ Nina said, โwas it Hanneโs idea to steal the uniforms?โ Hanne was essential to Ninaโs plan. The more she understood her, the better. And she could admit she was curious too.
The girl worried her lower lip. โI โฆ She โฆโ
โI wonโt tell the Wellmother. If I spoke up now, she would wonder why Iโd held my tongue for so long. It would do no one any good.โ
The thought seemed to put the girl at ease. โHanne โฆ Hanne takes risks she shouldnโt.โ A small smile tugged at her lips. โBut it can be hard not to want to follow.โ
โDo you ride out with her often?โ โOnly when she lets us.โ
โA great deal to chance for a bit of freedom.โ
โItโs not just that,โ said the girl. โHanne โฆ Sometimes people send to the convent for help, and the Wellmother will not grant them aidโfor good and proper reasons, of course.โ
โOf course. What kind of people?โ
โFamilies who canโt afford an extra pair of hands when someone falls sick.โ The girlโs cheeks flushed. โUnmarried women who have โฆ gotten themselves into trouble.โ
โAnd Hanne goes to them?โ Nina asked, surprised. That wild, wiry girl with a rifle on her back and a dagger at her hip? It was hard to imagine.
โOh yes,โ said the girl. โShe has a gift for it. Sheโs nursed more than one hopeless case back from the brink and even helped deliver babiesโ one that got all turned around in her motherโs belly.โ
Sheโs a Healer, Nina realized.ย Sheโs using her power and she doesnโt even know it.ย She remembered Hanne saying of the other novitiates,ย Itโs a game to them. A childish bit of dress-up, a chance to be daring.ย Nina had thought she understood, but she hadnโt really.
โIf youโd told on us,โ the girl said, โHanne would have had to stop.
The Wellmotherโโ
โI wonโt say a word,โ said Nina. โI donโt believe Djel could frown upon such kindness.โ
โNo,โ said the girl thoughtfully. โI donโt either.โ โIโm sorry about your friend Grette.โ
โMe too.โ The girl plucked a cluster of pine needles from a branch. โSometimes โฆ I think Gรคfvalle doesnโt want us here.โ
โThe convent?โ
She shook her head, eyes distant. โGirls โฆ any of us.โ
Nina wanted to push further, but a bell began to clang inside the chapel.
The girl curtsied quickly. โMay Djel keep you, Enke Jandersdat,โ she said, and rushed off to her classes.
Nina hurried after. If Hanne did decide to come to class, Nina didnโt want to be late. Adrik had already sent word to the Hringsa network in Hjar to make sure a ship would be waitingโassuming they somehow managed to get the women out of the factory. But if Hanne didnโt come today, Nina would have to seek her out and find a way back into her good graces. She needed Hanne for the plan she had in mind, and, if she was honest with herself, she didnโt much like the idea of Hanne being mad at her.
She had written out half of the dayโs lesson in Zemeni vocabulary on the board and was starting to feel like the whole endeavor was futile, when Hanne appeared at the classroom door. Nina wasnโt quite prepared for the anger radiating off of her. She stood in silent fury as Nina clutched the chalk in her hands and tried to think of something conciliatory to say. Hanneโs copper eyes looked like vivid sparks against her cheeks, but Nina knew from experience thatย Youโre beautiful when youโre angryย was never a great place to start.
โI didnโt think youโd come,โ she began.
โThe Wellmother says I may continue my lessons, since she doesnโt want me left idle.โ
โThatโs wonโโ
โI didnโt sayย Iย wanted to continue,โ Hanne whispered furiously. โWhat were you doing at the factory? I want the truth.โ
And I wish I could give it to you. All of it.ย But despite what sheโd learned from the girl in the woods, she didnโt trust Hanne that much. Not yet.
Nina gestured her inside and shut the door. She leaned against it. Sheโd spent last night thinking about how to answer Hanneโs questions. โDo you remember the sister I told you about?โ Nina asked. โThe one who married and lives in the south?โ Hanne nodded. โShe was caught.โ
Hanneโs fists bunched. โBut you saidโโ
โI donโt know how it happened, but she was caught using her Grisha power, and she was taken by theย drรผskelle.โ
โWhat became of her husband?โ
โHe was taken too. And put to death for harboring her secrets. I think they brought Thyra here.โ
โThey brought your sister to a munitions factory?โ
โThe factory is only part of the story. Soldiers are keeping Grisha girls in the abandoned wing of the fort. Theyโre experimenting on them. The Wellmother is helping, along with some of the Springmaidens.โ
Hanne folded her arms. โThey wouldnโt do that. Discovered Grisha are taken to the Ice Court for trial.โ
Trials at which they were never found innocent, at which they were always sentenced to death. But the sentences were rarely carried out. Instead, Jarl Brum had secretly imprisoned those Grisha and subjected them to doses ofย parem.
โDonโt cover your ears and pretend you donโt know what men are capable of, Hanne. Tell me something: Have girls and women gone missing from Kejerut? From Gรคfvalle? From all of the river cities?โ
โGone missing?โ Hanne scoffed.
โHow have they explained the disappearances?โ Nina persisted. โSickness? A sudden decision to take a trip? Wild animals? Brigands?โ
โAll of those things happen. Thatโs what living out here is like. Fjerda has hard ways.โ Her voice was defensive but also proud.
Still, Nina didnโt think sheโd imagined the slight hesitation, the quick flash of fear on Hanneโs face.
โYouโve seen the Ice Court, Hanne.โ
โWhat does that have to do with anything?โ
โDo you really believe it was built by human hands? What if it was Grisha craft? What if Fjerda needs Grisha as much as it hates them?โ And as Nina said it, she thought of the new weapons the Fjerdan military had been developing, the sudden leap in their progress. As if they were working with Fabrikators. Maybe they hadnโt managed to weaponizeย parem, but theyโd certainly found new ways to exploit Grisha slaves.
Hanne bit her lip and gazed out the classroom window. She had a smattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose, not golden like Adrikโs, but rosy, the color of ripe persimmon. โThere was a girl here,โ she said hesitantly, โEllinor, a novitiate. She always kept to herself. One
morning she was just gone. The sisters told us that sheโd secured an offer of marriage and gone to Djerholm. But when I snuck into the woods to ride that day, I saw the Wellmother. She was burning Ellinorโs things.โ
Nina shivered. Was Ellinor in that ward? Or was she already in a grave on the mountain?
โAnd a woman who lived between here and Kejerut,โ Hanne said slowly, as if fighting the words. โSylvi Winther. She โฆ she had just come through a bad illness. She was faring well. She and her husband just packed up and left.โ
Had this been one of the women Hanne had tended to in secret? Had she ridden out one cold afternoon and knocked on their door, only to find Sylvi and her husband gone?
โI know youโve been taught to hate Grisha, Hanne โฆ to hate yourself. But what the Wellmother and those soldiers are doing to those women is unforgivable.โ
Hanne didnโt look angry anymore. She looked sick and frightened. โAnd what are we supposed to do about it?โ
Nina thought of Matthias lying bleeding in her arms. She thought of girls lined up like misshapen dolls in the gloom of the old fort. She thought of the way Hanne hunched her shoulders as if she could somehow make herself invisible.
โSave them,โ said Nina. โSave them all.โ